over the past 2 years, I believe i have identified (thanks mainly to Newcomb's "Wildflower Guide" and Pojar/Mackinnon's "Plants of Coastal BC") all the large plants growing wildly in my Vancouver BC area backyard except for this one: it has a milky sap and long (over one meter) hollow and hairy stalk the hairy leaves are alternate, toothed and lobed/cleft (?) I was waiting for it to flower but I think I missed it; it must have been tiny green flowers and now tiny green fruit (with 8 segments) growing out of 1 inch stems coming out of the stipules (and like a fractal, repeating this pattern 2 or 3 times) it is growing alongside some caraway and only found in that one part of the backyard where I put lots of compost in the past
I am unfamiliar with this plant's botanical name, but I can assure you that it is not welcome in my flower or vegetable garden... I consider this a noxious weed and very invasive.
Looks like Alliaria petiolata to me, but it's a lot more hairy than the ones I'm used to see...maybe another species of Alliaria ?
This plant cannot be Alliaria even though the lower leaves look quite similar. whereas the upper leaves and the flower buds do not. The milky sap shows that this is very probably a member of the subfamily Cichoroidae of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). I suggest that this plant is nipplewort (Lapsana communis).
Thank you!! yes, it is nipplewort! It simply has not bloomed yet, so i am seeing only the green flower buds at this time. I realize now that I have noticed it last year in flower in a different part of the yard. note to self: the subfamily name has 2 sequences of 3 vowels! Cichorioideae (lettuce and dandelions). Danke :-)
