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Please Idenitify This Invasive Ground Cover

Ask the Expert: what kind of weed is this?
My dad has a garden that has been growing an invasive ground cover weed that has clover shaped leaves with tiny white “flowers”. He has sprayed with all sorts of weed killers and nothing seems to work. It seems to stay only in the garden and has not crept onto the grass. It’s very viney like.. grows like a carpet. Has been tilled repeatedly.. he left the garden area unplanted for a year to see if that would help get rid of it but it keeps coming back. They seem to grow from the root. When pulled from the garden they always seem wet even when there has been no moisture applied to the garden at all. He suspects that it started in a small area and was spread by use of the tiller. They grow very close to the ground only.. max of 2″ inches tall. He has tried to pull them many times and when he does the base of the weed (green) will pull off from a white, slippery, more solid structure. I do not have a photo available at this time but if you are not able to identify it I can post a picture soon for you to see. Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you for your time! Please let me know if a picutre is needed. My poor dad, an avid gardner, is completely stumped! I hope you can help! Thank you!  Misty McCollough

Plant Expert Reply:

It is difficult to make an identification just from the description you have given.  So I found some pictures of plants that could possibly be your dad’s problem.  Please take a look at them and let me know which you think look the most like his.  Once we idenitify the plant, I will help figure a way to get rid of the problem.

Eating Wild Onions Good Idea Or Not?

Ask the Expert: fake wild onion?
During an overnight trip on the Smith River, one of our guides picked a wild onion to show us.  However, he said that there was another plant that was very similar but could kill you in 4 hours if ingested. He said it was called “death canis” (I”m not sure of the spelling).  Can you tell me if this is true?

I have all these great wild onions but I’m afraid to eat them. Patricia

Plant Expert Reply:

Meadow Death Camas

Meadow Death Camas

I’m not sure what plant the guide was referring to – Montana has a poisonous plant called Mountain Death-camas (Zigadenus venenosus). The leaves might look like onion leaves but it would really be a stretch. See how flat the leaves are? They look more like a lily leaf than an onion leaf even through they are in the same family. Onion leaves tend look more cylindrical.

Wild Onion

Wild Onion

As for eating the wild onions in your yard, I probably wouldn’t. Not because the plant is poisonous, more because of the taste. The onion genus – Allium has many members. However, not all have a pleasing taste. The wild onion and garlic species tend to be more pungent than the cultivated species.

If your wild onions are in your lawn, you need to be aware of their exposure to chemicals. I am always cautious when it comes to eating wild vegetation. However, all Allium bulbs are edible even if not palatable.

The Meadow Death-camas picture comes from the poisonous plant section of the Montana Plant Life site.

The Wild onion photo came from the Pacific Bulb Society Allium page.

Carpet Weed Is Not Desirable

Ask the Expert: please ID plant
I want to know if this plant should be in my planter or not.  I’m afraid that it may have been seeded by an airborn weed.  I can’t taste anything with the leaf.  The plants are 4-6 inches high. Elaine

Plant Expert Reply:

I believe the plant is called Carpet Weed (Mollugo verticillata) and is something you do not want.  You would be correct that the seed probably blew into your pot.

Poke Weed In My Name But You Can Call Me Polk Salad

Ask the Expert: What is it?
This plant is growing along my driveway and I have no idea what it is or if the berries are edible. It dies every winter and comes back every spring and gets larger every year. Thank you. Randy

Polk Salad

Polk Salad

Poke Weed

Poke Weed

Poke Berry Plant

Poke Berry Plant

Hibiscus Would Be Nice But You’ve Got Giant Ragweed

Ask the Expert: weed or what?

We’ve lived in our home for 2 years- the previous owner planted an extensive perennial garden in 2004 or 2005. I’m still trying to recognize the perennials each spring… so I don’t weed out the wrong things. What could this be?

I remember Hibiscus in the general area last year, and haven’t seen it this year. Could it be? The leaves don’t look right. Aside from the large cluster in the photo, two individual stems of this have popped up several feet away (where they definitely were not located last year). any help would be appreciated… amberGiant Ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)

Weed Indentification – Wild Strawberry or Common Mallow and the Winner Is

Ask the Expert: what is this plant

this plant is all over my yard I thought it was strawberry but its not. its really dark with a reddish tint.

Common Mallow Leaf I Believe this is a Common Mallow (Malva neglecta)

I found this Common Mallow Photo on a Michigan State University site. You can see the similarity in the leaf.

Common Mallow (Malva neglecta) Photo from Ronald Calhoun Ronald Calhoun in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University supplied this picture. In fact, it comes from the MSU Turf Weed.net program. This is a wonderful resource for weed identification and was developed to assist MSU turf students earn the key identification characteristics of common and not-so-common turfgrass weeds found in Michigan and the midwest. Ronald has compiled a variety of useful weed identification pictures including wild strawberry, henbit and Carolina geranium.