Any plants(wo)men here?

rizla01

Please look at my post HERE

I need this identifying.









More pics at above post.

emiff6

Is it giant fennel (ferula communis)? Comes from the Mediterranean. Looks too tall to be regular fennel (foeniculum vulgaris).

Mrs_Domino

Those leaves look like the fennel my dad has. Not sure though, sure someone will be along help in a min

Mrs_Domino

Mrs_Domino wrote: »

Those leaves look like the fennel my dad has. Not sure though, sure someone will be along help in a min

Oh! Ha ha, they did! Posted while I was googling to double check

silvermaid

It looks like fennel to me as well

ceridwen

Yep - looks like a sorta giant fennel to me too.

One way to find out - nip a tiny bit off one of those leaves and have a cautious "taste test". If it tastes sorta aniseed-y = its a type of fennel.

Though - hey - I'm not one of the world's most cautious beings - except where mushrooms are concerned...and I'm about to cook up summat I found today for the first time for dinner in a minute...

.....If I dont reappear - then I've misidentified:rotfl:

rizla01

Well I just bit into one of the frondy bits and they taste like grass.



EDIT:

Oh. Here ya go.

This impressive plant (to 4 m tall!) has – since antiquity– a reputation of aphrodisiac or “natural” viagra in several countries (Turkey, Middle East, North and East Africa). In fact, it is a poisonous plant and its consuming may results in haemorrhage and even death.

Caution!
It is a source of resin gum (fessoukh in Arabic), obtained by incision of the root, and used in traditional medicine for a variety of ailments, from antiquity. While the immature flower buds of F. communis are edible, the rest of the plant is poisonous! It is responsible for numerous cases of sickness and death among herds, especially among sheep that accidentally graze on its leaves in spring. Consuming F. communis may result in severe internal bleeding. It contains anticoagulant constituents, known for their haemorrhagic action. Chemical composition studies of Ferula communis showed that it contains 4-hydroxycoumarin derivatives, some of which were demonstrated to have hypothrombonic action. 4-hydroxycoumarin anticoagulants are known, on the other hand, to be used for the treatment and management of thromboembolic disease in humans

Not wise to chew on then.:)


Thanks for the identification you lot.






Not the most spectacular flower tho. pity.

emiff6

rizla01 wrote: »

Well I just bit into one of the frondy bits and they taste like grass.

Giant fennel it is then. You might just want to spit, or wash your mouth out - it's not for eating.

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ferula%20communis

oops, cross-threaded!

rizla01

Of the CARROT family apparantly.

ceridwen

OOPs......just as well you didnae cook it up for dinner then...

<as I sit here eating mine and thinking "Yep...that tastes like garlic - must BE ramsons then...rather than owt else....":cool:
(think thats a pretty safe bet to assume - as it stank the place out with a strong garlic smell....)

Davesnave

Ferula communis, when it gets to that size will flower, set seed and then die, because it's monocarpic.

If you let the seed heads form, you'll get masses of large seeds, which can not only feed some birds, but also germinate pretty easily if sown into a pot kept outside till late winter.

I hope you're not planning any snogging tonight, Ceridwen! :rotfl: