View Full Version : Plants ID Please...
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???
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3212.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3217.jpg
Plant Two:
Grey Willow??? The tree bark was smooth & grey.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3211.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3210.jpg
Plant Three:
I thought it was Fat Hen but I am definately wrong!
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3207.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3208.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3209.jpg
Plant Four:
I have no idea!
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3213.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa273/Greg1933/100_3215.jpg
Thanks for looking!
slowworm
12-08-2008, 19:53
Number four looks like Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), three looks like some form of dock and I agree with your suggestion for one.
Plant Number 3 is Curled Dock!
chickenofthewoods
12-08-2008, 21:34
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
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
12-08-2008, 23:05
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
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 :o :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
No 2 looks like beech or hornbeam
Thanks for that. Now I know that all those plants I've been thinking are Sorrel, are actually Dock :o :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
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
14-08-2008, 07:42
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? :lmao:
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
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.
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? :lmao:
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
14-08-2008, 16:14
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
http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/Leaf%20grey%20poplar.JPG
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? :lmao:
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.
None of the grey poplars ive ever seen have leaves like that.
This is the leaf of the grey poplar
http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/Leaf%20grey%20poplar.JPG
Fair enough, whats your guess?
Could be a type of Beech.
IntrepidStu
15-08-2008, 10:05
Without searching the books, id say it looks like Hornbeam (as somebody has said already), but this is only a guess.
Stu.
it looks like an alder of some kind poss greyalder though not sure
Grey alder certainly seems a possibility: http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/5Alder.htm
Wierd, it seems to be heart shaped at the base but more spear shaped overall. In my reference book, it looks like none of the species mentioned so far, not 100 percent anyway although there are strong similarities to most. Trees are difficult!