Thursday, July 19, 2012

Is This Just a Weed - or is it Weed?

So I've been doing a bunch of weeding lately. The weeds are most definitely winning this battle, I assure you!


The main culprit in these parts is bindweed, but we also have our fair share of thistles, dandelions, spurge, mallow, pigweed, and a whole host of other invaders.

But, in recent years there has been a new one cropping up in the garden, xeriscape and lawn that I can't seem to identify. But as I was pulling some today it dawned on me that the leaves look awfully familiar - like in a college sort of way. I realize this is kinda crazy, but it sort of looks like marijuana to me.


I realize this makes me a really shitty nouveau hippie, but I honestly don't know what a marijuana plant looks like. I looked online and well... I can't tell. I think there are different varieties, aren't there? 


I mean, is it even possible? Can pot just start growing wild? And at what point does it stop being pot and just become hemp? I know there are some people on the block with medical grow licenses, and they do grow it outdoors... but it couldn't just escape and start growing all over the place could it?




Anyhow, I'm trying to decide if I should be worried about the ATF knocking on my door or something. 




Here are some more shots for your viewing pleasure.





Anyhow, if there's anybody out there with more weed experience than I have (of either variety) I'd be grateful if you'd help me figure out what this stuff is. 








22 comments :

  1. I don't think it's marijuana, but I'm no authority.

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    1. It would seem that you are correct (about it not being marijuana... you're probably an authority on something!)

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  2. I'm pretty sure it's the other type of weed. Wait for a bud, though, just in case. Would be a shame to uproot it prematurely to the DEA smackdown.

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  3. Doesn't look like any marijuana that I've ever seen. Similar leaf configuration, but different growing habit and leaf placement. I'd not worry if I were you. If you do get busted you can always point them to this blog entry in mitigation.

    As for hemp just popping up, well, yes, it can. I don't know about where you are, but here in the UK hemp is included in pet and wild bird seed mixes, and fishermen (spit!) use it for bait, so it can easily just appear. I'm given to understand that the hemp branch of the mj family has little if any active ingredient, but I believe they look pretty much the same when growing.

    Good luck identifying your weed!

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    1. One time I was driving to a music festival in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, and all along the highway were billboards with pictures of marijuana leaves that said "Kill this plant!!" I guess the fact that hemp doesn't have the active ingredient in it was lost on the bible thumpers!

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  4. Toothed Spurge.

    http://weeds.cropsci.illinois.edu/images/Toothed%20spurge/index.htm

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    1. I believe we have a winner! Thanks for the link.

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  5. I don't know much about toothed spurge (I would have had the same questions you had), but I do know a lot about bind weed. I fought it for several years because it was taking over our vegetable garden. Do you know that it can have roots 30' deep.

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    1. Bindweed is DEVIL PLANT!!!!!! I swear, I could single handedly solve the world hunger crisis if only it were edible. Actually someone told me that you can actually eat it but it's a "purgative" - not sure what that means, but it doesn't sound good!

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    2. Yep I'd have an EU bindweed mountain, if it were an economic commodity. Such a shame all my zillions of slugs won't eat it...I'm going to go and look up 'purgative' although I can have a stab at guessing what it means and if it is what I think it means then I won't be cooking it up in a hurry.

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    3. Well I looked up 'purgative' and that's just typical for a devil plant...not content with being just laxative, it's STRONGLY laxative...

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    4. Ha! Well, I guess I know where to turn if I ever get a really bad case of constipation!

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  6. I looked up 'palmate weed' and found something called Tropic Croton. It's usually a southeastern summer weed, but maybe it ended up in your backyard? If it has leaves with a distinct odor when crushed, it's probably croton; if it has milky sap, it's probably toothed spurge. (Oh, and be careful if you go looking for sap; apparently spurge produces sap that causes blisters!) If neither...well, let me know and I'll go do some more hunting. Link to croton info: http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/cvngs.htm

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    1. OK... it passed the milky sap test (I didn't get it on my skin - thanks for the warning) so I believe we can confirm that it is indeed toothed spurge. Thanks so much for your help! :-)

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    2. BTW - I'm really impressed that you know words like "palmate!"

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  7. I know nothing about weed, but this did remind me of a funny story.

    http://www.regretsy.com/2011/08/03/from-the-regretsy-forums/

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    1. Ha! That's hilarious! Reminds me of a story from a documentary I saw about a bunch of hippies living in the back country somewhere in Northern California. The cops decided they were gonna bust 'em, so they swooped in and dug up all of their tomato plants!

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  8. I was pulling out lots of petty spurge today. I know someone who lost sight in one eye from that milky sap so be careful. Hilarious you don't know your weeds from your weed.

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    1. Yikes! Thanks for the warning... I'll be careful.

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  9. Very timely, I pulled something mighty similar from my garden recently whilst thinking: Great! Now we've got weed growing in the backyard, we'll never sell this place!

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    1. Ha! Now that would be a new and interesting twist on staging a house! Comes complete with it's own marijuana garden!

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