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this one



and this one

Top one looks like rhubarb.

The second one is maybe an impatian?

It does look like rhubarb ... but not ... so I think it must be related .. its growing in the wooldand.

The second one ... I can see what you mean ... this one is odd as I founs it lying as the picture at the edge of the woods like someone had left it ready to be picked up later?

The first one is Burdock and the second one looks like Figwort.

If they are in a part of your garden and need to get rid of them .... you will find that the Burdock has a HUGE root, rather like a big parsnip, and the Figwort has lots of bulbs/corms on it's roots that will immediately regrow if you just pull them up.

hmmm the 2nd one looks scarily like the dreaded japanese knotweed to me

As it needs special removal I wonder if someone has dug it up & dumped it because they didn't know what to do with it? MIght be worth sending some to the local council or getting them to come out to check just in case as if it is knowweed they need to try & find out where it has come from if it hasn't been growing there

Muscroj wrote:hmmm the 2nd one looks scarily like the dreaded japanese knotweed to me

Not convinced. Would the leaves not need to alternate on the stem for it to be knotweed? This has balances pairs. also leaves have saw-tooth edges, I think, on this one while the knotweed has smooth edges.

Not sure about it being Figwort either as the leaves have white-ish veins that I've not seen before in Figwort - but it could be a variety I've not seen I guess.

true, I'd not noticed that.

I wasn't sure about it being figwort either

No, it's not Figwort as I first thought.
Just been down the garden and looked at a plant and the veins aren't white at all, in fact older leaves tend to have purplish veins.
Also the edges of the leaves are finely serrated.

The first one's almost definitely Burdock though ... it should be coming into flower any time soon with mauve flowers looking very similar to thistle flowers.

neither are in my garden ... phew ... I dont think it knot weed as we do have some close by and it different...

burdock .. anyone tried using it then? says it makes a good tea fresh root that is.

never used it myself but HFW made a fab looking dandilion & burdock beer in last years series. I wanted to give it a try, but never found any burdock around here (although I'm not short of dandilions if anyone wants to do me a swap )

Mmmmmmm Dandelion & Burdock beer...................

Muscroj wrote:but never found any burdock around here (although I'm not short of dandilions if anyone wants to do me a swap )

I can send you some seed come autumn if you like.

I've been looking for burdock plants for ages!!! LOL - just bought some seeds

The pulled up specimens are Himalayan Balsam - Impatiens glandulifera. Whoever pulled them up knew exactly what they were doing. This is an extremely invasive plant with no predators in UK/Ireland and should be removed as soon as it's found. If you don't remove it, it will take over, killing local species in a few years. In the last few years it has reached my patch and now occupies hundreds of metres of verge/river bank, woodland fringes, etc. It's the one that grows to about 2 m high and has pink/purple flowers that shoot out seeds if you touch the pods when ripe.

Yes, it's pretty, but it is removing habitat from our native plant, fungal and insect species.

Stuart

www.donegal-wildlife.blogspot.com

Thats them ... I have seen them growing bigger than the ones in the bundle ... all round Himley Hall ... and they match ... thanks I will pass the message on ...