new mystery plants in my yard

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by lainyg, Jul 9, 2012.

  1. lainyg

    lainyg Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi,

    Some more mystery plants in my yard...

    The leaves on this one made me think of Solomons Seal but that's where the similarity ends. Sorry, I forgot my yard stick for the picture but it grows close to the ground and the blooms are about 4" in diameter.

    2012-07-08_15-22-13_157.jpg 2012-07-08_15-21-10_587.jpg 2012-07-08_15-21-49_27.jpg

    I'm fairly certain this is a weed, but would like to know what it is because it seems to irritate the skin.
    2012-07-09_19-46-57_7.jpg 2012-07-09_19-46-42_950.jpg 2012-07-09_19-46-20_625.jpg

    Thanks in advance for your help!
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2012
    lainyg, Jul 9, 2012
    #1
  2. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Hypericum - probably, H. calycinum
     
    Andrey Zharkikh, Jul 9, 2012
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  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    The other is waterleaf, a native wildflower carpeting the ground where it is on the moist side.
     
    Ron B, Jul 9, 2012
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  4. bigfoot

    bigfoot Active Member

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    kind of looks like a vetch species. Though I never saw a vetch species that has those same yellow flowers
     
    bigfoot, Jul 10, 2012
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  5. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Silver surfer, Jul 10, 2012
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  6. lainyg

    lainyg Active Member 10 Years

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    Thank you...yes, the first one is Hypericum, (can you believe that I had never seen st. John's wort before?) but I can't pin down which of the 400 species it is. The one I have is more of a ground cover and the flowers are 4" across and resemble a pinwheel (rather than a buttercup) and I haven't been able to match the leaves and flowers to any one picture.

    I guess that's the problem with images posted on Google...people label them without being 100% certain so you end up with several visibly different plants with the same name. It's not a very good tool for plant id.

    The second one is either Pacific or Fendlers Waterleaf. I was sure it was a weed but it must have been something else that caused the skin irritation.
     
    lainyg, Jul 10, 2012
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  7. Andrey Zharkikh

    Andrey Zharkikh Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    You don't have to check the world-wide list of species. Assuming this is a wild plant, check the USDA list of 76 Hypericum species with corresponding distribution maps:
    http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HYPER
    Of this list, only 7 are listed for BC.

    If this is a garden plant, it gets more complicated, though. You need to refer to a list of popular garden species. Dave's Garden site, for example, would be useful for this:
    http://davesgarden.com/sitewidesearch.php?q=hypericum

    Regarding Google images, there is definitely lots of misidentified pictures. If in doubt, stick to the reputable sites like CalPhotos (http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/), Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/), etc.
     
    Andrey Zharkikh, Jul 10, 2012
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