Some plants......

[British Red]

Some I know....and some I feel I should know but don't......


The first I'm fairly sure of (but always hapy to have a confirmation). I'm fairly sure of this as Hedge Woundwort.....nettle like and with silvery "furry" leaves - but a distcntive flower

The next is for all the world like feverfew - but its 3 foot tall! Anyone help me with this (it was growing in a marshy ditch)

This is another "hedgerow" dweller I think I should know - but it evades me!

I'd be fairly sure of calling (lesser) Burdock on this one

Anyway - any identifications or confirmations appreciated

Red

 

[RobertRogers]

Where did you find these plants? Forest, edge of field, etc. That can help identify them

 

[mace242]

Did you check the smell of the first one? Hedge woundwort has a very distinctive smell when you tear or crush one of the leaves (like cat pee or so I'm told - not checked with any cats to be sure).

 

[xylaria]

The second one down looks hemlock water dropwortoenanthe crocata and it is deadly poisonous. The leaves smell somewhere between parsley and mice. It doesn't cure migraines in the way feverfew does.

The third one looks like wild parsnip pastinaca sativa, but it has toxic look-a-likes such as river water dropwort which has about 10 pairs of leaves and the leaves are more pointed, but they are very similar. The smell is important.

 

[decorum]

Hi Red,

Plant 1. I agree with you, probably Hedge Woundwort.

Plant 2. Looks more like a member of the family Apiaceae than the family Asteraceae (of which Feverfew is a member). Without a sample I can only hazard a guess that it’s either Upright Hedge-parsley - Torolis japonica – found on the edges of hedgerows, grassy woodland and on roadsides it needs supporting vegetation and partial shade, the photo appears to have a bushier habit than I'd expect - or possibly Sweet Cicely - Myrrhis odorata, a relation of the carrot. Crushed stems smell strongly of aniseed is bushy, growing to between 3 and 6 foot tall. Sweet Cicely grows in semi-shade in damp meadows, woodland margins and on roadsides.


Plant 3. The closest match I’ve been able to find to plant 3 is Greater Burnet (Pimpinella major) whichlives in deciduous woodland, grassland and hedgerows.

Plant 4. If I remember correctly the principle differences between Lesser and Greater Burdock - Arctum minor and Arctum lappa respectively - (other than its size!) is that Lesser Burdock has a darker flower (although colouration can vary by location anyway) and, if I remember correctly, has hollow leaf stalks.

Have a look at www.botanicalkeys.co.uk.

Hope this helps.

 

[British Red]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I agree on the Burnet. A few of the suggestions on the second one (growing beside a path in a moist ditch) fir - I'll have a smell and a better look next time I'm passing.

Thanks again

Red