A request for help identifying the plant in the attached pictures. A brief history, A friend had a boquet of flowers delivered a while back that containted a seed pod amougst all the usual stuff. They decided to collect the seeds and kept them for a while, never getting around to plant them. I offered to plant them and see what came up and voila - the attached file after only about 2 months. The collector of the seeds unfortunately cannot remember much about the source. They seem to recollect 'New Zealand' in some respect but this could be a red-herring. I have been try find out what it is locally and via the internet for a while without success. I am willing to considered that it could be a 'weed' but would rather know before deciding what to do with them. If it is, florists appear to have uses for weeds. I have about 50 or so. Many thanks in advance. Further pictures of detail available if necessary. David
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...num=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGIT_en___US209&sa=N Does it look anything like Abutilon theophrasti?
Yes, that looks exactly like the plant. A brief trawl through the net reveals a few schools of thought on the plant - a weed (as clearly identified in the google link) and a flower (according to some people - probably not those involved in growing soya or maize) or medicimal (if chinese). Many thanks David
The other thing I thought of was http://www.communitygarden.org.au/ideas/fruits/tamarillo.html only because of the NZ part of yr message. They look like my tree when it was small. I know New Zealanders who love its fruit. I have it as a winter ornament tree. May be it was the red fruit in the florist bouquet (sp) Liz
The prickles on leaf stalks and midribs make me think Solanum -- possibly S. quitoense (Naranjilla). I am not sure that Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum/Cyphomandra betacea) has prickles and maybe its leaves are not so lobed. S. quitoense has fruit that can be treated in the same way.
David what colour were the seed pods? So far if this is it we have a choice of red or orange. Tony interesting that there are more of these. I also notice they belong to the nightshade family therefore cousins to tobacco, tomato, potato, and egg plant. Whats the correct term again family, phylum,(sp) etc. Liz
The plants are currently 30 cm and too immature as yet. I did not see the original seed pod so cannot comment on the colouring. Over the weekend, I have reviewed my initial thoughts about the velvet leaf. The image certainly reflects the leaf shape and structure. My reasoning for my reticence is the thorns that are on the top and bottom of the leaf and those running down the leaf stem. When tending them, it easy to get a prick from the needles that almost feels like a sting (but with no associated swelling). I may be taking the 'velvet' part of the name too literally however. Thanks David
