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What IS that? |
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Plants are amazing things - especially when you pay attention to the
details. Often, I don't see those details until I take a close-up picture
and look at it on my computer screen. So let's have some fun - I will put
interesting bits of close-up photos on this page, and let you guess which
plants are being highlighted. Just use the comment field below to state your
guess. When a correct answer is posted for an image, I'll replace it with a
new one. No prizes - just the glory of being a What's that? winner on
robsplants.com.
Your guess may not appear in the comments section right
away. I moderate page comments, to avoid an onslaught of spam.
The photos below are still in search of an identity:
WhatsThat number twenty-two: metallic fragrance
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WhatsThat number twenty-three: net-leaved vine
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Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Kathleen | Jun 03, 2008 | I'm guessing it's a perennial, but what do I know. (I'm a card carrying member of the Mediocre Plant Identifying Group.) Looking forward to finding out.
Yes, it's a perennial. But that doesn't narrow it down much... |
| Iris | Jun 10, 2008 | Could it be Asphodeline?
and the first prize goes to Iris! It is indeed Asphodeline lutea. |
| James Cheshire | Jul 08, 2008 | Leonurus cardiaca
Correct family (of course ;-) but it's not leonurus... |
| Cindy | Jul 20, 2008 | Callirhoe involucrata
Good guess - but no, this purple flower belongs to an annual, whereas callirhoe is perennial... |
| Cindy | Jul 22, 2008 | Corn cockle? It's a purple-flowering self-seeding annual with five petals and hairy stems. I confess I had to use my botany textbook :)
You got it! Agrostemma githago it is. |
| Cindy | Jul 23, 2008 | Echinacea purpurea
Right again! |
| Cindy | Jul 26, 2008 | Lamium album?
Afraid not. Still the right family, still the wrong genus ;-) |
| Cindy | Jul 27, 2008 | Nepeta subsessilis (GRIN)
Grin! Still not quite right :-). You did get the other one right (by e-mail) - that is indeed Asclepias tuberosa. |
| Cindy | Jul 28, 2008 | Not Blephilia hirsuta or Galeopsis bifida, but wow, there is such amazing diversity in the Laminacea! Campanula carpatica?
It's in lamiaceae, for sure (which rules out Campanula). This is a taller-growing plant - its flowers are arranged in clusters around the stem. |
| daan | Jul 31, 2008 | stachys macrantha ?
Another good guess - but alas... |
| Mary Beth | Aug 03, 2008 | #6-Clarkia bottae, Rob?
Absolutely, Mary Beth :-) |
| Cindy | Aug 06, 2008 | Pycnanthemum virginianum
I guess there's just too many plants in lamiaceae... Alas, another miss. |
| Team Cindy | Aug 07, 2008 | Aha! With thanks ALSO to my local County Extension Agent, and a friendly Master Gardener, may we consider the Scutellaria for What's that #2?
Take a look at my brand-spanking new page about skullcaps - nary a fuzzy one to be found! It's about time #2 gets retired - so here's a hint: the genus of this plant sounds like a description of a messy men's room mishap. |
| Team Cindy | Aug 07, 2008 | Paeonia, for What's that #7. :)
I wish I had peonies with such foliage... |
| Cindy | Oct 07, 2008 | Wow!...nobody knows the ID of What's that #2.... |
| Cindy | Nov 13, 2008 | STILL no new hints or ideas for #2 or #7...? We are trying to figure this out, especially now that we have more time since the gardens are fading :)
#2 is P.t. #7 belongs to one of my favorite genuses, one for which I made a special page... |
| Mary Beth | Nov 23, 2008 | #7 Thalictrum ludicum. Thanks for the hint!
Sure thing! |
| Mary Beth | Dec 11, 2008 | While looking for something else I came across the Autumn Crocus. #8 solved!
You got it! |
| Patricia | Jan 02, 2009 | Is nine Solanum atropurpureum?
Sure is! |
| J. J. | Jan 10, 2009 | #10 - Carex grayii is my guess
That would be correct :-) |
| Cindy | Jan 11, 2009 | Alright, I'll try again :) Pycnanthemum torreyi for #2, but I don't think I have it right yet....this genus is very humbling!
I don't grow that pycnanthemum. This is an upright plant, with flowers arranged in levels around the stalk. Ring a bell? |
| Cindy | Jan 17, 2009 | Pycnanthemum tenuifolium?
Not a pycnanthemum, I'm afraid... |
| Gin | Jan 21, 2009 | #11- Looks like a Scroph of some kind and based on the bloom time, maybe an Agalinis, (since it used to be classed in that family) but there are so many species...
According to my references, not in scrophulariaceae (though you're close!) - this is the only plant I've grown that's in this particular family. |
| Ann | Jan 22, 2009 | #11 African Foxglove, Ceratotheca triloba?
That's right, Ann! |
| Mary Beth | Feb 08, 2009 | Is #2 Phlomis tuberosa? Finally figured out that the clue "P.t." might be it's initials. And it is in your side garden.
Ta da! Finally, the correct answer :-) |
| Kim | Feb 16, 2009 | Hi Rob. Your clue for #12 suggested it was rush, and after googling numerous Juncus species (I thought Juncus arcticus met the clue perfectly, as did Equisetum hyemale, the winter scouring rush. But no, they don't look like your pic. What do I find on my last search but the very same pic as shown above, of Luzula nivea, from YOUR OWN site. Don't tell me all the quizzes are for plants already posted on your site. You bugger! Thanks for the fun.
You got it. All the WhatsThat photos are for plants in my garden, so chances are some photo can be found on my site - though not necessarily the particular mystery photo :-) |
| Kim | Feb 20, 2009 | Your photo captures the most enchanting aspect of this plant. How the tiny flowers open in a single or double ring slowly in succession down the cone of horrible/beautiful prickles. I believe it's Dipsacus fullonum, the teasel. This plant scares me Rob, not for the prickles, but for the literally hundreds of volunteer plants it can make the second year from dropped seed. Good-bye, teasel. Hopefully it won't be so prolific for you. ::::::::::::::-)
You got it! I guess I'll find out this spring how I fare with the volunteers... |
| Ellen Schijve | Mar 18, 2009 | Complimenten voor je zeer toegankelijke en bruikbare website.
Volgens mij is #14 Cotula hispida.
Dat lijkt mij ook, ja :-) |
| Matt | Apr 09, 2009 | 16 looks like a Mertensia. How about M. virginica? Looking forward to the plant sale, Rob.
Virginia bluebells it is! By the way, they're blooming right now (this photo was last year's) |
| Kim | Apr 24, 2009 | Number 15 is a beautiful image that lasts forever and ever in my mind. Could it be Limonium latifolium?
Close! But L. latifolium (a synonym for L. gerberi) is a perennial... |
| Petra Sverige | Apr 26, 2009 | Number 17 is a Magnolia, guess stellata?
You're right, of course, on the magnolia. Not stellata, but it may be a bit much to expect a more precise ID. It's 'Elizabeth', in fact. |
| Kim | Apr 28, 2009 | If I get a second chance on Number 15, how about Limonium sinuatum?
Correctissimo! |
| Katie | May 27, 2009 | #19, Could that be an Opuntia?
Sure is. Your guess actually came before Chris's (but got stuck in my comment filter till just now). |
| Matt | May 27, 2009 | # 18 - Fothergilla gardenii
Quite correct |
| Chris Orr | May 26, 2009 | #19: I was going to say Opuntia tuna, but then I looked through your galleries and saw your Opuntia humifusa, so I'm gonna go with that.
Yep, that's it. |
| Daniela | Jun 13, 2009 | Number twenty must be the petal of Cornus florida 'Rubra'
A petal, yes. But not cornus. |
| Judy Wilkins | Jun 21, 2009 | #20 looks like the older petals from a hydrangea flower.
Older petals is exactly right. But this flower appears way before hydrangeas bloom. |
| janine | Jun 27, 2009 | guessing #20 dogwood and #21 salvia lyrata?
Alas, negative on both counts. #20 is lower to the ground; #21 is more tropical. |
| Daniela | Jul 03, 2009 | Nr. 20 could be a petal from Helleborus foetidus?
Close - but my foetidus flowers stay green throughout their life. |
| Daniela | Jul 06, 2009 | Nr. 20 is Helleborus niger?
Correct! |
| Beate | Jul 27, 2009 | #21 Solanum quitoense?
That's right! Photo taken of a young leaf. |
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Previous entries
Photos whose identity has been successfully determined appear below. See if
you know what they are - to view the correct answer, drag your cursor across the
area between the [ ] to highlight the hidden text.
[Asphodeline lutea]
WhatsThat number one, identified by Iris
[Phlomis tuberosa]
WhatsThat number two: from our side garden, identified by Mary Beth
[Agrostemma githago]
WhatsThat number three: a self-seeding wildflower, identified by Cindy
[Echinacea purpurea]
WhatsThat number four: summer standby perennial, identified by Cindy
[Asclepias tuberosa]
WhatsThat number five: late-rising perennial, identified by Cindy
[Clarkia bottae]
WhatsThat number six: a whispy annual, identified by Mary Beth
[Thalictrum lucidum]
WhatsThat number seven: a handsome-leaved perennial, identified by Mary Beth
[Crocus speciosus]
WhatsThat number eight: autumn cheer, identified by Mary Beth
[Solanum atropurpureum]
WhatsThat number nine: prickly beauty, identified by Patricia
[Carex grayii]
WhatsThat number ten: spikey green balls, identified by J.J.
[Ceratotheca triloba]
WhatsThat number eleven: elegant soft-hairy flowers in the late-summer garden, identified by Ann
[Luzula nivea]
WhatsThat number twelve: like a mad dash through a wintery forest? Identified by Kim
[Dipsacus fullonum]
WhatsThat number thirteen: an ouch-inducing biennial wildflower, identified by Kim
[Cotula hispida]
WhatsThat number fourteen: cute as a button, identified by Ellen.
[Mertensia virginica]
WhatsThat number sixteen: plum arches on a beloved wildflower, identified by Matt
[Limonium sinuatum]
WhatsThat number fifteen: crispy annual, identified by Kim
[Magnolia 'Elizabeth']
WhatsThat number seventeen: girly flower, identified by Petra in Sweden
[Fothergilla 'Mount Airy']
WhatsThat number eighteen: airhead, identified by Matt
[Opuntia humifusa]
WhatsThat number nineteen: so smooth and delicate..., identified by Katie and Chris Orr
[Helleborus niger]
WhatsThat number twenty: old white, identified by Daniela
[Solanum quitoense]
WhatsThat number twenty-one: veined velvet, identified by Beate
Last modified:
July 27, 2009
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