Smallholders Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Any idea what this is?  (Read 12252 times)

DenisCooper

  • Joined May 2016
Any idea what this is?
« on: June 20, 2020, 03:33:58 pm »
Any ideas what this is growing amongst the potatoes and veg.

cans

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2020, 04:55:41 pm »
No idea whatsoever, but I’d pull it out.   :coat:

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2020, 07:26:59 pm »
Pineapple weed??????  I think............

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2020, 07:37:08 pm »
Whoa! 
If you like fennel [member=160777]DenisCooper[/member]  don't be too hasty about pulling out - you might want to pick a bit and see how it smells !?  If it doesn't smell of aniseed (or you don't like aniseed flavour), then maybe pull it out. 
Some members of the carrot family can be rather toxic:  others can be quite useful !!


[I don't think it can be pineapple weed as suggested by "in the hills", but, should it prove to be, that is also edible (although I have no idea whether all parts of pineapple weed are edible)]
« Last Edit: June 20, 2020, 07:42:32 pm by arobwk »

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2020, 07:38:40 pm »
It looks like pineapple weed/aka pineapple mayweed/Camomilla suaveolens.  If it is then yes, weed it out, I seem to recall that something finds it toxic, sheep perhaps. The flower is a petal-less bobble, yellow. Your specimen looks a little more lush than usual perhaps because it's growing in a veg bed, whereas it normally grows where people and animals have been trampling.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2020, 07:40:54 pm by Fleecewife »
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2020, 08:00:53 pm »
I seem to recall that something finds it toxic, sheep perhaps.


God, I hope not!  We've got tonnes of it this year growing all around the muddy bit by the hay racks.

Can anybody advise if it's poisonous to sheep or not? They definitely munch it, and aren't dead yet though....
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

DenisCooper

  • Joined May 2016
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2020, 08:42:31 pm »
It’s definitely not fennel although thank you as I knew it reminded me of something.

Looking at it it may be pineapple weed. After posting I saw some more established ones and they have the little green bobbles with yellow tips starting to appear in the centre.

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2020, 09:37:04 pm »
OK, so do flower heads smell of pineapple (or taste of pineapple if you are prepared to give that a try) ?

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2020, 12:01:02 am »
I seem to recall that something finds it toxic, sheep perhaps.


God, I hope not!  We've got tonnes of it this year growing all around the muddy bit by the hay racks.

Can anybody advise if it's poisonous to sheep or not? They definitely munch it, and aren't dead yet though....

I remember being amazed when I read the claim that it was toxic but I can't find anything now saying it is.  It's related to camomile which is medicinal, and it can be used as a wormer so clearly it does have chemical properties.  Our sheep have eaten it too and didn't drop down dead, but there are degrees and degrees of toxicity, so it could simply be that it causes a reaction or has a cumulative effect- toxic doesn't equal lethal.  Sorry I can't remember exactly where I read about the toxicity.  In one toxicity list I looked at, spindle, elder, bluebells, garlic and onions are all quoted as toxic
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Any idea what this is?
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2020, 09:38:57 am »
Tim Tyne's book says it makes milk taste horrid! (Maybe he just doesn't like the taste of pineapple?  ;D )
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
    • ABERDON GUNDOGS for work and show
    • Facebook
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS