Asked on Jul 31, 2013
Please, can someone tell me the name of this plant?
by
Zee
+32
I found this plant growing in one of my beds. I really think I may have planted it years ago, but for some reason it decided to come up and confuse me this year. I vaguely remember gathering seeds from this plant about 15 years ago. A gardener friend of mine says she would pull it up if it were in her garden...well, it is a good thing I am not her, cause I like it even if it is considered a weed.
It is tall with small sunflower like flower heads.
you can see the seeds on the stem in the lower part of this photo.
33 answers
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Looks very much like a weed to me
Leevers
on Jul 31, 2013
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Well, it sure may be a weed, but as I said I like it and it really does offer a bit of color to a tough Texas landscape. I am thinking I will gather the seeds and plant on my old "Boot Hill" next spring.
Zee
on Jul 31, 2013
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Im not sure but I like it.
Marvin R
on Jul 31, 2013
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@Zee if you like it then you should keep it. I have done that a few times here in Florida with varied results: at times right and at other times wrong. Sometimes we must wait until we are sure about a plant being good or bad - until then - Let it Be. Overall I find the info on HT is correct.
Sherrie S
on Jul 31, 2013
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Zee, I've been trying to find this online for at least an hour. I've seen them and had to pick the stickers/seeds from clothes, especially the kids' socks, but I have never known the name of it! Of course, it's your call, but if it were in my yard, I would yank it.
Marilyn Highley
on Jul 31, 2013
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If it blooms, its a flower, depends on where u live!
Laura
on Jul 31, 2013
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Looks like a Tomatillo to me
Sooziof Seattle
on Jul 31, 2013
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I've looked and looked and agree with Rhonda, with the "Bidens". There are lots of different ones. That word "Bidens" applies - "bi" means two, and "den" means teeth. See those sticker-y seeds that look like little "Y"s, or forks, or two teeth? It seems to fit. Anyway, it was fun to look to see if I could figure out your question. I hope someone gives you "THE" answer. :-)
Marilyn Highley
on Aug 01, 2013
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I had a bunch of these come up and thought they must be flowers--then someone told me from the HOA to pull them all out because they were a type of dandylion weed
GeeJudy
on Aug 02, 2013
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I think it is a weed too, but if you like it keep it and just keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn't take over, what the heck!!
Colleen Novosel
on Aug 02, 2013
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looks like a Yellow Marigold
Lisa Midgett-Brown
on Aug 02, 2013
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My Dad was a gardener for the City for 35 years. His thoughts, anything can be a flower or a weed. If you like it then it is not a weed. :)
Cathleen Matelli
on Aug 02, 2013
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A weed is nothing but an unwanted flower!
Darlene Mapes
on Aug 02, 2013
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Traveler seeds that hitchhikes on clothes or animal fur.. we call them "hitchhikers" or beggar ticks. My grandmother (a southern gardener) always talked to her plants sayin...I'm not feedin these hitchhikers.. so she pulled and burned the weeds...
Joan deMontmollin
on Aug 02, 2013
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I truly believe it to be a weed. But if you like it just let it stay. Janelle Wakefield Thousand Oaks, Ca.
Janelle Wakefield
on Aug 02, 2013
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Yes weed. Those little sticker get in my dogs fur/hair and almost impossible to get our unless I cut them. I pull as soon as I see them.
MaryAnn B
on Aug 02, 2013
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YES! Weed!
Cathy W
on Aug 02, 2013
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I don't think it is Bidens. One of the better ways to id flowers is to count the number of petals. How many petals does it have? Are the leaves alternate or opposite?
Fran Barrett
on Aug 02, 2013
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I think it is Mexican mint marigold do you have a picture with the flower blooming?
April E
on Aug 02, 2013
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in Tennessee, we call it beggar lice.
Renee
on Aug 02, 2013
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doesn't look like our Tx beggars lice but I don't know what else it is either. 😰
Lynn
on Aug 02, 2013
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Could it be Spanish Needle? It looks like Bidens Pilosa- family Asteraceae. Commonly called beggar-ticks, cobbler's pegs or Spanish needle.
Betty Fancher
on Aug 02, 2013
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Looks like "stick-tights". a weed in Texas. Don't know what it's botanical name would be.
Judy
on Aug 02, 2013
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It almost looks like Jerusalem Artichoke
Patti Fitz-Gerald
on Aug 02, 2013
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Thanks to everyone for your comments. I checked the bed where this mystery plant/ weed lives this evening. They seem to be standing taller, I think they know we are talking about them and they have decided to stand straight and proud. They are few in number, so I have decided to leave them alone. The consensus seems to be they are weeds and most likely annoying ones. Since I live where the recent daily temperature has been hovering around 106 and most plants are screaming "Help", these little "beggars" are lookin' good. I have lived in Texas for almost forty years and every Spring I forget what July will bring, so I plant and plant and plant some more. Unless you have a full time gardener and can afford to constantly replace the plants in your beds or have a great affinity for cactus and lantana, then you might me like me and fall in love with anything that has a bloom and does not require hours of watering. Sometimes I think( esp when watering at nine in the evening when the temp drops to a cool 89 degrees) that the word "Condo" sounds pretty good. A small patio with a few potted geraniums and ground ivy. This thought only lasts until I see the Moonflowers opening and get a whiff of their delectable fragrance as they lean toward the forget-me-nots bobbing their little invasive heads in rhythm to the sprinkles from my trusty water hose. I guess by now you get the idea invasives are my friends. You would be right. www.zazzyzee.blogspot.com
Zee
on Aug 02, 2013
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we called them sticktights in wisconsin too! or - my family did!
Kari Samuel
on Aug 02, 2013
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As my Grandpa used to say..yank it out..if it comes back..it was a weed. A weed is defined as any "unwanted" plant..so if you want it, it's a flower not a weed.
Susan Butler
on Aug 02, 2013
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a reminder as to what a dandelion looks like -
Jocelyne marchand
on Aug 03, 2013
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one persons wed is another persons flower.. and vise versa... One interesting analogy I heard as to how to tell if its a weed or not is to "Pull Everything in the bed up, and if it comes back It's a weed!!! I like goldenrod but its a weed, or some say it is.. I like to call it a wildflower!! Who knows.. If you like it let it grow... IF it becomes too overbearing/overpowering for the space take it out.
Buster Evans
on Aug 03, 2013
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Buster---I agree.
Zee
on Aug 03, 2013
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i was told that a weed is just a misguided flower!
Kari Samuel
on Aug 05, 2013
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great comment Kari. Love it as I am a bit misguided myself:-).
Zee
on Aug 05, 2013
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may be a weed but.....Every Weed is a Misplaced Flower
Robin F
on Aug 05, 2013
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