|
| We recently moved into a new house and I have a hillside with a variety of odds and ends growing on it. One plant I am sure is in the mint family because it smells minty, has square stems, and opposite leaves, but I have never seen mint this small before:
I also have this mystery plant, which isn't an herb. It's about 18 inches tall, has thorny stems and leaves, and some kind of fruit growing on it that look a bit like green cherry tomatoes.
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| the photos didn't show up so here are the links: Mint: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31518087@N05/3739928999/ Mystery Plant |
|
| The minty plant could be pennyroyal? Just a guess-- I'd do better if I could smell it. |
|
- Posted by lazygardens Sunset Zone 13 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 21, 09 at 11:31
| Your mystery plpant is one of the nightshade family. Assume it's toxic in all parts. The "mint" ... don't use it unless you can absolutely identify it. Pennyroyal has enough of a "minty" taste that people have made themselves very ill using it in iced tea and juleps. |
|
- Posted by francescod 6b/7a VA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 26, 09 at 13:13
| Your "mint" does not appear to be a member of the genus Mentha (the true mints). The square stems put it in the family Lamiaceae which includes: savory, basil, mint, sage, and many other herbs. Pictures of the flowers and a close-up of the leaf would help greatly in identifying the plant. It could be Clinopodium vulgare-common name Wild Basil. I'm not sure of the origin of the common name as it has very little in common with Basil (Ocimum sp.) and is not closely related. Clinopodium vulgare is a widely distributed weed closely related to calamint (Calamintha sp), which is another possible i.d. for your plant. It was at one time classified as a species of Satureja (the genus that includes savory and yerba buena). If it is Clinopodium vulgare, it should begin flowering very soon. F. DeBaggio |
Here is a link that might be useful: Photo of Clinopodium vulgare
|
- Posted by fatamorgana Zone 5/6 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 27, 09 at 9:44
| Your mystery plant is a Solanum, a plant in the nightshade family as lazygardens mentioned. It looks like Horsenettle Solanum carolinense to me. FataMorgana |
|
- Posted by farmsteward North Carolina 7 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 27, 09 at 23:03
| Mystery plant is horse nettle for sure. Grasp the plant at the base while wearing heavy gloves and pull it, and as much of the roots that you can find, out of the ground. It will continue to sprout from roots. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Herbs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.