Monday, April 4, 2011

Can You Identify This Plant? Round 1

Hello my lovelies and welcome to the first round of 'Can You Identify This Plant?' As I've explained in a few previous posts, a lot of the plants that are in my backyard are of un-named mystery to me. I'll post photos of a few of the plants in my yard and if you know what they are, let me know. Edited to add I'm in zone 7, Northwestern South Carolina. I've also added a few more photos, per reader requests!

Unknown Plant #1: Has been Identified! Painted Buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica)






This one is a fairly tall tree, a little over 7 feet tall. It has fairly smooth bark. The last photo shows that it's begun to bloom in the few days since I originally posted this entry.

Unknown Plant #2: We believe to be a type of Ligustrom.





This one is a large shrub. The leaves are thick and waxy while green but turn a tan/brown as they dry and fall off and have the consistency of a kettle cooked potato chip.

Unknown Plant #3: Has been identified! Variegated Japanese Maple.






This one is a wee little tree growing near the house. It stands only about 2 - 3 feet tall and has smooth bark.

Thanks so much for playing along! This will not only help with labeling my photos, but also in the care of the plants. I'll be back soon enough with Round 2.

P.S. Thank you everyone for the thoughts, wishes, candles and prayers for my eye health. I've been a bit mum on the subject, as well as in general, as when I'm upset that's just what I do. As of right now, things are the same as they were on Wednesday. I continue to have blurry vision and no pain; trying to keep my thoughts as positive as I can right now. I see the specialist Friday.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

21 comments:

  1. The TravelerApril 4, 2011 at 3:20 PM

    Plant #1 looks like a Hula Plant to me...but then I know nothing of plants and am not sure it really exists, though a swear it was in a really old cartoon...

    ReplyDelete
  2. starrduskApril 4, 2011 at 3:22 PM

    For the 3rd, one, could it ba a Fuschia plant...does it look like this?

    http://www.google.com/images?q=fuschia+plant&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1139&bih=515

    ReplyDelete
  3. starrduskApril 4, 2011 at 3:23 PM

    I'm betting on it, but it needs some food!

    ReplyDelete
  4. starrduskApril 4, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    Number 2; does it flower?

    ReplyDelete
  5. RóisínApril 4, 2011 at 4:25 PM

    Sorry, I'm a bit useless at this sort of thing! I've a friend who's a nature conservationist and she'd be great at this, but sadly she's sans internet at the moment. Anyway, #4 looks a lot like withered fuscia. We used to call it honeysuckle when we where kids because if you pull off the back of the flowers and suck out the sap inside it tastes like honey! Apparently if you suckle enough of them it has a euphoric quality, though I've never actually tested the theory. Why not go out and have a wee taste?

    ReplyDelete
  6. RóisínApril 4, 2011 at 4:25 PM

    Sorry, meant #3!

    ReplyDelete
  7. witchesbrewApril 4, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    plant one looks like a sumac of some kind?

    plant 2 still pondering on that one, and plant number 3 weigelia?

    I could help better if you could take a picture of the whole plant as well, like from far away enough to see it. Also what zone do you live in?

    ReplyDelete
  8. DanniApril 4, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Good point, witchesbrew. I'll head out tomorrow morning and take some full plant shots.

    I'm in hardiness zone 7; northwestern South Carolina.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AndréannApril 4, 2011 at 8:23 PM

    All those plants looks very exotic to me! Sorry Danni, I'm no help at all!

    ReplyDelete
  10. kijjetApril 4, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    Gosh, number 2 looks familiar. I think I might have had that or something similar in the backyard of a rental property I stayed at for a year. That was in North Cali though and I never bothered to learn the name. Sorry! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  11. HeathenApril 4, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    I'm absolutely horrible with plants! I tend to kill them (hence the artificial kind for decorating). They all look maddeningly familiar to me though.

    ReplyDelete
  12. OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirtsApril 4, 2011 at 10:12 PM

    okay so this is where my head is....I thought the title of the post was "can you identify this planet......" OM. poor olde woman. and I'm not help with the plants either. LMAO, TOB

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mad Madam MelApril 5, 2011 at 5:15 AM

    could number 1 possibly be what we in blighty call a conker tree (horse chestnut)
    and number three looks like a perenial fushia bush :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. SarahApril 5, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    #1 looks like a staghorn sumac
    #2 looks like a rhododendron of some sort maybe??
    #3 possibly a crab apple?

    ReplyDelete
  15. JeanneApril 5, 2011 at 8:43 AM

    I was a Master Gardener in Louisiana and helped the 4H kids ID plants for state competitions.

    I would say that Plant #1 belongs to the Sumac family. Those blooms will turn into gorgeous berries come Autumn. Some Sumac can be poison (like poison ivy or poison oak) and can cause a rash when you come in contact with it.

    Plant #2 is a Waxleaf Ligustrom. It will bloom with a large cluster of white flowers. many people are allergic to Ligustrom.

    Plant #3 is a Maple tree - possibly a variegated variety by looking at the different color around the leaf edges. Or the leaves could be 'burned' from a late frost. The "blossoms" that you are seeing will turn into the seeds.

    Now I could be wrong...I do my best plant ID work in person.
    A good source of plant info would be your local County Extension Office. Or even a Master Gardener's group.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jenna GayleApril 6, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    I'm not sure on #1 and #3, as I've not seen anything like that down here. But, I agree with Jeanne about #2, definitely ligustrum! They're pretty easy to make cuttings from, too. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to them, but I think she may know a little more about it than I do!

    ReplyDelete
  17. rachaelApril 8, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    #2 is a desert rose: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenium it has lovely flowers that usually bloom mid to late summer.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Magaly GuerreroApril 8, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    I think you already know this, but I'll tell you anyway: daisy. I identify with its simplicity, beauty and hidden powers. I love that it can grow virtually anywhere and that at the end of the day it is actually a weed; a survivor ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Theresa MacNaughtonApril 8, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    They are simply gorgeous...wish I could help you out. But it looks like some other visitors have helped in that arena. :) Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  20. Magaly GuerreroApril 15, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    After checking around, I'm convinced that I have no idea what any of the plants are *sigh* Have you figured it out yet? I'm dying here...

    ReplyDelete
  21. JeanneApril 15, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    Plant #1 - I'm still thinking a variety of Sumac. There are so many and I'm only familiar with a couple.... and their blooms aren't quite like those you show on your tree.

    Plant #2 - I'm still thinking this is a ligustrom. A link... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=Ligustrum+japonicum&Search=Search+PlantFiles

    Plant #3 - Variegated Japanese Maple. Here's a link with photos on the right side of page http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/78236/

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)