Some plant IDs (picture heavy)

[Biddlesby]

I've been getting familiar with ramsons and hedge garlic this year, but I'm not sure what this one is. It smells and tastes of onion, so I guess it's ok. The leaves are slender, monocotyledon(?).On the top of the little plant are orbs which match the bulb of the plant. The stem is triangular in cross section:

The second I was hoping was bristly ox tongue, but I see that the leaves look wrong. But the flower is similar, and the leaves are similar to dandylion, so I am wondering if perhaps it has an edible root.

And a couple more thrown in:

Am really trying to improve my plant ID this year! But still no pignut...

On that note, can anybody tell me what is unique about the [above ground] pignut plant that sets it apart from the other umbellifers? At the moment all I am looking for is a small cow-parsley like thing with needle thin leaves.

Cheers!

 

[xylaria]

I am really not very sure
Allium; Three cornered leek allium triquetrum
Big dandiloin ; beaked hawksbeard crepis vesicaria
Hairy leaves that look like not quite like hogweed; I Have No idea Sorry
Bottom one looks like sea holly but I sure that I am wrong and it is this a thistle

 

[Biddlesby]

I thought sea holly too! But its nowhere near the sea...is that a requirment?

 

[xylaria]

I thought sea holly too! But its nowhere near the sea...is that a requirment?

The veins make it look like an eryngium something another rather than a thistle. It has got that rubbery look as well. My mate has an eryngium in her garden and we are in stoke on trent, which is quite walk to the beach.

The hairy bitter plant above it is the one I am battering my head with, I cant help feeling that I know what it is, and just can't remember. the veins in the leaves make it look like a composite.

We need jon pickett, thomas turnbill et al

 

[xylaria]

Hairy bitter tasting plant is greater burdock
http://biotech.tipo.gov.tw/plantjpg/1/Arctium lappa.jpg

 

[JonnyP]

Sea holly is a new one on me, never seen it before ...
Top one, as Xylaria says is three cornered garlic or hedge garlic, they are just starting to go over now.
Second one is certainly daisy family, looks like a hawksbeard or a hawkweed...
Your other one is burdock...One way to tell wether its lesser or greater is to cut a stem in half, if its solid right through, its greater...
As for pignuts, they are starting to appear now and will grow in woodland or open sun...Look for a short umbellifer, 30-60 cm heigh with feathery leaves. Sorry not much to go by, but they are pretty common. Here is a picture, you can just see the leaves http://www.ukwildflowers.com/Web_pages/conopodium_majus_pignut.htm
Also note, the flower heads are spread out and not a dense clump..

 

[Toddy]

The bottom one looks like milk thistle, maybe young sow thistle, the first rosettes are different to the mature stem leaves, to me.
That said, cardoon can look a bit like that too.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Biddlesby]

That's great! Thanks to xylaria, jon and toddy. Does g. burdock have the same root as normal burdock? And is the best time to harvest it from new plants, later in the season?

 

[JonnyP]

That's great! Thanks to xylaria, jon and toddy. Does g. burdock have the same root as normal burdock? And is the best time to harvest it from new plants, later in the season?

Don't know about the root, though I believe you can do something with it, but the leaf stems (preferably before its flowered, as in most plants) can be peeled and eaten in salads, or cooked as a veg....

 

[familne]

Number 1 looks like Few-flowered Garlic (Allium paradoxum)
Number 2 could be Rough Hawk's-beard (Crepis biennis)
Number 3 Burdock, probably lesser (Arctium minus)
Number 4 looks like Cotton or Scotch Thistle (Onopordum acanthium)

 

[xylaria]

Number 1 looks like Few-flowered Garlic (Allium paradoxum)
Number 2 could be Rough Hawk's-beard (Crepis biennis)
Number 3 Burdock, probably lesser (Arctium minus)
Number 4 looks like Cotton or Scotch Thistle (Onopordum acanthium)

:You_Rock_ Me thinks you are right.
Few flowered garlic produces bulbles the three cornered leek doesn't
Rough hawks-beard has the papery thing over flower buds and no orangy bits around the flower as what ever hawks beard I said it was does.
Scot thistle wears a wee fur coat to keep it warm and produces most of its prickles on the flower stalk to inpale any passing vikings. the flower stalk hasn't being produced on this one but you can see the plant putting most the ****** as high as it can.

There is a burdock called arctium tomentosum which is hairy on the under side

 

[familne]

There is a burdock called arctium tomentosum which is hairy on the under side

Yes, Wooly Burdock - it's a rare introduction here, native of west and central Europe.

 

[Jodie]

Having seen Jon's pignut pictures I'm pretty sure there were a few of those at
Kew when I was there yesterday. I think they might have hoiked me out if I'd
had a go at unearthing one though hehe.

There were also lots of ramsons - were they responsible for the very strong
smell of garlic or was it likely to have been something else? I've just looked
them up and it seems they're also called wild garlic, so probably them.
Unmistakeable smell of garlic / onion - yum!

 

[moche]

Yes, it was the Ransoms. They announce them selves to the nose before the eye! There's a very large patch by my house, you can even smell them when driving past in the car.