Weed Identification Thread

Don’t know if there will be interest in this, but I have a few weeds I’d be interested in knowing what they are.

Here is a common weed in the orchard Z6 KS/MO

That’s an interesting one, don’t believe I have ever seen it here in southwest MO.

Looks a little like Angelica. Crush a leaf and see if it has an anise scent

Scott

1 Like

It looks a lot like a first year wild parsnip.
Hope not for you, they are trouble. Sap can cause serious photochemical burns.
Terribly invasive. Our roadsides and fields are being overrun.

1 Like

https://www.google.com/search?q=wild+parsnip&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgj77bo87MAhXH5IMKHRyWDpwQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=671#imgrc=8ZgtX54b8v6xIM%3A

Two can play this game…

Scott

Lol… Though I’m not sure which it is. I’d put on a glove and crush up a piece of stem to see what it smells like

I agree, hard plant to deal with, similar skin reaction as poison ivy. Don’t let it flower.

Thanks folks. After looking at your pictures, I think it’s wild parsnip. I googled it for MO and found a pic which looks even more like the stuff I see.

http://courses.missouristate.edu/pbtrewatha/wild_parsnip.htm

2 Likes

Olpea,
I will be on the lookout for that now. Thank you for posting this.

1 Like

Yeah, I thought so…too bad. I’m sure you are doing your research, but I’ll throw out a few comments
As was said don’t let it flower, it is biennel and resets like mad.
I’m not sure everyone is reactive to the sap but many/most are. It’s a two part whammy. You need to get sap on you(not surface oils like poison ivy) and then some exposure to direct sunlight…then watch out. I have not gotten burned, but have several friends with significant scarring from the reaction.
Folks around here battle it at night with headlamps. If you can get the neighbors on board or the town road crew (mow just as it sets flowers) it helps a lot. Once it takes over its nearly impossible to get rid of. And a single infested field will act as massive seed source for surrounding areas…so it really does become a team effort to keep it out of the neighborhood.

Thanks again Rob. It is definitely wild parsnip. It’s flowering now and has the tale tell little yellow flower clusters on top (like the white flowers on queen anne’s lace).

I’ll be careful touching it in sunlight, but I don’t think I’m very susc. to it. I’ve pulled it before and not noticed any burn. There is too much for me to battle it by hand, so I’ll just have to spray for it.

When we moved back here 12 years ago there was a terrible infestation of wild parsnip in our hay fields and pastures. Around here they call it Yellow Top. The most effective approach we found was regular mowing. Now it is difficult to find a plant here.

Marc

Thank you Mark! I wondered if regular mowing wouldn’t control it. Makes me feel a little better about it.

I’ve got a small amount of hay meadow, do you know if two cuttings per season is enough mowing to control it. So far I’ve not seen it much at all in the hay.

There are so many invasive species around here, which are hard to control. Musk thistle, field bindweed, johnson grass, and now wild parsnip.

thistle and parsnip are not bad. they are both top soil improvers, and both are controlled by mowing. so there is that, it’s good to improve one’s soil for free.

I don’t know Glib. My experience is that musk thistle can be very difficult here. I’ve seen fields like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=musk+thistle+infestation&biw=1366&bih=635&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjizLz5ltLMAhUE8CYKHS6jBY4Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=z9vJxyy86rXBFM%3A

Certainly mowing does not prevent the spread of musk thistle here (unless it is very frequent mowing, like yard type mowing).

I used to own a small 125 acre farm years ago which had lots of thistles on it when we bought it. We tried mowing regularly, but it took very diligent spot sprays (for several years) to get rid of thistles.

Every day I drive by fields w/ thistles. They mow the ditches, but the thistles still grow back. The thistles in the crop fields come back every spring and are killed when they spray glyphosate shortly before planting.

My experience w/ thistles is so bad, I make it a priority to spray one anytime I spot it. I’ve also seen right of ways completely covered in thistles.

Some thistle types aren’t nearly so invasive. Those I don’t worry about and seem to provide a nice habitat for bees, but musk thistle is a really bad deal here. Even as a child my parents sent my brothers and I out to cut them. They are a biannual and if you can keep them from going to seed, they will eventually die.

My brother used to ride for a horse trainer (cutting horses) in the flint hills (all day long) in the summer during his college years. Part of the cowboy’s responsibility at the ranch was to look for musk thistles. When they spotted one, they would ride back to the house, grab a shovel and a bag, ride back out to the thistle cut the heads off (put the heads in the bag) and dig out the plant so it wouldn’t reflower.

1 Like

I have to dig them out of my yard here, even regular mowing doesn’t seem to kill my musk thistle

1 Like

Olpea, I’m not sure about control of wild parsnip with just two cuttings–it might work. We have one or two cuttings of hay, then might mow two or three other times, depending on rain and if we see any weeds.

With thistles, I’m afraid to say that chemicals are your best friend–glyphosate or a broadleaf killer. They can grow back from just a tiny piece of root if you try to dig them out. It’s amazing how fast they grow back in the wood chips between my trees.

1 Like

It’s been awhile since I posted here, good news I have been able to move to a new house, bad news is that I am leaving so many trees behind. Any way here is a weed growing in moms flower bed. She can’t identify it. I have seen it growing locally for many years but don’t know the name. image image

1 Like

A fresh start, good luck.

That is called velvetleaf, pretty tough weed.

1 Like

Thanks for the quick id !