How to Identify it: Shiny, heart-shaped leaves on stout stems, often with long trailing stem. Flowers a small, brown cup with long points growing close to the ground.
This is a plant which often grows in clusters in forest shade. The flower is often hidden under the leaves and is pollinated by beetles and gnats. The flowers appear in June and turn into a dry seed which has a fleshy knob which is attractive to ants which carry off the seed, eat the knob then discard the seed, dispersing the plant to a new location. The leaves and stems when crushed have a mild ginger odor although this plant is not related to the Asian ginger of culinary fame.
How to Identify it: A 2 foot tall flower stalk with small brownish tubular flowers that are cut away on one side. Leaves lobed with hairy stems.
This plants gets its name because in late summer small leaves grow up right out of the larger lower leaves. When the plant sheds the larger leaf, the smaller leaf can grow to create a new plant. If you look closely the brown "flower" is actually the sepals, the petals are long and hair-like.
How to Identify it: Tall robust plant with opposite, noticeably toothed leaves. Flowers green from among the leaf stems in the upper part of the plant.
Most people learn this plant by being stung by it. It has tiny stinging hairs which leave a painful welt or rash. The hairs are concentrated on the outer edges of the leaf and contain three chemicals which irritate the skin. The plant can grow over 6 feet tall and its underground roots allow it to spread and even dominant a semi sunny area. The plants begin to emerge late in February and by April they can be waist high. The flowers appear in May. Red Admiral butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves and the caterpillars munch holes in them, apparently not effected by the stinging hairs. Broadleaf plantain leaves, chewed and applied as a poultice are a good remedy for the stings, as are Curly Dock leaves.
How to Identify it: A 3 foot tall plant with a dense cluster of greenish flowers which turn in fall to a reddish brown seed head. Long leaves with wavy edges.
Another very similar plant is the Western Dock, Rumex occidentalis with similar flowers and seed heads but the leaves are up to 15 inches long and the edges are not curled.
Both are plants of meadows and fields and stand tall above the rest of the grasses they grow with. The brown seed heads in the fall are distinctive.
How to Identify it: Broad thick oval leaves with prominent veins, that lay flat on the ground. Flowers small green spikes on stout stems.
This is a common introduced weed plant in lawns, along edges of trails and roads. If you tear the leaf stem it contains numerous tiny white fibers. When chewed it makes a good topical remedy for nettle stings and other skin irritations.
How to Identify it: 12 inch long flower stems ending in a brown spike, leaves long and narrow.
This is a common garden and lawn weed, the flowers in June turn to a brown persistent seedpod that lasts until the fall rains. The fibrous and tough stem can be bent and looped as a rough cordage.
How to Identify it: 4-7 foot tall woody stalks with a chocolate brown fuzzy seed head, 4-7 foot long slender, narrow and sharply pointed leaves. Dominates wetland habitats.
This plant grows in dense thickets in wetlands. The green flower heads appear in April, wrapped up and almost hidden by the emerging leaves and turn into the brown, cigar shaped seed heads which are densely fuzzy and break apart in late fall storms to spread the fluffy seeds far and wide.
How to Identify it: 2-4 feet tall, 8-12 tall green flower heads, aromatic "sage" smell when leaf is crushed.
This is a relative of sage brush and its leaves have a characteristic sage smell. The tiny greenish flowers are numerous and if you look closely they are often visited by tiny flies which are apparently a key pollinator.
