Lawn foliage now

[Stephenb]

Having a large collection of edible plants, many of which would be classified as weeds, several have escaped and turned up in my "lawn". The lawn (shorn meadow) has become more and more diverse over the years. It's never had any fertiliser, in fact it gets no attention whatsoever apart from the occasional trim with my old trusted hand mower...

A few days ago I noticed that two purple-foliaged plant cultivars had appeared next to each other - Plantago major atropurpurea and Cryptotaenia japonica atropurpurea (Mitsuba or Japanese Parsley), see the picture, the Plantago is at the bottom. Why should two red foliaged plants appear in exactly the same place on the lawn? Have I discovered a new "attractive" force of nature, the Red Force?

After some thought I now see that this location is along the line which I most frequently walk across the lawn, so I guess both have been planted from the soles of my shoes....

Anyone else have any interesting escaped lawn species (or should that be lawn escaped species)?

[gote]

I also have shorn meadows  but rarely any escapees in them except perhaps Thlaspi alpestre and Lilium martagon. Scilla siberica and bifolia, Chinodoxa ' Hybrid Swarm' and Eranthis hiemalis cannot be calle escapees since they were originally planted among the grass .
Göte
 

[Lori S.]

No, we have no lawn... 

[Stephenb]

I also have shorn meadows  but rarely any escapees in them except perhaps Thlaspi alpestre and Lilium martagon. Scilla siberica and bifolia, Chinodoxa ' Hybrid Swarm' and Eranthis hiemalis cannot be calle escapees since they were originally planted among the grass .
Göte
 

I have planted two species in my lawn: Bellis perennis and Tradescantia ohiensis...

[cohan]

shorn meadows would not be too bad a description of my yard, apart from areas that are shorn forest regrowth--not that there is much difference between the two here...
in my case its not garden escapes, its all the natives growing in the yard from surrounding areas..
my 'lawn' weeds include linnaea, pyrola, viola, mitella, vaccinium, mertensia, geranium, galium, rosa, shepherdia, lonicera, amelanchier, populus and picea! among others

[Paul T]

Cohan,

At our lcoal horticultural society meeting last week we had a talk from a local who had been on a tour up the north of canada.  One of the things we all commented on were the pics of the Mertensia maritima growing in the dark volcanic sand.  The contrast in the pictures of the wonderful blue foliage, the flowers, and the dark sand was amazing.  Just reading that you have some Mertensia species seeding into your lawn immediately reminded me of the talk.

[cohan]

Cohan,

At our lcoal horticultural society meeting last week we had a talk from a local who had been on a tour up the north of canada.  One of the things we all commented on were the pics of the Mertensia maritima growing in the dark volcanic sand.  The contrast in the pictures of the wonderful blue foliage, the flowers, and the dark sand was amazing.  Just reading that you have some Mertensia species seeding into your lawn immediately reminded me of the talk.

that does sound lovely! wish we had some black volcanic sand here! i'd settle for some gravel
my mertensia (paniculata) is probably more mundane and quite certainly too aggressive for anywhere its not native, but blue flowers are very scarce here, and it grows in virtually every kind of spot we have, from wet to dry (under spruce trees) and shady to full sun, so i am happy to leave it in many places where it wants to grow..of course its too large to flower anywhere i am actually mowing, but it is all around the edges of the mowed area, and often in the many clumps of native vegetation around trees and shrubs..
here is a nice big clump of it self seeded right in front of where the lawnmower is stowed, underneath a big spruce tree;they are right at the edge so they do get sun, but its dry under there! the clump would actually be bigger, but its lost some to the mower's passage in and out!

[Paul T]

Cohan,

It looks like the clump is trying to eat the mower.  Maybe it is trying to protect it's friends in the lawn? 

[Stephenb]

Re- Mertensia paniculata: Have you tried eating it? In the on-line Plants for a Future (PFAF) database, it is noted as edible (referring to Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest). I have Mertensia ciliata (at least that's what I got it as - looks similar, picture below). If allowed it seeds around a bit, but I usually cut it down as it gets a bit straggly needing support. It  hasn't turned up in the lawn yet   Haven't cooked with it yet, but the young leaves seem to have a good mild taste a bit like M. maritima.

Would be interested in trading for some seed of paniculata if you find some.....

By the way, I didn't get an answer to my question about colour forms of Mertensia maritima here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3848.0

[Paul T]

I must say too, both the Mertensia look lovely.  Not as striking as the pics of the Mertensia maritima (I figure I am way too warm here to grow it, given where it naturally comes from), but still a good structure and nice flowers.  How tall are both your species?  I'm assuming from the mower that Cohan's looks to be maybe 90cm tall, but Stephen's looks more upright?

[Stephenb]

Mine's probably about 70 cm.

[Paul T]

Thanks Stephen.  Nice size to it too.  Reminds me a little of Lysimachia ciliata, in more than just the name similarity (makes me wonder whether the species name come from the upright nature of the plant?).  Thanks for the extra info.

[Lori S.]

I had no idea that Mertensia maritima was circumpolar!  This account (second species) says that, in Alaska, its roots were eaten.  It certainly does seed itself around well, and even likes clay.

http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/_ca/www/bomema.htm

[cohan]

lori-interesting notes on M maritima, it does look like a very attractive plant..
re: ciliata--similar indeed, though the foliage seems different--looks smooth?
def paniculata can be a bit sprawly--i think its primary habitat would be in open woods and edges of woods  and in mixed grass/forbs where it canbe somewhat supported by other vegetation; i think in full sun it is more compact, but i dont have many places in my yard that are fully exposed; it seems likely to be fairly upright during flowering, but it keeps growing, and by the time it is in seed it is likely to be flopping over... its supposed to die back after seeding, i have never noticed, but as it is in seed now, by the time its done with that, summer is over here anyway...lol

paul--my book says 20-80cm in height, sounds about right, i guess, depending on location;
the name ciliata should refer to some hairs--maybe on the flowers? since the leaves look smooth..

stephen-- i can look for seed, as long as its not one of those things that shoots away as soon as ripe, there should be buckets of seed available..
i also read that it is edible, and i tried a leaf--raw its just a bit bristly, not bad, but noticeable, and to me a bit fishy tasting...mixed with other greens, and especially stirfried or added to soups etc, i think both of those problems would be fixed; i do plan to use it more in future for food--it is an ideal vegetable here, growing in virtually any spot in my yard with no care needed!

[fermi de Sousa]

As mertensias are most unlikely to survive in most of Australia they are on our "Allowed List" so we could certainly try them from seed - if someone were to send them to us  .
The most interesting escapees I saw in a "lawn" was in Oregon in 1997 when I went on a NARGS Winter Study Weekend and drove out to see the home of Boyd Kline, one of the founders of Siskiyou Nursery. As we got close to his place we noticed that the lawns mostly sported patches of purple flowered violets but at Boyd's the patches were pink! On closer inspection we found the "violets" were in fact Cyclamen coum which Boyd said was because the ants "stole" the seed and took it back to the nests which were in the grass!
cheers
fermi