What is this plant? Is it sage?
I have not planted any herbs from seeds yet so did an experiment this spring and put some broadleaf sage seeds in an area underneath the deck that was otherwise not well tended. These sprouted up - they kind of but do not completely look like the sage in photos I see. I don't have any prior experience growing sage so have no clue what to expect. My stepmom thinks these plants are weeds! (We had a big storm last night so some other dead flowers are mixed in.)
Comments
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It doesn't look like any sage I recognize but to be honest there is so many varieties of sage I could never recognize them all.
Keep waiting and let's see if anyone else recognizes this. Sorry!
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As @greyfurball says, there are many kinds of sage with different leaf appearances. However, I think this is something in the Polygonaceae family. Possibly willow weed aka smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia).
Not sure where you live but here is a link to a page with a picture and full description and an interactive map for the Pacific Northwest.
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Thanks! That's not quite it either. I am in Maryland, BTW. I am wondering if the seed company sent the wrong seeds. It was one of those cheapo packs on Amazon and I've certainly seen people complain before about it.
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@stephanie447 You could always take it into a government agency. Not sure what that would be in your area. Or maybe the botanical department of a university or college in your area. If you have an Invasive Species Program in your area, they might be able to help you if it is a weed.
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As I understand it sage stems will feel square, boxlike, not round.
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That looks limilar to the weeds I pulled earlier this evening out of our front border. I would be very surprised if it is sage, though I am no expert. They keep coming back year after year.
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@stephanie447 does it have a scent? It looks like a mint of some type.
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@stephanie447 It might not be the specific one that I mentioned but I still think it is something in the Polygonaceae family. Maybe find a book of plants local to your area and look in the Polygonaceae section to see if there is something that is a closer match.
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Sage along with rosemary, savory, marjoram, and lemon balm are in the Lamiaceae (mint) family to my understanding and do have the squared stem. With what I can discern from your photo, this plant does seem to have some of the mint family characteristics, but looks nothing like the sage that I grew in my garden this year. If it is sage -- it is not a variety that I am familiar with.
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There is an excellent book for plant identification that everyone should have in their library. Botany in a Day by Thomas J Elpel. It helps to narrow down plants to their family traits to make things easier. As a couple of people have mentioned, the square stems of the Lamiaceae family is a common indicator.It goes into great detail about leaf structure and habit as well as stems and flowers. It is on the book list for many botany courses and herbal colleges.
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Thank you for all the suggestions!
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@stephanie447 do the leaves have any smell? It looks to me like "pineapple sage", that smells and tastes like a mild pineapple taste. It has little red flowers when flowering. I certainly wouldn't taste it till you know what it is, but what does it smell like?
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@stephanie447 I have this stuff growing everywhere. As far as I know it's a weed and an aggressive one at that. If anyone knows of other uses for it I would love to learn about that. Here's a link where you can identify it to be sure:
https://medium.com/catonsville-wild-plants/pennsylvania-smartgrass-166f7d0e8810
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Just so we're clear, are we talking about the plant with the beady pink flowers? If so, it is almost certainly a smartweed. If not, could you isolate one of the plants so that we know we are talking about the same thing?
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It isn’t sage, it’s leaves wouldn’t be so smooth and thin. Growing sage, rosemary, lavender, thyme, from seed takes time and isn’t easy. It took my friend 5 years to have a seven lavender plant from seed. Plus sage likes sun. Better off sprouting in starter pots and transplanting once they’re bigger.
If you want to spread seeds to see what happens you’ll be more successful with cumin, cilantro, chives, rucula, mustard, etc
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I hesitate to call any plant "weed", as they work to help us, but I do believe this bad boy is a "weed". :)
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Pretty sure @Melissa Swartz has this one. So it would have some properties similar to other Polygonaceae family such as Rumex species, but it is not well known in Western Herbalism.
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Lavender sprouts from seed with abandon here, so I guess it depends on climate etc.
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So what exactly is the difference between an herb and a "weed"? :-)
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A weed is a plant that we have yet to find a use for. A herb is a plant that we already know its uses.
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I am pretty sure it is not like any sage I have ever grown. Looks just like a plant growing around my yard that I am pretty sure was a weed. I did not plant it and It got pulled up so I hope it was a weed.
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Except that's not true, as dandelions are still classed as weeds and we know they have sooooooo many uses!!!!
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@Karin Depends on who is doing the classifying. I personally would never consider dandelions as weeds, nor would any other herbalist I know. It is a highly medicinal, widely used herb. But I guess, if you are a landscaper or the type of homeowner who must have a perfectly manicured lawn, then dandelions are weeds. But that is only because they haven't discovered the uses. So, all in the eye of the beholder.
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Green Deane of http://www.eattheweeds.com/archive/ is a foraging expert. There may be some help identifying it on the website.
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Thanks, @torey . That looks like an amazing book! I've put it onto my amazon wish list, along with the others I got from this forum. :)
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Thanks for the link @annbeck62 . For a while I was trying to learn a new wild plant to forage every year, but now I have enough that I often eat the weeds I pull out of the garden.
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@torey the book is now on my Amazon wishlist as well. I need to look through some of my dad's things that I kept. He was great at identifying plants. He actually wrote up keys (how to identify a particular plant) for almost every plant in our county, which is one of the larger ones in Texas.
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that is true @torey - I wouldn't be classifying it as a weed, nor many other useful plants that "invade" the manicured lawn of the perfectionist gardener lol. And maybe it's not that they haven't discovered the uses, but don't want to. Me, I prefer our "lawn" with many varied plants growing in it - so interesting to see what's coming up and its never the same :D
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Whatever this plant is, it's actually quite pretty. It was in an area under the deck where there was just a mess of dirt and ugly weeds, and now that they've sprouted it looks kind of bush-like with tiny, pretty purple flowers. They weren't there last year so I am guessing the seed company sent me something other than what on the label!
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@stephanie447 Have you been able to identify it yet? Still think it is Polygonaceae family. A smart-weed or willow-weed of some variety.
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