Can anyone identify this plant for me? UPDATE 7/1

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:50 am

Several weeks ago I placed some very old flower seeds in our flowerbed.
The seeds were poppy, cleome (spider flower), and cornflower (bachelor button).
I've found over 15 seedlings that have sprouted but I'm now having
trouble identifying which flowers they may be and I'm not having much
luck on web searches. At first I was excited to think they were poppy
seedlings but after finding some seedling pix on my web searches I am
starting to doubt that possibility.

They do not look like cornflower seedlings either so I'm leaning towards
them being cleome. I don't know how many gardeners we have here
but hopefully someone will recognize it.

Click here for a larger version of the above picture.

graymouser · Post by **graymouser** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:18 am

I have no idea, but I am also pretty sure they are not poppies. Poppies are pretty common out here. That seedling looks completely different.

Here is a California poppy seedling from my backyard.

Your plant looks nice and healthy though. I hope someone here can ID it.

Post by **sensei** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:26 pm

Definitely not cleome either. This link is to a gardener's blog that has a good photo of a seedling cleome.

http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/2007/ ... to-ya.html

As you can see, cleome has a very distinctive 5-lobed leaf that doesn't fit yours at all.

It looks a little like a watermelon seedling to me. Did you put home-made compost on your garden plot? We always got some volunteer veggies in our composted ground, including watermelon.

rallihir · Post by **rallihir** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:41 pm

It almost looks like the beginning of mission fig tree. However, it would have to have a woody stem.

Post by **sensei** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:26 pm

From this website:

http://www.coldclimategardening.com/200 ... ts-go-bad/

... it looks like you might have Malva alcea or hollyhock mallow. The Malva alcea seedling in the top right of the second photo (click on it to enlarge) is a pretty close match for your mystery plant.

Another good possibility is the closely related Malva moschata or musk mallow. Here's some good shots of this species:

http://popgen.unimaas.nl/~jlindsey/comm ... chata.html

Both species come from Europe where they were brought over and grown in immigrants' flower gardens and the seeds passed along from gardener to gardener. Unfortunately they both tend to make a zillion seeds that remain viable in the soil for many years to come, and so both are called "weedy pests" on some websites. (I like the Japanese preference for the term "wild plants.")

Good news: Both are closely related to the cultivated hollyhock and they both make a pretty flower. Musk mallow also has (as the name indicates) a nice smell, both leaf and flower.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:22 am

I received the same type of reply from a flora message board. So these plants might have come from the last tenant that lived in this apartment last year before we moved in. It's a bit disappointing that my seeds never sprout.

The only other plants in the flowerbed are some yellow and orange marigolds I purchased as young plants that are starting to take off really well. I also have another flowerbed with herbs. I will probably concentrate more on the herbs for now until the little seedlings pop out more.

Thanks for the help.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:20 am

I thought I would post a little update about the plant.
I found out it is called a Venice Mallow. Its first flower just popped
out this morning and now a couple hours later the petals
have already fallen off. I guess it really is called "the Flower of an Hour".
I'm happy I managed to take it's picture before it wilted away.
You can click on the pic below for a larger view.

I haven't noticed any other flowers popping up around our apartment
complex like this with the exception of the Common Mallow with it's
pale lavender flowers which are a little smaller than this one.
This little flower is so cute I may just collect some seeds from it
for planting in planters next year.

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:21 am

"the Flower of an Hour" is a nice name.

Nene · Post by **Nene** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:22 am

Cute flower, shame it doesn't last for long.

I would have had some wild Foxgloves here if my dad hadn't mistaken the leaves for weeds and got rid of them all. x.x

RoboFlonne · Post by **RoboFlonne** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:12 pm

Sugarflower wrote:I thought I would post a little update about the plant.

Very pretty flower!!!

Too bad it only lasts for a few hours!

Post by **sensei** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:37 am

Congratulations, sugarflower! The mallow family has lots of good plants (including okra, which has a flower very much like yours) and I'm glad that you're planning to save it rather than getting out the Roundup jug and spritzing left and right to eliminate the "weed infestation."

A weed is just a wildflower that's chosen its own garden bed in which to bloom. I feel like I've done this my entire working life, which is why the PPGZ "We're Not Weeds" episode is such a favorite of mine.