A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Use this forum for identification of plants and flowers found in the UK. To allow us to help provide accurate identification we need clear pictures of the whole plant, where it is growing and close up pictures of flowers, buds or seed heads if any available. It would also be useful to see pictures showing the leaf attached to the stem.
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cylonsurfer
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Joined: 02 Feb 2018, 10:00

A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by cylonsurfer » 02 Feb 2018, 11:05

I think one is a Boston Ferm but I'm not 100% sure? I rescued it from my office at work as it was a little neglected:

Not sure what the other two are but I noticed them while out looking for White Deadnettle and Plantain.

The plan is for the fern to go in my torts enclosure, the other two I just want to know if they are safe to eat for not.

Cheers all.
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Boston Fern?
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lin
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Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by lin » 02 Feb 2018, 11:13

Hiya.
The plant unknows 1 - is speedwell is okay fed only sparingly because it is quite high in tannins.
Plant unknown 2 - is Buttercup and not a feed.
The plant you thought is Boston Fern is not. To me it looks like one of the Euphoria and is toxic so stear clear of this one.

Lin

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Nina
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Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by Nina » 02 Feb 2018, 11:46

Hi, I agree with Lin about the Speedwell, but I think I disagree about the other two (this often happens when you have a smallish photo and no flowers on the plant), so just thought I'd give my thoughts (lol, Lin and I always end up agreeing on an ID eventually, but these aren't always as easy straight forward as people think).

Re your second photo. It could be a buttercup (there are many species of buttercup), but the rounded edges of the little frills on the leaf look a bit more like one of the wild geraniums to me -- maybe related to the Shining Geraniums, but there are loads. If you can wait for it to grow on a bit and maybe get a flower then we could be more sure. Also, are any of the stems reddish (that is more characteristic of geraniums than buttercups).

The third photo definitely looks like a fern of some sort (hard to tell as it is nearly dead) in the middle of a lot of spider plant. Given what I can see of the leaf arrangement on the stems, it could well be a Boston Fern. I can see what might have led Lin to think it was a Euphorbia, but I think that was one of the dead stems of fern, and I am sure that yours is a fern (probably Boston) and therefore safe. As the ultimate test to see if it is Euphorbia, break a stem in half and if the sap is and milky white then it''s more likely to be a Euphorbia (and if it is milky white then wash your hands carefully after touching it).

Nina

cylonsurfer
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Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by cylonsurfer » 02 Feb 2018, 12:30

Thanks guys, does a closer up pic help? I can't find any links to a "Euphoria" to see what one looks like.
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Nina
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Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by Nina » 02 Feb 2018, 12:43

Don't worry -- that's a good photo and definitely a fern. There are hundreds of types of Euphorbias, and all of them have a very distinctive milky white sap in the stems, but I'm sure this one is a fern and most probably a Boston Fern, so I think you are fine with planting it in the enclosure. As it is a fern, you will have to ensure that it is well watered, and you might think about spraying the leaves with a fine mist every day or two as well. Should be fine though.

Nina

cylonsurfer
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Joined: 02 Feb 2018, 10:00

Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by cylonsurfer » 02 Feb 2018, 12:45

ah cool - so safe to say a boston fern or not?

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Nina
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Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by Nina » 02 Feb 2018, 13:00

I have a whole book on ferns, and there are thousands of them, many of which look exactly the same to me (I've just read that there are over 10,500 known species of ferns) -- but I think this is probably a Boston Fern (Nephrolepsis exalta var. bostoniensis), although it could also be an Asplenium or a Polypodium or one of several similar looking species. I've just had a quick look at my book and there are so many that look alike to me that you really need to be a specialist on ferns, and I'm not. However, the Boston Fern is a commonly kept one, so that makes it more likely.

The leaflets on the stems of your fern look shorter than the ones on some photos of Boston fern that I've seen (but that could be due to poor growing conditions), but I wouldn't worry too much about the species -- I think this will be fine.

If you are planting it in the enclosure, it will have to be well watered, and as ferns like a humid climate I would give it a light spray with water every day or two.

Nina

cylonsurfer
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Joined: 02 Feb 2018, 10:00

Re: A Couple of Plant IDs please.

Post by cylonsurfer » 02 Feb 2018, 13:02

Ok - thanks Nina, I appreciate your help with this.

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