# That's Elvis' face on my potato **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2000, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424 "2000-07-22T01:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/1 "2000-07-22T01:58:48Z")
Well, this is almost as good. I was weeding the vegetable garden yesterday. Saw some weedy looking leaves near a tomato plant, and I bent down to check it out – I’m going for ground level, gonna get that sucker by the roots. So I’m looking all around, and the only thing with roots in the ground is the tomato plant. There are leaves on this plant that are **not** tomato plant leaves. I’ve grown tomatoes for years, and I know what tomato leaves look like. The color, shape and texture of the these weedy-looking leaves is completely different. And the distinctive tomato plant smell is absent. I’m going to take a picture of it and ask the guy at the nursery what’s going on. Is it possible for two different plants, a tomato and a weed, to somehow grow together, on their own? I know that scientists have hybridized plants for years, but can it happen accidentally? Is my tomato plant destined for the cover of Newsweek? The Star, maybe? Okay, what am I bid for a mutant tomato plant? ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/2 "2000-07-22T02:30:36Z")
Try smoking the leaves. Let us know if you inhale or not. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/3 "2000-07-22T02:46:01Z")
Ha! LOL Now the dog’s looking at me funny again. Thanks for the chuckle. These aren’t marijuana leaves. I know what those look like. If you don’t mind, **Montfort** , I’d like a **scientific** opinion. :::sniff snort nose in air::: ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/4 "2000-07-22T05:28:48Z")
Yeah, Auntie, two plants can cross-breed accidentally. For example, some Roundup Ready plants can cross-breed with some weeds, making the weeds Roundup Ready. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/5 "2000-07-22T14:49:21Z")
Derleth – what’s “Roundup Ready”? Roundup is a herbicide, of course, but how does a weed get “ready” for it? The image I get is of a weed holding its breath and plugging its nose. Is it a joke? I’m not getting it. (Wouldn’t be the first time.) ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/6 "2000-07-22T14:59:25Z")
“Round-up Ready” is Monsanto’s range of genetically modified cropping plants designed to be used in conjunction with their popular herbicide Roundup CT. Unfortunately, when the GM crops start cross breeding with co-existing weeds, the end result is a weed that is now Roundup resistant. Which is bad news because you then need to find another herbicide to kill the weed, which will probably be harnful to your crop as well. The worst case scenario is when the weeds have become resistant or immune to every herbicide available, which is a real risk if GM technology is allowed to continue without some serious thought to the consequences. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/7 "2000-07-22T16:07:41Z")
Thank you both. Scary. Guess my tomato plant won’t be famous after all. Shoot, I don’t think we’ll even eat the tomatoes from this one. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/8 "2000-07-22T21:06:17Z")
Another theory: it could be Tomacco. Have you been smoking in the garden lately? Drop any ashes, even accidentally? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2000, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-elvis-face-on-my-potato/26424/9 "2000-07-23T03:43:48Z")
Ha! The possibilities are intriguing, aren’t they? I wouldn’t mind a tomato-cucumber hybrid. It would save some prep time – fixing salads and stuff. Garlic and onion would seem to be a natural pairing. I seem to remember a broccoli-cauliflower combo in stores a few years ago, but haven’t seen any recently.