I should probably know what this is, but I don't. I have quite a few of these coming up in a small woodland under tall oaks and maples. Fast-grwoing -- it's almost 3 feet tall here in New England.
It looks like a bramble, or even poison ivy, but I don't think so.
(Sorry if I should have put this in plant id forum, but it's invasive in my yard!)
This message was edited Jun 16, 2007 4:48 PM
Eesh, that looks so familiar. I'm pretty sure that's in the Asteraceae family. I'm sort of leaning toward that being a Eupatorium of some sort even though most of the leaves in that genus are more narrow. You may have to wait for one to bloom but I'll go poke around a little bit.
I think it's going to be a native plant and probably not an invasive but too much of a good thing can be too much of a good thing and I've spent quite a few hours outside today hand pulling a boatload of native asters that were far too weedy for my liking.
Oh oh oh! I was real close. I think this is what you have-
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/ageratinaalti.html
Ageratina altissima (Eupatorium rugosum)
If that is what you have, it's a friend not a foe. Definitely not invasive but once again, too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.
Thanks, Equilibrium. It's an unusual leaf pattern. I'll post some lateral shots in the morning, see if they match up.
Eupatorium rugosum has completely overtaken a woodland I manage. It is beautiful and native, so so be it. There was hardly any on site before I removed all the Lonicera maackii and tatarica from the twenty acres of woodland. Because the (ridiculously abundant) deer will not touch it, and because it seems to love a savannah setting, and also because it seems quite tolerant of poor soil and drought, whole hillsides have little to no other herbaceous plants other than E. rugosum. This irritates me a bit, but the source of my agitation is not so much the Eupatorium as it is the excess deer population. Regardless, E. rugosum is stunning in August when this mass of vegetation produces a "snowfall" of creamy white flowers. There is a cultivar called "Chocolate," which sports dark gray/green foliage. It is not a wise choice for a tidy garden, as it is a prolific reseeder (seedlings come mostly true).
Scott
Equilibrium, I think you're right. Here's the longer shot. Newer leaves, but otherwise...
What do you think, Decumbent? Same stuff?
Thanks to both of you!
Definitely E. rugosum.
scott
I absolutely love this plant! I have a few spread out here and there and I really hope it spreads around. You know, my mom has this plant (I know it's this one because I bought it for her) and the deer ate it down every year...till we finally started caging it early, taking the cage off when it got some height to it. After it gets some height, the deer don't bother it anymore. Go figure.
Yes SheSows, looks very much like Ageratina altissima. Difficult to tell from the photos which variation thought but I'm pretty sure you've got the genus and the species.
Those taxonomists, always out to mess with the poor hobbyists-
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AGALA
Same darn thing those tricky taxonomists did to Aronia arbutifolia-
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHFL9
Here's the one I found.....
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/ageratinaalti.html
***waving at Equil***
Umm, you found the same link as me ;)
***waving back at terryr, missed you***
When it flowers I hope I'll be able to figure out which variation it is, E. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, all of you.
I think you're going to have a tough time narrowing it down to which subspecies it is by the flowers alone but it's always fun trying. Chances are good you have Ageratina altissima var. altissima only because your state is in its natural range. Please keep posting photos for the stages of this plant.
