I have 1) a reddish purple mystery plant about 5 inches tall and 2) a feathery, frondy thing about 2.5 feet tall which has helpfully just started to bloom. I've taken pictures, so now I'm going to figure out how to post them.
Edited to add picture of purple mystery (don't know why it's sideways; I edited it in Photobucket):
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0149.jpg[/img]
Edited again to add pic of frondy, feathery mystery (this one I rotated on my computer before posting to Photobucket).
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0151.jpg[/img]
Mysteries: Herb or weed?
Jenny C
The purple one looks like Perilla.
If it's strongly fragrant, then it might be Japanese red "Shiso" -- sorry don't know scientific/common name -- which is what is salt pickled with plums to color Japanese umeboshi -- extremely salty, soft somewhat sweet and wrinkled (like prunes but with tender skin) or salty, hard and crunchy little round fruits.
Umeboshi is attributed with many health benefits, but is excellent for recovering from a hot day. Red shiso, like green shiso (called Aoba in Japanese cuisine) is often chopped in fine threads and mounded to accompany sashimi. Red shiso's pale lavender flower stalks (looks like coleus or basil) make edible garnish, and seed pods, stripped from the stalk, can be mixed with 1/3 or equal amount of salt, allowed to sit to let the water out, squeezed dry. You can eat it as is with hot rice (keep in refrigerator) or air dried, then keep in a jar for sprinkling over hot rice. Also good in "chazuke" -- pour hot green tea over hot rice in bowl with small amount of other ingredients.
I'm rambling on and it might not even be Shiso....
The frondy one is Achillea (Yarrow).
If it's strongly fragrant, then it might be Japanese red "Shiso" -- sorry don't know scientific/common name -- which is what is salt pickled with plums to color Japanese umeboshi -- extremely salty, soft somewhat sweet and wrinkled (like prunes but with tender skin) or salty, hard and crunchy little round fruits.
Umeboshi is attributed with many health benefits, but is excellent for recovering from a hot day. Red shiso, like green shiso (called Aoba in Japanese cuisine) is often chopped in fine threads and mounded to accompany sashimi. Red shiso's pale lavender flower stalks (looks like coleus or basil) make edible garnish, and seed pods, stripped from the stalk, can be mixed with 1/3 or equal amount of salt, allowed to sit to let the water out, squeezed dry. You can eat it as is with hot rice (keep in refrigerator) or air dried, then keep in a jar for sprinkling over hot rice. Also good in "chazuke" -- pour hot green tea over hot rice in bowl with small amount of other ingredients.
I'm rambling on and it might not even be Shiso.... The frondy one is Achillea (Yarrow).
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cheshirekat
- Senior Member
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 11:13 pm
- Location: Denver, CO (zone 5)
Don't feel bad Jenny. A lot of us can't recognize what we planted until we've been looking at it for a long time. I planted a bunch of bulbs last fall, recognized the crocus when it appeared this spring, but had to inquire about the second bulbs to flower. My tulips. I was so embarrassed - isn't it one of the most recognized flowers? 
I've gotten fairly good at knowing the weeds that I've seen over and over. But young weeds often look like flowers and vice versa. I usually try to wait to pull the weeds until they get big enough for me to fully grasp the weed as if strangling it with one hand, then yank. Occasionally, a flower gets pulled when the weed is growing close to the roots. I pull a lot of my strawberries because of the weeds.
I've gotten fairly good at knowing the weeds that I've seen over and over. But young weeds often look like flowers and vice versa. I usually try to wait to pull the weeds until they get big enough for me to fully grasp the weed as if strangling it with one hand, then yank. Occasionally, a flower gets pulled when the weed is growing close to the roots. I pull a lot of my strawberries because of the weeds.
"Love all God's creatures, the animals, the plants. Love everything to perceive the divine mystery in all." -Fyodor Dostoyevsky
JennyC - I can't find it now, but the other post in which you said little seedlings are popping up everywhere -- I think they rather look like Perilla/Shiso. They get more purple and frilly as they mature, they do freely re-seed from year to year, and once you let them go to seed, you'll find them growing everywhere. 
In my area, the fall frost kills them instantly (like coleus), I'm wondering if the mature specimen in this original post manged to overwinter in your area. Isn't coleus considered binennial in frost-free regions?
In my area, the fall frost kills them instantly (like coleus), I'm wondering if the mature specimen in this original post manged to overwinter in your area. Isn't coleus considered binennial in frost-free regions?
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
CheshireKat: thanks. I can't seem to identify much of anything; that's a lack of recent personal experience. I'll get better, I know.
Applestar: I can't find it either But it would be lovely if it were perilla/shiso. I would imagine some might well overwinter here, though I doubt that plant is the parent of all the littles I'm seeing -- I have them in the garden and on the front porch steps, opposite directions from the plant you ID'd, and both a long way off (garden is probably 50 yards). I did repost that pic somewhere else with the comment that no one had ID'd it, but that was before I saw your post.
Opabinia: which part of the yarrow do you make tea from? And what's prickly heat? Thanks!
Applestar: I can't find it either
But it would be lovely if it were perilla/shiso. I would imagine some might well overwinter here, though I doubt that plant is the parent of all the littles I'm seeing -- I have them in the garden and on the front porch steps, opposite directions from the plant you ID'd, and both a long way off (garden is probably 50 yards). I did repost that pic somewhere else with the comment that no one had ID'd it, but that was before I saw your post.Opabinia: which part of the yarrow do you make tea from? And what's prickly heat? Thanks!
Jenny C
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opabinia51
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- Location: Victoria, BC
Applestar: I have found some little purple sprouts near the parent plant you ID'd as perilla. So, I don't think the new mystery is the same thing, or perhaps it's a different variety. Here are better pictures (I pulled this one out of my squash):
Top view:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0163.jpg[/img]
Side view:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0162.jpg[/img]
Root:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0161.jpg[/img]
Thanks, Opabinia! I just suggested trying yarrow to my mother, who's taking niacin for cholesterol (statins don't agree with her). The niacin causes flushing, and while it might not help since it's not prickly heat, the yarrow isn't likely to hurt, either.
Top view:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0163.jpg[/img]
Side view:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0162.jpg[/img]
Root:
[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll138/crispwriting/PICT0161.jpg[/img]
Thanks, Opabinia! I just suggested trying yarrow to my mother, who's taking niacin for cholesterol (statins don't agree with her). The niacin causes flushing, and while it might not help since it's not prickly heat, the yarrow isn't likely to hurt, either.
Jenny C
Jess,
Thanks. I can definitely attest that they are self- seeding (and seeding, and seeding, and seeding....)
Have had it suggested that it's pigweed or that it's Acalypha. I'm leaning toward the Acalypha, but my little guys aren't really hairy, and both of those are supposed to be, so I'm not positive.
Regardless, I pulled them out of my squash patch.
Thanks. I can definitely attest that they are self- seeding (and seeding, and seeding, and seeding....)
Have had it suggested that it's pigweed or that it's Acalypha. I'm leaning toward the Acalypha, but my little guys aren't really hairy, and both of those are supposed to be, so I'm not positive.
Regardless, I pulled them out of my squash patch.
Jenny C