I have been waiting all season for this to bloom, hoping it would be identifiable in my wildflower book, but it has grown QUITE tall (approx 5') and is overshading my Sedum. There are a few others, but none as tall or bushy as this one. The stems are covered in thick white fuzz, and the leaves smell nice when I rub them in my fingers (a sharp earthy smell?)
Any ideas?
My location is in the western mountains of Maine, zone 4.
This message was edited Jul 20, 2008 4:37 PM
I have those, too. Always thought it was some kind of weed, been pulling them up.
It looks familiar, but I don't have a name for it. Sorry.
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/weeds/weed.asp?mugwort Could this be what you have? Here is a link to some pics of common weeds. http://njaes.rutgers.edu/weeds/weed.asp?mugwort
Liz: Looks real familiar to me too, but I can't place it either. I sent the photo over to Wildman Steve Brill, the foraging expert, and asked if he could ID it. I will let you know. It certainly is NOT mugwort. If it was me, I wouldn't pull it till I have an ID. I did this with something that was growing here, and it turns out I was right to resist the pull - I have several fine stands of Jewelweed - nature's antidote to Poison Ivy et al., skin rashes, and certain other skin conditions!
Is Steve Brill the guy who advocates eating PI to develop immunity to the rash?
Victor: Don't know about that, never heard it before. BUT, he is the NY region's (and possibly country's) foremost expert on foraging for edible and medicinal wild plants. I am trying to arrange to bring him up the Hudson Valley next year for a foraging tour. I am hoping that many DG'ers will be able to attend!
Liz - can you please send the photo to wildman@wildmanstevebrill.com? he likely will be able to identify it. I cannot legally upload the image.
Liz...managed to get the pic to Wildman Steve and he is of the opinion that this is indeed, mugwort. Do the undersides look whitish and a bit hairy?
Yes, the undersides are covered in a bit of white fuzz... the Mugwort identification I have found online matches for all except that my plant has a green stem, and apparently mugwort has a reddish purple stem. Also, I just returned from visiting a friend out on the coast, and she had this as well in her field - however with her plant, it looked like the old flower stalks from last year were still sticking out in places, and the dried remains appear to have been a a pretty bushy flower (elongated cluster form?) Her plant was definitely over 6 feet also, so now my plant seems small!
Here is a close up of the stem, and the undersides of some leaf is somewhat visible...I guess I would want to describe the undersides as more "fuzzy" than "whitish."
this one does not have a purple stem....
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/artvulgaris.htm
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/partemvulga.htm
