Topic: weed or flower

[Glen74]

hi all are these weeds or flowers , just got alot of them in the allotment and i am getting ready to spray the mares tail , so if there flowers will have to dig them up first

[Ben Acre]

What do these weeds look like? a weed is only a plant in the wrong place. The Mares Tail is actually Horsetail, Mares tail is only found in standing water. Horse tail roots have been found as far down as five miles and os the only plant that was around in prehistoric times.

[lincsyokel2]

Hi

You could try posting a picture, then we might have a clue what were supposed to be seeing. Takes all the guesswork out of it.

[Fork]

Hi

You could try posting a picture, then we might have a clue what were supposed to be seeing. Takes all the guesswork out of it.

All I see is the dreaded red X

[lincsyokel2]

Horse tail roots have been found as far down as five miles and os the only plant that was around in prehistoric times.

Hate to shoot you down in flames, but the oldest existing plants are the ones that evolved first,  the Cycads. There still a dozen species of cycads still existing, including Encephalartos woodii  and  Encephalartos sclavoi. Theres some cycad fossils that date to the late Carboniferous period, 300–325  mya

Ferns first appear in the fossil record 360 million years ago in the Carboniferous but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the late Cretaceous (after flowering plants came to dominate many environments).

The horsetail family (which includes Mares tails) only evolved about 30 million years ago, and is the new kid on the block, in plant terms    :D

[Ben Acre]

Well spin my winkle!! I never knew that. and I 'm supposed to be a botanist  ::)

Thanks for the correction.

[Unwashed]

hi all are these weeds or flowers , just got alot of them in the allotment and i am getting ready to spray the mares tail , so if there flowers will have to dig them up first

Hi Glen.  We can't see the picture - you probably can because you're logged into LoverTheGarden, but you'll need to serve the picture from somewhere public for us to see it.

[Glen74]

hi all sorry about that , hope this one works

[pigeonseed]

wow looks beautiful. Sort of makes me think 'orchid' but I don't know. If I had it, I'd keep it! It's not one of the famous troublesome weeds (marestail, bindweed, dock...)

[Robert_Brenchley]

The horsetail family (which includes Mares tails) only evolved about 30 million years ago, and is the new kid on the block, in plant terms    :D

Strange how I've found horsetail fossils in the Coal Measures, then. They're ancient beyond a doubt!

That's definitely an orchid. Let it flourish were it is; last time I tried moving one a few yards it promptly died.

[Glen74]

cheers for replys , will just leave them where they are

[lincsyokel2]

The horsetail family (which includes Mares tails) only evolved about 30 million years ago, and is the new kid on the block, in plant terms    :D

Strange how I've found horsetail fossils in the Coal Measures, then. They're ancient beyond a doubt!

Curious, i was using a 1996 Encyclopedia Brittanica for reference, do you have a link to more accurate information ?

[lavenderlux]

Its lovely - would love to have these on my plot, even if they came up amongst 'crops' and I would definitely leave them where they are (currently do this on my plot with a getting rare weed Misopates orontium, weasel-snout, which is a sort of mini antirrhinum with pink flowers)
Don't recognise the variety but your local County Wildlife Group would be able to help if you want to know the variety

[Robert_Brenchley]

Here's a short article from the New Scientist confirming the antiquity of the genus Equisetum: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/05/horsetail-fossil-tells-tale-of.html .

A Wikipedia article on the family Equisetophyta: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetophyta .

And one on Carboniferous forests. It mentions the genus Calamites, fossils of which I've found myself: http://petrifiedwoodmuseum.org/SOSphenophyta.htm .

I hope that convinces you!