Identification: Do you know this plant?

Hello again.

The birds planted this for me and I have no idea what it is. ID would be much appreciated. I am in Kelowna.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

Cheers,
Sue

 

Well, I'll say it is likely something in the Asteraceae or sunflower family.

It bears a strong resemblance to members of the genera Ambrosia (ragweeds) and Artemisia (wormwoods and sagebrushes), but I'm not able to match the leaf shape to any of the illustrations in either of the Illustrated Flora of BC or accompanying illustrations to Manual of Plants of the Northeast.

So, I'm either likely wrong with those guesses, or else it is something that only rarely takes root as an annual plant from bird seed (as you indicated re: birds doing the planting)

 

Thanks, Daniel, for your reply. I guess I am not much closer to knowing what this is. I looked at the names you suggested but am unable to find anything that matches. Any other suggestions?

Anybody else??

Cheers,
Sue

 

I know it's not Perilla frutescens or shiso. The leaves really remind me of shiso, but not the flowers and seed head. The seed head looks very much like amaranth or chenopodia, but the leaves are not what I'd expect with either family.

What does a crushed leaf smell like? What does the stem feel like? Can you pick out some seed, probably from the bottom of the seed head? It will probably have chaff, or drying green covering it, but you might be able to see the shape of a mature seed, or the color if it's mature enough. Those could help with identifying.

If you have been using a seed mix for wildlife, it probably came from there. I've identified many growing things in the past from lists of bird seed mixes. I usually have a sunflower or three each year from neighbors' feeding stations, in addition to millet and thistle.

 

Well, my next attempt is Iva xanthifolia (now known as Cyclachaena xanthiifolia)

A few more photos here from Oregon State University

I was looking through Bird Seed Aliens in Britain for a list of possibilities, though I do also note that this species is found in British Columbia (listed as "introduced from the western US")

 

The one Gary Fewless picture looks just like the plant in question.

http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/b...hifolia Nutt.&phog=Gary Fewless&spcode=IVAXAN

 

Thank you all so much for your help with this.

Extra special thanks to Daniel - he's nailed it!!! Finally this plant has a name. I was driving myself nuts trying to figure it out - kept looking at the six bird-planted sunflowers in my veggie garden and thinking they must be related but somehow not coming up with anything even close on the Net.

So ... another question for you all ... what do I do now? Is there anyone who would have an interest in the fact this plant has seeded itself in my flower bed? Are there records kept and is this one of importance? I looked at the EFlora map and see there is a record for Osoyoos and for Monte Creek (their dot is in the wrong place on the map) and this has me questioning the relevance of my plant.

If it is of interest, what do I do next? I went out and took more pics of it and would be happy to send these to anyone that might care. Your advice is appreciated as I do not have a clue who to send them to.

I see I also have two more "loners" in the same area as this plant which I do not recognize and would appreciate help with those. They look nothing like this plant. Should I add them to this thread or start new threads for each?

The time, effort and research you folks put into this site is very much appreciated.
Thank you.

Cheers,
Sue

 

Better to start a new thread for new IDs.

Given the distribution of dots on e-flora BC (n, e, s, and w of Kelowna), I suspect there would probably be little interest in having another record other than the sake of completeness. That said, you may want to become an e-flora photographer and add your images of the species, as they currently have none in their database.