Plant ID PLEASE!

Shaley
by Shaley
the leaves are velvety, and have wavy edges. here is a picture. my friend let me have them from her new place in Jacksboro, TN. I was hoping for Mullen but it's not that.

  30 answers
  • Cynthia Whitney Cynthia Whitney on Jul 08, 2017

    It would be easier if you could see the stem, too. How big is it? Looks almost like burdock which is something she definitely does not want! But it's hard to tell with the color washout from the direct sun and with no size reference.

    • See 1 previous
    • Cynthia Whitney Cynthia Whitney on Jul 10, 2017

      OK, you've got me on this one! I know a lot of plants but there are a lot more that I don't know. I guess she just waits to see if it blooms and them she can decide if she wants it. Could be some kind of "sunflower" like Prairie Dock but it doesn't match my pictures. I have prairie dock and it grows from the base like that with big leaves (a foot or more long) and 10-foot flower stems. I've flipped through my books and can't match it.

  • Elaine Hassen Elaine Hassen on Jul 08, 2017

    perhaps it is dusty Miller.

  • Ben27240464 Ben27240464 on Jul 08, 2017

    I'm thinking dusty miller

  • Elaine Elaine on Jul 08, 2017

    I tend to agree with Cynthia Whitney ... it really resembles Burdock. Google "photos of Burdock" and that might help you. Are the leaves more velvet-like underneath the leaves? Re Elaine Hassen's suggestion of Dusty Miller, I've never seen it that large looking but again, perhaps it only looks large in the photos. Can you tell us the size of the leaves?

    • See 2 previous
    • Shaley Shaley on Jul 09, 2017

      Velvety on both side, it was coming in early spring, young they cut them down last year and they told us it got a lot bigger. one leave was almost the size of my hand, so lets say 4 by 5 inches. It must have been there a long time because the mother plant root was about 3 inches in Dia. Cut through very easy. This plant s in Jacksboro, Upper east TN.

  • Patty Smith Patty Smith on Jul 08, 2017

    I have the same plant and its Dusty Miller.

  • Wally seeley Wally seeley on Jul 08, 2017

    it is NOT NOT Dusty Miller!!!!!!! Dusty Miller is in the Family of Artemisia and is Silver white with small 2.5 inch deeply cut leaves and in the second year gets small fluffy yellow flowers.. I do think it's Burdock as stated before

    • See 3 previous
    • Wally seeley Wally seeley on Jul 08, 2017

      Don't be snippent, I am a Rutgers University Certified Master Gardener. I was merely stating that people in different areas have names and call things like Dusty Miller" when actually it isn't!

  • Mary Bellel Mary Bellel on Jul 08, 2017

    ??? maybe African Violets, my Mom grew them, I can't. ?????

  • Twoquala Stevens Twoquala Stevens on Jul 08, 2017

    Burdock.

  • Ejjemom0612 Ejjemom0612 on Jul 08, 2017

    Not dusty miller!

  • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Jul 08, 2017

    Yep, NOT even close to dusty Miller.

  • Del18301319 Del18301319 on Jul 08, 2017

    Looking at the pics above. Dusty Miller has very deep serrated leaves and this plant does seam some what serrated but seems more ruffled and long. When in doubt, check it out when it flowers. Burdock and Dusty Miller have different growing behaviors.

  • Joa24177084 Joa24177084 on Jul 08, 2017

    Not Dusty Miller!!!!!

  • Del18301319 Del18301319 on Jul 08, 2017

    Oh, don't forget, different species may really change the look of a leaf or how the flowers form on a plant. I live in NJ, and do lots of wild crafting. I visit GA all the time. If I have to give someone change, when I pull my hand out of my purse, 99% of the time a bud, seed or some matter of herb treasure is going to fall out of my purse. Just another way of a species that grow in one place can most easily show up somewhere else. Not to say how many pants have many species grow in the same area.

  • Margaret Harvey Margaret Harvey on Jul 08, 2017

    It's a weed!

  • Ceceilia Robinson Ceceilia Robinson on Jul 08, 2017

     This is the under side of Burdock.

    • Shaley Shaley on Jul 12, 2017

      it is the topside of the leaves. I managed to get one root to live the others died due to heat and dried out without me knowing it. I will try to get another picture of what survived. it is very small but still living.

  • Linda Stephens Linda Stephens on Jul 08, 2017

    It could possibly be a Begonia , most varieties have the wavy edges and some have the velvety feel to the leaves. Or perhaps a Geranium. You could just take a leaf to a local nursery, they could probably identify it for you.

  • Landsharkinnc Landsharkinnc on Jul 08, 2017

    Any plant/garden/crop ??? Check out:

    Https://ask.extension.org

  • Pat Pat on Jul 08, 2017


    Don't laugh but it sort of looks like rhubarb....need to see the stalks. Otherwise, I am thinking a weed.

  • 9530106 9530106 on Jul 08, 2017

    http://www.floretflowers.com/shop/dusty-miller/ There are different cultivars, and this is newer one.


  • Patty Miller Patty Miller on Jul 08, 2017

    Not dusty miller, leaves resemble Gerbera daisy leaves but I am more inclined to say it's weed.

  • 27488865 27488865 on Jul 08, 2017

    I weed is a plant that no one has figured out a way to make it useful. It is not helpful as an identifier.

  • Gama Gama on Jul 09, 2017

    Burdock that is what I was thinking also. You do NOT want to plant that.

  • Gainorhillegass Gainorhillegass on Jul 09, 2017

    I am certain this is Burdock , common in PA where we used to live, but not in FL. Here is a link with a slideshow of Burdock. It is edible (artichoke flavor) and highly medicinal. This articles explains the properties of the plant , how to prepare and eat it. It's a surprise guest in our gardens, but beneficial.

    http://www.ediblewildfood.com/burdock.aspx

  • Gainorhillegass Gainorhillegass on Jul 09, 2017

    I used to work in garden centers and greenhouses in PA, as well as lived on a 80 acre spread of nursery, orchard, woods, open fields. Burdock has fuzzy leaves, rippled around the edges, can grow 3-6 feet and is a perennial. This plant is not dusty miller, nor rhubarb. I used to grow both. There is no such thing as a useless weed. In nature, everything has a purpose, if only to balance out other things. I do companion planting, and I use natural ground covers for beauty and as living mulch to protect vegetables and flowers from hot sun, until they can shade themselves. My yard has virtually no grass. It's a mowable mixture of wildflowers with pretty tiny flowers of all colors. When I bought this place, there were tall Kalanchoes growing around a Sumatran Date Palm. I had never seen this variety. I researched and found them to be from Columbia, where the former owners were from. This plant is considered to be an invasive species in other countries. Horses in Hawaii can get sick from munching on it. But it is medicinal for arthritis. It's is a handsome tall plant with blooms that start off looking like little pink/green striped watermelons. Later, a pink flower opens up from the bottom. Very exotic looking. I enjoy things I plant on purpose and welcome things that grow wild. I certainly want the wildflowers that attract bees, butterflies and birds for pollination.. Main point: all plants are useful. If you want something out of your garden, transplant or pot it up. I have done that with wild grasses. Wild plants are usually hardy and make attractive accents to a patio, path, border. My neighbor's yards are very neat, but sparse. Mine is a tropical green paradise of self-caring mixtures of wild and domestic plants.

  • Shaley Shaley on Jul 09, 2017

    I harvested the plants . they were growing in a cluster. they had short stalks to the leaves and it stinks. the roots were think like, almost like a carrot but bigger around. the under side were slightly lighter in color.

  • Kim 'Kiewatt' Waknitz Kim 'Kiewatt' Waknitz on Jul 09, 2017

    It looks like a weed that grows in "wild" areas here in Southern Mn. Smaller leaves then rhubarb and "fuzzy".

  • 19698379 19698379 on Jul 10, 2017

    It kind of looks like kale. Those look like the bottom side of the leaves. Can we see the top side? That might help.

  • Sabina Sabina on Jul 11, 2017

    This is burdock, or as we sicilians refer to this delicacy as "cardoons". The stems are edible, the leaves are not.

  • Shaley Shaley on Jul 22, 2017

    You are correct, I found it to be just that. But there must be a smooth leaf burdock too, because we have had burdock in our yards before and it was smooth.