Anyone know what this plant is?

[max]

Found it on mesa above the Snake River in Hell's Canyon. open areas with lots of sun and little water. 6" dia, 1' tall clumps. Smelled a bit like mint.

 

Sorry the photos are so shitty.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2005 by max

[Alpinfox]

 

Look at some pictures of "pearly everlasting" and "sulphur buckwheat" on the web and see if they look right. Those are the only two in my audubon guide that seem like possibilities.

[Billygoat]

I don't know but I have a few dried ones right here in front of me. I found them along a road, in similar conditions, this past July, in central Colorado near the Wyoming border. They are really sweet smelling.

[mtn_mouse]

It's creamy buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides). I live by Hells canyon, we've got it all over. This time of year the flowers are more yellow and brown than shown in the plant books. Good thing you didn't eat it, it will make your testicles withdraw into your body.

[Jim]

It's creamy buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides). I live by Hells canyon, we've got it all over. This time of year the flowers are more yellow and brown than shown in the plant books. Good thing you didn't eat it, it will make your testicles withdraw into your body.

 

Bzzzzzzzzzzz. Wrong. No way is this an Eriogonum. It is looks like a Monardella, which is a mint. Need to have it in hand to key it out.

[mtn_mouse]

Can't be Monardella.... he said 8" floral heads, plant 1' tall. Terrible photo-you ought to be ashamed! so.. bet is still on for buckwheat!!

Reference: USFS plant botonist Charles Johnson PhD.

[Cobra_Commander]

venus fly trap/datura hybrid (monsanto #09872)

[olyclimber]

venus fly trap/datura hybrid (monsanto #09872)

 

Your reference to our company property is subject to a small fee of $10 US. Please send the funds to company headquarters.

[spicoli11]

It does not look like a eriogonum to me

[Jim]

Exactly. E. heracleoides:

 

in whorls; usually less than 1 cm wide, at least 3 times as long as broad; linear to linear- lanceolate, not cordate or truncate at the base; greyish-lanate on both surfaces (sometimes only sparsely tomentose and much less greyish above.

 

First hint - leaves are not in whorls. And he said is smelt like a mint. Also looks like opposite leaves w/square stem. HMmmm. Maybe. Open to other suggestions.

Edited August 30, 2005 by Jim

[JoshK]

I think it may be a tulip.

[Winter]

Have you tried smoking it yet? Could eliminate a few possibilities.

[max]

For those of you following this hot topic, I got some info from Clair Button,

a botanist for the BLM stationed out of.... somewhere around Hell's Canyon.

Here's what he had to say:

 

The comments I saw on the web site indicate you have quite

a fun bunch of

folks. Hope everyone has a good sense of humor.

 

The plant you found is past bloom. The grey spherical

shapes at the top

are the dried "whorl" of inflorescence that Jim from

Seattle mentioned.

The opposite leaves are another cue to the mint group. You

can almost see

the squared stems. It is in fact Monardella odoratissima.

If you pinch

the leaves or stems, you will get a distinctive pungent

odor, pleasant to

some and repulsive to others.

 

The butterflies find it quite compelling, which is why one

of the common

names is butterfly plant. I have attached a photo of the

plant in bloom.

 

The shrubby buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides) that someone

else mentioned

is also out in that vicinity, but the whorled leaves are

more numerous, not

occuring in opposite pairs. The inflorescence is shaped

very differently.

 

and the photo he sent me:

 

[billcoe]

Anyone else note that the rocks are identical? This could have been photoshopped by those same dudes who photoshopped the moon landing on a backstage lot in Hollywood ?

[billcoe]

opps - sorry. I was looking at only 1 pic but seeing double after trying that idea to smoke some first.

 

Nevermind about all that previous rock gibberish.

 

well spoken gentlemen, well done! Carry on.

[TREETOAD]

I think it is a penis fly trap

[billcoe]

I think it is a penis fly trap

 

Hmmm, nice call: there might be a couple of ways to find out.......