# Yet another identify this plant question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447 "2010-07-29T13:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/1 "2010-07-29T13:39:51Z")
Can anyone tell me what [sort of plant is in these pictures?](http://picasaweb.google.com/donspade/Weeds#) A coworker has this growing in her yard. She thought it was a volunteer grape plant and let it go but is now sure it’s an insidious weed and wonders what it is before pulling it. thanks. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/2 "2010-07-29T15:10:01Z")
It looks like some variety of sunflower to me. Did any of those buds bloom yet? ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/3 "2010-07-29T15:10:33Z")
The plant in pictures 2, 3 and 4 looks like _Abutilon theophrasti_, aka Velvet Leaf. If so, it is a weed. The plant in the first picture seems different from the rest. Here’s the Wikipedia page: [Abutilon theophrasti - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abutilon_theophrasti) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/4 "2010-07-29T15:15:09Z")
I’m withdrawing my guess…after looking A. theophrasti up, I agree with **Monstera**. I’ve never encountered that plant before and the pics are really not that great. I also agree that the first pic seems like a different plant. I thought that even when I thought the other pics were a sunflower. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/5 "2010-07-29T15:28:50Z")
The first pic look like grapes to me. They grow wild all around my house. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/6 "2010-07-29T15:31:54Z")
If you posted the location of the plant, that would help eliminate possibilities. It could be abutilon or it could be some kind of wild grape. Those two plants don’t necessarily grow in all parts of the country and not necessarily in the same places… so I can figure it out if A) the pictures were a little better and B) I knew which USDA zone this plant is found in. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/7 "2010-07-29T16:10:16Z")
I suppose I should mention that I looked up references because this is GQ and all, and therefore wanted to post some sort of verifying link. But I knew that the plant in pictures 2-4 was Abutilon theophrasti because I have experience yanking it out of my garden, and I recognized the distinctive flowers and buds on sight. It wasn’t a guess. I have no idea what the plant in picture number one is. It could be a grape, but it is definitely not the same plant as in the other pictures. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/8 "2010-07-29T16:26:19Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > I suppose I should mention that I looked up references because this is GQ and all, and therefore wanted to post some sort of verifying link. But I knew that the plant in pictures 2-4 was Abutilon theophrasti because I have experience yanking it out of my garden, and I recognized the distinctive flowers and buds on sight. It wasn’t a guess. I was saying that my sunflower guess was a guess, not that your answer was a guess. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/9 "2010-07-29T16:31:53Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > If you posted the location of the plant, that would help eliminate possibilities. Indeed. Western Pennsylvania. I think the first picture is a different plant (weed) I just blindly posted the pictures thinking they were the same. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/10 "2010-07-29T18:16:12Z")
Wild-looking and ‘volunteering-commonly’ grape (#1) is often ‘[muscadine](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=muscadine%20leaf&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=918&bih=544)’ (\<-leaf pics, [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscadine) here). Can be invasive or useful, depending on the person, ime. Is that it? HTH I think I know the second plant as Indian mallow, aka an Abutilon species, like **monstera** says. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/11 "2010-07-29T18:19:04Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > I suppose I should mention that I looked up references because this is GQ and all, and therefore wanted to post some sort of verifying link. But I knew that the plant in pictures 2-4 was Abutilon theophrasti because I have experience yanking it out of my garden, and I recognized the distinctive flowers and buds on sight. It wasn’t a guess. > > I have no idea what the plant in picture number one is. It could be a grape, but it is definitely not the same plant as in the other pictures. I agree, if the red flowers at the bottom in picture #4 are flowers from another plant. The information I found indicated that Abutilon theophrasti has yellow flowers. [Visuals](http://www.google.com/images?q=Abutilon+theophrasti&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=2FY&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=hsRRTMrVD8KAlAenmpzYBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CC8QsAQwAw&biw=1209&bih=852) [USDA cite](http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ABTH) If the red flowers came from the abutilon, then you must have another variety. There are 27 species of abutilon. However, according to [this map](http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ABUTI), Abutilon theophrasti is the only species of abutilon that lives in Western PA. All others appear to be at least sub-tropicals. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/12 "2010-07-29T21:26:23Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > > [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > > > I suppose I should mention that I looked up references because this is GQ and all, and therefore wanted to post some sort of verifying link. But I knew that the plant in pictures 2-4 was Abutilon theophrasti because I have experience yanking it out of my garden, and I recognized the distinctive flowers and buds on sight. It wasn’t a guess. > > I was saying that my sunflower guess was a guess, not that your answer was a guess. I understand, **jayjay**. I was replying to\*\* Dogzilla\*\* And to answer his (or her) subsequent post: In my experience, _A. theophrasti_’s flower’s vary from yellow to yellow-orange. I assumed that the “red” flowers in the picture (which look orange to me) either looked darker than usual because of the quality of the photo, or belonged to another plant in the background ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/13 "2010-07-30T18:44:14Z")
The last three pictures are definitely Velvet Leaf. Grew up on a farm and saw it all the time. It’s a weed - though, I did like how soft the leaves were (like velvet, hence the name) and the seed pods made for fun mini maracas in the fall… Not sure what the plant is in the first picture, though. It is not the same plant. At first it reminded me of a grapevine, but I haven’t seen any grapevines with purple veins in the leaves. My mom had a tip for finding out of a vine is a grapevine or not: Tear off a tendril (the shiny vine part that is curly and wraps around stuff as an anchor) and chew it. If it tastes like grapes, it’s a grape vine. If not, it’s something else. Obviously, do NOT swallow the vine or the saliva if it does not taste like grapes. Spit it out! ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/14 "2010-07-30T19:01:52Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > And to answer his (or her) subsequent post: In my experience, _A. theophrasti_’s flower’s vary from yellow to yellow-orange. I assumed that the “red” flowers in the picture (which look orange to me) either looked darker than usual because of the quality of the photo, or belonged to another plant in the background Her. And thank you. Very informative. Despite that USDA map showing this plant growing throughout the U.S., I don’t recall seeing it in my neck of the woods. We have the bright red ones that are tropicals and look like California red poppies. (I believe the two are distantly related.) I grew one for a while but never got it to bloom and then it froze over the winter and never came back. So I gave up. I didn’t learn about gardening and plants until I moved to Zone 8b, so if it doesn’t do well in Florida’s heat & humidity, I have no idea what it is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-identify-this-plant-question/548447/15 "2010-07-30T19:16:38Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > > [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > > > And to answer his (or her) subsequent post: In my experience, _A. theophrasti_’s flower’s vary from yellow to yellow-orange. I assumed that the “red” flowers in the picture (which look orange to me) either looked darker than usual because of the quality of the photo, or belonged to another plant in the background > > Her. > > And thank you. Very informative. Despite that USDA map showing this plant growing throughout the U.S., I don’t recall seeing it in my neck of the woods. We have the bright red ones that are tropicals and look like California red poppies. (I believe the two are distantly related.) I grew one for a while but never got it to bloom and then it froze over the winter and never came back. So I gave up. > > I didn’t learn about gardening and plants until I moved to Zone 8b, so if it doesn’t do well in Florida’s heat & humidity, I have no idea what it is. 🙂 Yeah, I never saw them either until I moved to Illinois seven years ago. I kind of thought they were a midwestern weed. Anyway, before I moved out here, I was strictly a houseplant person. Everything I’ve learned about the stuff that grows outdoors, I’ve learned in the past few years. (All the practical knowledge I’ve learned anyway–I used to like to read about outdoor gardens before then.) Since they are in the same genus, _Abutilon theophrasti_ and the _Abutilons_ grown as ornamentals (I don’t know the species names offhand) are definitely related, and not distantly. I used to grow a variegated _Abutilon_ as a houseplant, but I found it a bit too fussy for me. Pretty orange flowers, though.