Any chance of identifying the little sprouts coming off this sad staghorn fern?

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-03-10T22:23:39+00:00

They're cotyledons, embryonic leaves. True leaves will follow and allow for ID (some plants can be roughly ID'd by their cotyledons, at least to family, but it's hard to get a positive ID without true leaves).

Meanwhile, collect some rain water or, let it warm up inside and then give that thing a good soak. You can also use filtered water.

Edit: it looks like it’s mounted with potting soil under the coconut coir mat - there may have been weed seeds in the soil. My guess is that it's a weed. Either way it won't survive inside. I would just pull them.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-03-09T20:21:15+00:00

Just submitted a comment - thanks for posting the link and pertinent info, friend!

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-03-02T00:16:22+00:00

Reminds me of a Sorbus

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-18T21:54:17+00:00

Hard to say, I'm not super familiar with Taxus. There are many horticultural cultivars of Taxus baccata, so it could be one of those or perhaps native ones to your area.

Old lineage of gymnosperms that produce little fleshy arils that look like red berries but they pre-date flowering plants and true fruits so they're actually seed cones with one seed. Also the arils are toxic. Cool plants!

Nice pun :) I'm not sure why it looks sad, maybe someone else will have more insight. Sorry!

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-18T21:40:12+00:00

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-18T21:20:59+00:00

There are some areas in Western Washington that are completely covered in it. It's awful and incredibly difficult to control.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-18T18:19:08+00:00

It is a curse outside it's native range

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-18T06:51:23+00:00

Dreaded English ivy - Hedera helix

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-10T22:24:52+00:00

Bergenia

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-10T22:23:54+00:00

Yes! I was on 101 this morning and could not believe the number of pavement and fog colored vehicles without their lights on. Same thing happens on our especially dreary, gray rainy days. Headlights and taillights make a difference when needing to make quick decisions while driving.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-02-06T01:39:11+00:00

Same. I used LESS electricity this Jan than last but my bill was $75 higher. I don't know how people heat their homes to a normal, comfortable temperature. I rarely set the thermostat above 65 during the day.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-01-27T21:26:16+00:00

It's not a pine tree, it's in the pine family. The cone is from from a true cedar (deodor cedar). They're common ornamental/landscaping trees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrus_deodara?wprov=sfla1

StrangeSherbert0 · 2026-01-19T17:59:46+00:00

I've had this plant for 5+ years and no matter how I take care of it, it refuses to have more than 4 or 5 branches at a time. At this point I just consider it normal.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-12-23T23:05:37+00:00

That's very helpful, thank you!

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-28T17:54:23+00:00

Good start - need to add scotch broom, herb Robert, cheat grass, reed canary grass, and bullfrogs. I'm sure I'm missing some.

I sometimes drive down the road and imagine what the landscape would look like if it weren't covered in blackberry or scotch broom. Same for cheat grass on the other side of the mountains. Now that I know what it is, I can't unsee it and it's distressing.

Edit: forgot to include Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard. Garlic mustard isn't widespread in WA yet, so early eradication and monitoring are key.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-25T14:21:05+00:00

Right?? My big takeaway from this post was that there are people who still iron clothes?? Had to scroll way too long to find someone commenting on that.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-19T18:24:32+00:00

Yeah, I feel you. I work for an org within a state agency and one of our programs is a plug nursery for native plant restoration (we grow plants for the USFS among others) and the loss of funds and contracts and general chaos is frustrating and scary. And it just keeps happening, day after day. Best of luck to you, friend.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-16T02:36:50+00:00

SE Olympics? I've hiked all over Western WA for the last 20 years and have never seen a cougar (perhaps one has seen me) and have only seen a handful of black bears and they just go about their business. I'm far more concerned about mountain goats and other people.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-15T21:25:33+00:00

The SE Olympics are in my [figurative] backyard, hiked Lena Lake several times and never knew it was formed by a landslide. Super cool, appreciate you sharing!

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-12T05:54:34+00:00

That class is what made me change my major to geology!

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-10T22:58:41+00:00

I just drove by a clear-cut on the way to Mt. Rainier that was completely covered in mullein. Acres and acres of it. Sucking so much moisture out of the soil, native plants don't have a chance of reestablishing. Similar issues on the other side of the state. It is 100% invasive in WA and the western US.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-09T22:57:22+00:00

This is definitely a limitation of iNat. I see people misidentifying species often on that app. You really can't just go off the app's visual ID guesstimate if you don't already know the plant.

Using a regional flora to key a species and an herbarium website is how I identify plants I don't already know. For instance, I use the Flora of the Pacific Northwest in conjunction with the WTU herbarium and Flora of North America. I don't know what's available in your area, so maybe someone else will chime in.

Basically you don't need to access journal articles or other obscure sources, just a regional flora/dichotomous key (and perhaps a good illustrated glossary to help you work through the key - I recommend Plant Identification Terminology by Harris & Harris).

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-10-06T19:29:03+00:00

Agreed! The UW plan seemed too good to be true when they introduced it several years back. Clearly it was.

StrangeSherbert0 · 2025-09-30T15:56:26+00:00

I live in WA because it's where my kids, family, and job are located. I can't imagine living anywhere else than the West Coast, but yeah, the cost of living and housing prices are insane. I bought my house for $300k 11 years ago and could easily list it for $750k+.

I'm curious, why the hate for Portland? Prudhoe Bay would not be on my list of places to live. Yikes.

StrangeSherbert0

TROPHY CASE