An Intriguing Mystery for the Plant Detectives
There have been a number of mysterious plant capers making the rounds and being investigated here at Veggie Gardening Tips lately.
First there was the mix up between the look alike collard and cauliflower seedlings, then the case of the faux eggplants. Now there’s a new report of an unknown plant cropping up uninvited in a Northern Wisconsin gardener’s backyard!
The Latest Plant to Hit the Veggie Gardening Tips Most Wanted List
I don’t have a clue on this one, so Tamara and I are hoping that someone out there can shed a little light on the identity and culture of this rugged and vigorous looking plant. First a little background:
“I was on your website and saw that you were familiar with volunteer garden plants. Any idea what this plant is? I have ten of them growing in the garden.”
“I thought they were tomato plants since they showed up in a row spaced out where last year tomatoes were. I thought specifically maybe Thessolonikki. But they don’t smell at all like tomato plants. Thanks in advance.”
A Rather Shady Looking Mystery Plant Resists Detection
And here’s the suspects lineup; we’re looking for a positive ID on this one and any additional background information will be appreciated and used to determine the fate of this mysterious volunteer in Tamara’s garden. Click on the images to get a closer look at the culprit.
With a quick glance at the first photo of the leaf close up I was ready to close the case and label this as some type of squash plant. That was until I saw the next full length shot; no way that’s a squash plant. It’s growing upward more like a coneflower or Jerusalem Artichoke plant, but that’s not it either.
A Difficult Cold Case that this Organic Gardener Can’t Solve
Now what really threw me was the close up of the stem in the last photo. Those do look a bit like suckers growing off of a tomato plant, but it can’t be a tomato, or even a tomatillo plant! I have to throw my hands up on this one but I sure hope someone out there can shed some light on this mystery.
I’m also wishing for this unidentified plant to turn out to be an innocent non-invasive. If it produces an attractive flower or a tasty edible fruit or tuber, that’s all the better. And if it happens to be especially nutritious or medicinal, that would be the ultimate reward for vegetable gardeners everywhere.
On the other hand if it is poisonous, invasive, unruly, noxious, or otherwise undesirable, at least Tamara will know exactly what to do with it next. And of course if no one out there can identify this plant then Tamara gets to name it and Veggie Gardening Tips will share in the credit of an awesome new botanical discovery!
So please help us out by sharing your insight in the comments below and let’s put this mystery to rest. Thanks!
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June 30th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Could it be okra? If it blooms a whitish flower that resembles a hibiscus…I’d say okra.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:23 am
It looks like [i]Ambrosia trifida[/i] ‘giant ragweed’ to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_trifida
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I agree with Andrew, it looks like giant ragweed, in Indiana we call it horseweed. Here it usually starts to bloom in mid to late July through the fall. The plants can get huge if left alone. As far as I know there are no uses for it.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
It is a weed! There are millions of them here in England that usually camp out next to railway sidings.
July 5th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I vote for Okra – the stem is squared off and fuzzy, and the leaves have 5 points.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
[...] post here last week sought the identity of a mysterious plant that was growing wild in a Wisconsin gardener’s backyard. Well the plant has been identified by [...]
July 19th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Looks like a mole plant, my mom has them in her garden to deter moles.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I agree with nangy, looks like a caster bean family. my grandmother always grew it to deter moles. But sometimes it has more burgandy colors on the stock.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I certainly know them by site! I’m constantly pulling them up all over the place. They come up in the brocolli, squash, tomatoes, roses, daisies! It is definitely not tomatilla, I grow them and there are much smaller and laden with “halloween lamps.” They are called “weeds.”