I thought I knew all the plants that would attack me in southern Illinois…then I headed off trail to find a good spot for a cathole and started to push through a shoulder-high thicket of these guys:
This proved to be a mistake, due to the hitherto-unnoticed-by-me spiky thorns all over their stems. I found another spot, so now I’m just left with small punctures & curiosity.
s38b35M5 ( @s38b35M5@lemmy.world ) 2•2 years agoCould it be Aralia spinosa?
Right on the edge of the range (at least according to https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/araspi/all.html) but you may well be right. Preference for moist soils fits the distribution I was seeing. I’ll believe this until proven otherwise. Thanks!
ookla_the_mok ( @ookla_the_mok@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years agoI’d say you’re correct - and that map at the USDA has to be old, because I’m in MN and we absolutely have it here
s38b35M5 ( @s38b35M5@lemmy.world ) 1•2 years agoAfter looking at some pictures, I see why it’s sometimes referred to as “devil’s walking stick!”
tlongstretch ( @tlongstretch@lemmy.world ) 1•2 years agoI’ve seen a lot of thorny weeds but I don’t recognize this particular one. Looks kinda like honeysuckle but honeysuckle has no thorns
I was thinking maybe some kind of locust tree sapling but I think the leaf shape is wrong. I’m surprised no one has recognized it; it was all over the place. Then again if Beehaw is like most online communities most users are from the coasts rather than the midwest.
tlongstretch ( @tlongstretch@lemmy.world ) 1•2 years agothis seems like a prime use case for AI image recognition tools. There was some iphone app called leafsnap that does somthing like this… can you upload a picture and it finds likely candidates. Haven’t used it in years, this was pre-chatGPT era
Oh and yeah… could be black locust. Not sure why I didn’t tihnk of that, I have a billion of them in my yard
Pretty sure black locust leaves are rounded instead of pointy.
I wonder if they might be honeylocust saplings.
Crazytrixsta ( @Crazytrixsta@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years agoIt’s not honey locust either. Those leaves are tiny and very distinctly feathery looking.
CadeJohnson ( @CadeJohnson@slrpnk.net ) 1•2 years agonope, not a nettle like any from S. Illinois
CadeJohnson ( @CadeJohnson@slrpnk.net ) 1•2 years agoIf you will load iNaturalist app on your phone, you can snap a pic from in the app and with that and your location, it can usually predict the species or at least the genus. I don’t know southern Illinois, but I’d guess it is a variety of nettle.
This will be a useful way to solve the problem next time I’m in that area. At the moment I’m a 2-hour drive away. But noting for the future!
Noonecanknowitsme ( @Noonecanknowitsme@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years agoI’m sorry I have no idea what it is Have you used the app LeafSnap? I’m new to hiking and gardening and stuff so it’s been a lifesaver for me.
I have not used LeafSnap (and probably should!). Maybe I’ll remember the next time I’m in that neck of the woods.
Crazytrixsta ( @Crazytrixsta@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years agoDon’t use an app. There are many flora and fauna books for Identifying you can get under $20. I should check mine for the Midwest.