A Mystery Solved

By Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

Paso Robles, California

November 28, 2018 3:42am CST

Some people are satisfied just to get pictures of the fauna and flora they see while out walking. I'm not happy unless I can identify them. I've been wondering for a long time what this very common weed is. It's in my lawn. It's all over the park. But I didn't find out its name until a couple of days ago. It's called Telegraph Weed. The photo shows an enlargement of the flowers. On the left you see what the flowers look like after they die and also when they turn into puffy seedheads. This is another member of the sunflower family. Have you seen this growing somewhere near you? Where did you find it? What weeds are common where you live?

10 people like this

12 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43915)

• Cambridge, England

28 Nov 18

From your picture I at first took it to be a variety of a plant which we call Hawkweed or Hawkbit in the UK. It got its name, so it is said, because in mediaeval times it was supposed that hawks ate the flowers 'to improve their eyesight'!. However, I looked up 'Telegraph Weed and see that it is quite a tall plant, much taller than our Hawkbits, and that it's native to California. I'm very curious as to how it came to be called Telegraph Weed and none of the sites I looked at seem to be able to enlighten me on that! A close relative of it is called Camphor Weed, because it smells strongly of camphor when crushed, as does Telegraph Weed, apparently.

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Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43915)

• Cambridge, England

28 Nov 18

@LadyDuck Thank you for that link, which is somewhat enlightening (I didn't realise that the ray florets didn't have parachutes).

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@LadyDuck (458091)

• Switzerland

28 Nov 18

I have searched too, it's also called "sticky daisy", it's an invasive plant. I think I found the origin of the name. You can read here

https://www.sanelijo.org/plant-guide/telegraph-weed

www.sanelijo.org

https://www.sanelijo.org/plant-guide/telegraph-weed

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@LadyDuck (458091)

• Switzerland

28 Nov 18

@owlwings I did not know at all.

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@LadyDuck (458091)

• Switzerland

28 Nov 18

Are you sure it is of the sunflower family? I think it's part of the daisy family and checking Wikipedia it confirms that it's called Hererotecha grandiflora, daisy family.

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Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43915)

• Cambridge, England

28 Nov 18

Very broadly, it can be said that it's a member of the sunflower family since both are related to daisies, dandelions, asters, Michaelmas daisies and many other similar plants. Asteracea is a huge group with members on almost every continent.

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@LadyDuck (458091)

• Switzerland

28 Nov 18

@owlwings This is correct, Asteracea is a huge group.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

You're right. I must have read it wrong. I stand corrected. I was pretty tired when I wrote that.

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@BarBaraPrz (45487)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

28 Nov 18

We have something similar but with purple florets. I don't know what it is, though.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

If you find out, take a photo and let people here identify it.

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@wolfgirl569 (95165)

• Marion, Ohio

28 Nov 18

I dont think we have that one. But it could be hiding somewhere.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

It's more native to the Southwest.

@JudyEv (325759)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Nov 18

We have a weed very similar to this but I'd hesitate to say it is the same although it could well be.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

I think it's a world wide colonizer.

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@JudyEv (325759)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Nov 18

@bagarad Some weeds seem universal don't they?

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

1 Dec 18

@JudyEv DEfinitely true.

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@amitkokiladitya (171936)

• Agra, India

28 Nov 18

I don't know the name but this flower is very common in my place

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

Wouldn't it be nice if plants wore little labels so we'd know their names? Of course plants don't know the names people gave them anymore than we do.

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@amitkokiladitya (171936)

• Agra, India

29 Nov 18

@bagarad true...this is something I never thought of

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@jstory07 (134460)

• Roseburg, Oregon

28 Jan 19

I have not seen that weed anywhere where I live.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

1 Feb 19

Interesting. I would think Roseburg's climate isn't too much different than ours, but maybe not in winter. You also get much more rain.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

1 Feb 19

@jstory07 Maybe this weed prefers our drier climate.

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@jstory07 (134460)

• Roseburg, Oregon

1 Feb 19

@bagarad Lots and lots of rain. Snow is rare,

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Christine aka stine1

@stine1online (835)

• Germany

1 Feb 19

Oh, I do know this one but do not know the German name. Will have to find that out...

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

1 Feb 19

When you find out I'd love to have you share it with me. I'm trying to review my German.

Christine aka stine1

@stine1online (835)

• Germany

4 Feb 19

@bagarad Turned out to not be invading Germany... or Europe.... yet. It's a different and bigger plant.

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Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (57869)

• Centralia, Washington

28 Nov 18

That's a new one on me. Its quite pretty, in a wild kind of way.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

1 Dec 18

Wild plants are often pretty. Even the poison ones.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

8 Dec 18

@sallypup I haven't seen the burr plants with purple flowers -- just the ones with yellow flowers that are trying to take over my flower beds.

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Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (57869)

• Centralia, Washington

1 Dec 18

@bagarad True. There's some nasty ground spreading plants that have a super awful burr to them. Their flowers are lavender-pretty.

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@Hannihar (129470)

• Israel

21 Dec 18

@bagarad I understand what you are saying but when I am out and about taking pictures I take of what I like so I may not know what they are sorry about that.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

28 Dec 18

I do the same, but after I unload the photos I want to write about, I do like to identify them.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

28 Dec 18

@Hannihar I just downloaded an app that is supposed to identify the plants you take pictures of. I haven't tried it yet, but I will.

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@Hannihar (129470)

• Israel

28 Dec 18

@bagarad If I cannot remember where it is I cannot identify it. For example flowers I see I like to take a picture I do not know the name so call them beautiful flowers that I saw while out and about.

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@responsiveme (22926)

• India

28 Nov 18

It is pretty . I have seen something like this but the flowers are light violet

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

Sounds as though you and @BarBaraPrz saw a similar flower.

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@Janet357 (75656)

•

28 Nov 18

Yes. But i forgot its local name. But it’s very common here.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

29 Nov 18

When I came home from my walk I decided that's also what's growing where my lawn used to be.