My friend sent me this photo of a taprooted weed growing from dry areas in his chicken run on Salt Spring Island. He says that it feels prickly, but does not have apparent spines/prickles on it. He says that it smells unpleasantly of marijuana. Is it some kind of mint sp?
I was shocked, when I googled Navarretia intertexta, to learn that it is a very rare, native plant in BC, not just some chicken run weed. What an exciting discovery! See: E-Flora BC Atlas Page Red Listed Taxon: Includes any indigenous species or subspecies that have, or are candidates for, Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened status in British Columbia. Extirpated taxa no longer exist in the wild in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. Endangered taxa are facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened taxa are likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Not all Red-listed taxa will necessarily become formally designated. Placing taxa on these lists flags them as being at risk and requiring investigation.
Actually, I sent my friend Ben a screen capture of the Navarretia key to species (only two species) from the BC Flora, and he confirmed that the plant in question is most likely N. squarrosa....Still not your average chicken run species! Thanks for the help @Andrey Zharkikh
