Plants ID Please...

[Greg]

Went for a forage walk today and came across these plants that I don't know or am not 100% sure about so wanted your expertise please. And if possible if they are edible or not.

Plant One:
I thought it may be Common Sorrel???

Plant Two:
Grey Willow??? The tree bark was smooth & grey.

Plant Three:
I thought it was Fat Hen but I am definately wrong!

Plant Four:
I have no idea!

Thanks for looking!

 

[slowworm]

Number four looks like Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), three looks like some form of dock and I agree with your suggestion for one.

 

[Greg]

Plant Number 3 is Curled Dock!

 

[chickenofthewoods]

1 Common Sorrel

2 No idea but I doubt it's a Willow of any kind

3 Curled Dock

4. Joe Pye Weed/Hemp Agrimony

 

[ganstey]

1 Common Sorrel

Is this the plant whose stems/flowers turn to 'rust'? If so, then are the seeds of any use when they get to this stage? We use to collect them by the bucket-load when I was little, but I think we just made pretty patterns with them

G

 

[chickenofthewoods]

That sounds more like a description of Dock seedheads to me, they dry to an amazing rusty colour and are from the same family as Sorrel (which is why the two are often confused by the inexperienced).

Dock, like Sorrel, is a relative of Buckwheat (Polygonaceae) and you can - if you're a hard core wild food enthusiast who likes to experiment - use the tiny seeds to make a kind of flour: http://www.natureskills.com/wild_food_recipe.html

 

[ganstey]

That sounds more like a description of Dock seedheads to me, they dry to an amazing rusty colour and are from the same family as Sorrel (which is why the two are often confused by the inexperienced).

Dock, like Sorrel, is a relative of Buckwheat (Polygonaceae) and you can - if you're a hard core wild food enthusiast who likes to experiment - use the tiny seeds to make a kind of flour: http://www.natureskills.com/wild_food_recipe.html

Thanks for that. Now I know that all those plants I've been thinking are Sorrel, are actually Dock :yelrotflm How does one tell the difference? Or is it a case of 'you know it when you see it'. Thanks for the pointer to the recipe. Looks good, and I'll have to give it a go sometime.

Cheers
G

 

[rich59]

No 2 looks like beech or hornbeam

 

[Greg]

Thanks Guys!

 

[locum76]

Thanks for that. Now I know that all those plants I've been thinking are Sorrel, are actually Dock :yelrotflm How does one tell the difference? Or is it a case of 'you know it when you see it'. Thanks for the pointer to the recipe. Looks good, and I'll have to give it a go sometime.

Cheers
G

sorrel is (or 'soorocks' as the auld yins call it) a type of dock....

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Rumex+acetosa

as opposed to...

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Rumex+crispus

cheers

rob

 

[Greg]

sorrel is (or 'soorocks' as the auld yins call it) a type of dock....

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Rumex+acetosa

as opposed to...

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Rumex+crispus

cheers

rob

That seems like a really good site! Thanks Locum.

 

[chickenofthewoods]

If you look closely at Greg's pictures, the leaf now identified as Sorrel has two small spurs sticking out at the base near the stem so it looks like an arrowhead. It's also smoother than Dock, which tends to have a bumpy or ridged surface. With dock, the base of the leaf is rounded inwards to where it meets the stem.

Clear as mud?

Have a look here:

Dock http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/r/wruob--lf27453.jpg

Sorrel http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/962/85024113.JPG

 

[addo]

No 2 looks like Grey Poplar. Quite a tall tree when mature.
The Grey willows leaves are 2-4 times as long as broad. The tree if you can call it that reaches about 6m in height.

 

[ganstey]

If you look closely at Greg's pictures, the leaf now identified as Sorrel has two small spurs sticking out at the base near the stem so it looks like an arrowhead. It's also smoother than Dock, which tends to have a bumpy or ridged surface. With dock, the base of the leaf is rounded inwards to where it meets the stem.

Clear as mud?

Have a look here:

Dock http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/r/wruob--lf27453.jpg

Sorrel http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/962/85024113.JPG

Excellent! Thanks for that. I'm going to add that to my info on identifying tree & plants.

Cheers
G

 

[IntrepidStu]

No 2 looks like Grey Poplar. Quite a tall tree when mature.
The Grey willows leaves are 2-4 times as long as broad. The tree if you can call it that reaches about 6m in height.

None of the grey poplars ive ever seen have leaves like that.

This is the leaf of the grey poplar

 

[Greg]

If you look closely at Greg's pictures, the leaf now identified as Sorrel has two small spurs sticking out at the base near the stem so it looks like an arrowhead. It's also smoother than Dock, which tends to have a bumpy or ridged surface. With dock, the base of the leaf is rounded inwards to where it meets the stem.

Clear as mud?

Have a look here:

Dock http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/r/wruob--lf27453.jpg

Sorrel http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/962/85024113.JPG

It certainly is clear as mud, it is definately sorrel.

 

[addo]

None of the grey poplars ive ever seen have leaves like that.

This is the leaf of the grey poplar

Fair enough, whats your guess?
Could be a type of Beech.

 

[IntrepidStu]

Without searching the books, id say it looks like Hornbeam (as somebody has said already), but this is only a guess.
Stu.

 

[robwolf]

it looks like an alder of some kind poss greyalder though not sure

 

[scanker]

Grey alder certainly seems a possibility: http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/5Alder.htm