Found this weed in the tortoise garden (U.S.)

[Oxalis]

Hello again from Michigan!

Hope you are doing well. My tortoise garden is growing like crazy so it's already time to weed again. Any idea what this little guy is? What I assume are seeds look almost like a money plant/honesty (Lunaria annua) on a smaller scale.

[Nina]

Hi Mekie,

Great to hear from you. It' really hard to say, partly because it's always more difficult to ID a plant if it isn't growing in the ground (it's important to see how it comes out of the ground, if there are leaves at its base, etc.). Ahh, so those are seed pods -- I thought it was odd that the bottom leaves were a bit serrated and long and pointy and then they became more round or heart shaped as they got further up the stem. Were there any flowers? It looks like there might be some flower buds at the top, but the plant is wilting and I can't really see them well.

I don't think it's Lunaria as your leaves are narrower, and the seed pods of Lunaria are round/oval and yours seem to be heart-shaped, with a little dip where the stalk joins the seed pod. I will have a look though and let you know if I find anything. Hopefully Lin will come on with some ideas soon.

Nina

[lin]

Hi Mekie

I have a feeling this is defiantley a brassica plant and might be Pennycress or Alysum. We dont have pennycress on the database but we do have Alysum and plenty of other brassicas which all contain goitrogens and the advise is to only feed in moderation.
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... nt=320&c=5
Hope you can match either of these to your plant.
Lin
Sorry Mikie. I have has to come in adjust this because I had put Pennywort and meant Pennycress.
Here is a photo of the seeds and plant
[attachment=1]pennycress2.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]fpen2.jpg[/attachment]





Oxalis wrote:
> Hello again from Michigan!
>
> Hope you are doing well. My tortoise garden is growing like crazy so it's
> already time to weed again. Any idea what this little guy is? What I assume
> are seeds look almost like a money plant/honesty (Lunaria annua) on a
> smaller scale.[attachment=1]

[Nina]

I agree with Lin that Pennycress is a good bet, and it could be Hoary Cress too. Here are links to two sites with lots of photos and let us know what you think:
Hoary Cress Here is our entry for it https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... yEsYyAnaM8 and here is another entry https://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subj ... l?sub=5232
Pennycress: https://webs.anokaramsey.edu/biofuel/bi ... fo_NEW.htm

Nina

[Oxalis]

Thank you both for the input; I think you're right on the nose with pennycress! Apologies for not getting a photo of the plant in the ground. I was weeding the tortoise garden first, and the intent to photography came after. Of course, by the time I retrieved in the camera in our summer humidity, the plant was already wilting.

I also have this plant which comes back every summer in Steve's garden (attached). I've probably posted it before, but I should actually remember what it is this time so I can fully remove its roots if needed. I found a couple options in our Michigan wildflower books: bounching bet (Saponaria officinalis) or white campion (Silene alba). Steve pays no attention to it, so I assume it's not part of his diet, but obviously it would have to be removed if it contains saponins.

[Nina]

I think it is one of the Silene genus. Could well be Silene alba, but there are quite a few species of Silene that grow in Michigan -- here's a link to a discussion of some of them https://michiganflora.net/genus.aspx?id=silene and another https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/f ... te-campion

I can't quite see the petals clearly enough in your photo, but do some of the petals look almost as if it was two petals that have fused together (so there are sort of two scallops at the top)? Here's a link to a page with some photos of the flowers, showing what I mean: https://plantsam.com/silene-latifolia/
And here' a link to our entry for Silene https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... ydaPyAnaM8

Nina

[lin]

Yes, you are 100% correct Oxalis. Its Campion and as Nina has given you our entry for it here it is again showing its a no feed because of the saponin. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... ydaPyAnaM8

Lin

Oxalis wrote:
> Thank you both for the input; I think you're right on the nose with
> pennycress! Apologies for not getting a photo of the plant in the ground. I
> was weeding the tortoise garden first, and the intent to photography came
> after. Of course, by the time I retrieved in the camera in our summer
> humidity, the plant was already wilting.
>
> I also have this plant which comes back every summer in Steve's garden
> (attached). I've probably posted it before, but I should actually remember
> what it is this time so I can fully remove its roots if needed. I found a
> couple options in our Michigan wildflower books: bounching bet (Saponaria
> officinalis) or white campion (Silene alba). Steve pays no attention to it,
> so I assume it's not part of his diet, but obviously it would have to be
> removed if it contains saponins.

[Oxalis]

Rockin'! Thank you very much for all your help!

Steve also says hello in his strange little way!

[Nina]

Ha, ha --we love Steve's strange little ways! My Doris and Dolly send their regards to Steve (in their somewhat eccentric English way).

Nina

[Oxalis]

Awww, lovely! Thank you to Doris and Dolly! Hope the gardening conditions are fantastic this year!