Name that Plant If You Can

We are going to play a game called Name that Plant.  I am not sure what type of plant this is in the above picture.  So, I need some help from my readers. Here is the history behind the mysterious plant.

I bought seeds from Heirloom Seeds a couple of years ago when I started my garden.  Heirloom Seeds carries certified organic and regular non-hybrid heirloom seeds.  I planted mesculum salad mix in June and could not understand why the seedlings did not grow.  For all of you that are gardeners stop screaming at this post.  I know.  Who plants mesculum in the beginning of June?  It can’t take the heat.

  Gardening is a trial and error process for me with alot of phone calls to my neighbor for help.  A few weeks later after I planted my “lettuce”, something was growing that had jagged leaves and a purple stem.  This had to be my lettuce, I thought with a big grin on my face. 

See, my garden has grown despite all of my goof ups and I believe Mother Nature is just stronger than us.  Weeks go by, and this lettuce is growing and growing.  I kept thinking this is odd.  Isn’t it supposed to be kind of bunched up?

 There are numerous pictures of mesculum on the web and none of them look like my plant.  I sent the picture over to my county extension and the master gardener whom I spoke with was not sure.  I overheard another one of the gardeners think it was a mesculum (also known as a mesclun) but I was not convinced.  If it was, how come I could not find a picture of it on the internet? Plus, it loved the heat, which is not characteristic of a salad green.

Then we started talking about weeds and whether or not this plant was a weed. “Do you think it is a weed?” as I questioned her, and then quickly added, “it can’t be.   It is too beautiful.”  Her reply was, “weeds are plants that people think aren’t beautiful.”  

I stopped and thought what she said and although we were talking about weeds and plants, it meant much more to me than her one line statement.  Does this ever happen to you that someone says something and it is almost like you are suppose to get a message?  Well, this must have been one of those “message” times. 

 I can’t get the statement out of my mind even now. So, readers just stop a second and repeat the line, “weeds are plants that people think aren’t beautiful.”  What does it mean to you? I believe we color how we view things based upon on own values and beliefs.  What I learned is everything even weeds are beautiful if you take the time to admire them and understand why they are here. In my case, I swear they are here to remind me to slow down.   I always like to do things quickly, and I never mark where I plant my seeds. Half of the time, I can’t figure out if a plant is a seedling or a weed! 

Okay, back to the plant and away from the philosophical “stuff.”  I goggled the words, “purple stem” and weed, then the words, “purple stem.”  I did not get any results that looked like my plant.  I finally tried the words, “purple veins”.  I found nothing that resembled my plant.  I was getting frustrated because I wanted to eat it.

Finally, I sent this picture to the vegetable specialist at the college cooperative extension.   I did not hear back from him that night and for some strange reason, perhaps being guided by divine plant forces, I goggled an unnamed word with purple and found my plant.  (I can’t tell you because it is a game).  Dumb luck?  Who knows?

  The next day, I did receive an email from the vegetable specialist identifying he plant as mesculum.  He said in this email, “this handsome plant is a mesculum” and urged me to save the seeds.  See, he called it a “handsome” plant!!!  Ye of little faith, who could possibly think it is a weed ….  I emailed him back that day and told him of my discovery of a plant that resembles my plant.  

 We are in disagreement as to what kind of plant I have.   So are you going to take the challenge and name that plant that I found  AND do you agree with vegetable specialist or me ….. Earn a bit of fame on Green Talk.  

Similar Posts:

• Weeds Are Just Unloved Flowers
• Bring Your Garden on to Win March Madness.
• Get Your Red Hot Heirloom Tomatoes and Veggies
• Why Do My Carrots look like Spiders?
• Growing Amaranth and Enjoying the Super Grain all Year Long

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