RE: UPDATE: Plant ID please?
Ok, so by request I went and did some more examining of the plants in the field they grow in. To answer the questions:
-These plants grow in a single stalk, but seem to group together about 10 inches apart, probably due to the seeds falling close together, or possibly due to spreading via the root system.
-The flowers are pale yellow, about the size of a buttercup (but they are NOT buttercups, and the color is lighter, paler, and the petals are thinner than in a buttercup). The flowers are grouped together, with each plant having 2-9 flowers. The petals are not unusually shiny in the sun or when whetted.
-The leaves have little hairs, and have a soft feel
-There is no smell. When crushed or rubbed, the leaves have a faint 'green' smell, but nothing extraordinary.
I have contacted a local plant group, but haven't heard back. I got 2 private messages from folks in other states in the US who also have them in their yard.
Again, just to put everyone at ease, I don't intend to feed these to the tortoises unless they are confirmed to be safe. At this point I'm just figuring it out out of curiosity.
Ok, a botany-savvy friend says that it looks like this is it: sulfur cinquefoil, Potentilla recta L.
There are several variations, some grow close to the ground, others are tall field flowers, but they are in the same family.
You can see pics of it here:
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1555235
http://www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/Potentilla_pulcherrima.htm
(if you do a google images search, you come up with a bunch... and they all look like the plant I found)
Ok, so by request I went and did some more examining of the plants in the field they grow in. To answer the questions:
-These plants grow in a single stalk, but seem to group together about 10 inches apart, probably due to the seeds falling close together, or possibly due to spreading via the root system.
-The flowers are pale yellow, about the size of a buttercup (but they are NOT buttercups, and the color is lighter, paler, and the petals are thinner than in a buttercup). The flowers are grouped together, with each plant having 2-9 flowers. The petals are not unusually shiny in the sun or when whetted.
-The leaves have little hairs, and have a soft feel
-There is no smell. When crushed or rubbed, the leaves have a faint 'green' smell, but nothing extraordinary.
I have contacted a local plant group, but haven't heard back. I got 2 private messages from folks in other states in the US who also have them in their yard.
Again, just to put everyone at ease, I don't intend to feed these to the tortoises unless they are confirmed to be safe. At this point I'm just figuring it out out of curiosity.
Ok, a botany-savvy friend says that it looks like this is it: sulfur cinquefoil, Potentilla recta L.
There are several variations, some grow close to the ground, others are tall field flowers, but they are in the same family.
You can see pics of it here:
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1555235
http://www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/Potentilla_pulcherrima.htm
(if you do a google images search, you come up with a bunch... and they all look like the plant I found)
