Can anyone id this? I pass by this plant often & I've admired it for a long time so I finally got around to taking some seeds for planting. It has very distinctive characteristics. It looks to be a full-sized plant at 3 feet or so, with slender stalks that grow in a sort of floppy way and has pinnate(?) leaves that are downey and start out a greyish green hue. The seedpods are spectacular - long, round and segmented. Fabulous for drying! Flowers are yellow and smallish coming off the stalk in a sort of spike fashion. I've been told it looks like broom. It might be a variety of cytisus but I can't find any photos that show broom seedpods. That would be a dead giveaway. It does closely resemble sweet broom (Cytisus spachianus) but unlike this photo, my mystery plant doesn't have any leaves that branch off in threesomes... Doing an internet search, I also wondered if it could be something in the mustard family (Cruciferae) because of the beadpods and pea-like flowers but I don't think there is an exact match on the flower characteristics (4 petals/6 stamens... but, er, I haven't counted since they haven't fully opened)... I've posted pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeysucklerose/sets/1826763/ Thanks! p.s. I just joined this forum so a big HELLO to everyone from all the way down in Texas! =) p.p.s. I love the Stumpers section! p.p.p.s. Off-topic but is there any way to upload a custom avatar?
Just a quick semi-answer - it is definitely something leguminous (in the Fabaceae or Leguminosae). You'll be able to upload a custom avatar after 5 posts + 5 days as a member of the forums - see the link to "The More You Share..." in the right sidebar.
I agree with the leguminous answer, unfortunately it is a big group of plants. Can you give some more details, like does it re seed like it might be invasive? Is it an annual or something else? What kind of conditions does it grow in? You have very good pictures and those seed pods are unique.
Thanks - it's defintely good to know it's leguminous although that doesn't rule out a lot of guesses! It could be an invasive variety. It does produce a lot of seedpods but it doesn't look like the plant has spread in its little plot on the median. I would guess it's perennial but again don't know; I've seen it there in the same location for at least 2 or 3 years and every year it looks about the same if that's any indication. It gets full sun (plenty of sun for most of the day) in its location and looks to be well established. I've never noticed anyone watering or tending to it. I guess I haven't stalked it thorougly enough!
hello honeysuckle you may try surfing for the genus Sophora. your photo reminds me of my home in New Zealand where sophora is a large tree pierrot
Re: Sophora tomentosa Pierrot, you're my hero of the day! It's a Sophora tomentosa or necklace pod. It's a leguminous, coastal shrub that can grow up to 10' tall! It is drought and salt tolerant, attracts butterflies and the National Wildlife & Parks Service in Australia (NWPS) determined it was an endandered species in 2001. An article with some more factoids Another short article with some photos Thanks, everyone, for your help! Eureka! I'll definitely share if I get any sprouts from the necklace pod seeds I planted the other day.
Good identifying, Pierrot! I really like the seed pods but it does not seem like a plant that would be easy to go in the Pacific Northwest. Too bad.
Thank you Dee There are several Sophoras available here in the PNW. I have seen Sophora microphylla (the small leafed Kowhai) at several garden centres in the greater Vancouver and Victoria area. it is marginal in a zone 8 but I have seen a few in protected areas so that may be wirth a try Pierrot
That does look like a very interesting plant, I see it is the national tree of New Zealand. One person reported it survived -15 centigrade and I see that a large USA West coast wholesaler is growing it. But does it get the long seedpods? Nothing mentions them so I would guess not. Honeysuckle, I read that it is important to scarify the seeds before planting.
Four species of Sophora are listed in the UBCBG collections. I am not sure how they are doing though. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/c...ltext=sophora&filter=0&strictness=0&search=Go
Re: Botanical garden accession number Just curious what is the significance of the accession numbers? I've noticed it on various botanical garden listings. Is it simply for internal, archival purposes or does it reference some numerical standards of identifying plants?
Accession numbers are the identifying numbers given to garden acquisitions. They are for internal record keeping and tracking and do not reference any external information. The first part is the unique identifier given to each acquisition (they are given in numerical order), the second part is a source code indicating the origin of the plant and the last part is the year that the plant was accessioned.
