BajaNomad - Please help me name this plant-Finally the correct answer!

Please help me name this plant-Finally the correct answer!

bajajudy - 8-1-2007 at 11:40 AM

We always do what a friend of ours calls gorilla gardening in one of our beds....what is that you ask. All the seeds that wind up in the bottom of the jar get spread around and we sit back and wait to see what will come up. Well this year we have this very healthy group of plants coming up and we cannot figure out what it is. We have tasted the leaves :barf:

and no flowers have shown up.
Any ideas?

BTW
I still think that U2U should be private

[Edited on 8-1-2007 by bajajudy]

[Edited on 8-12-2007 by bajajudy]

[Edited on 9-16-2007 by bajajudy]

quees.jpg - 44kB

bajalera - 8-1-2007 at 12:34 PM

Gorilla gardening--now that's cool! So did it taste like something you could use in a salad?

Paula - 8-1-2007 at 01:31 PM

I thought about u2uing the answer to you, Judy, but I was afraid everyone might see it :biggrin:

Actually haven't a clue what it is, but you were brave to taste it!!

bajajudy - 8-1-2007 at 01:41 PM

That "we" was in the royal sense...I let Jaime taste it. He did make a funny face.

elizabeth - 8-1-2007 at 01:42 PM

"Please help me name this plant"

How about Joe? or, wait, it might be a girl...Josephine???

Seriously, what does the stem look like? Is it round or square? And, what seeds were in the jar to start with???? Maybe this is just a volunteer from a friendly bird, and not from the jar at all!

And a question...gorilla or guerilla?

I'm asking so many questions because I'm supposed to be working on a really tedious project...and a plant mystery seemed like so much more fun!

bajajudy - 8-1-2007 at 02:03 PM

Just to help you out with your time budgeting, Elizabeth
The stem is purple and there are too many of them for them to have come from birds, I think.

I think Joe is a good name!

GOrilla.

Now get back to work! :biggrin:

Mexitron - 8-1-2007 at 02:21 PM

Looks kinda like the okra you posted a while back but not quite...was the source of the seed all vegies or flowers too? Any local native seeds?

bajajudy - 8-1-2007 at 02:30 PM

It is in the bed with the okra and there should have only been vegies and flowers in the jar.
I guess that there is a chance that the birds hung out for a long while doing their bodily function thing but it seems unlikely that they would have all eaten the same seeds and wound up in my yard making doo doo.

sneezerdog - 8-1-2007 at 02:40 PM

Judy I an offer a copy of the Baja California Plant Field Guide if that will help, just $22.95 USD, same day shipping.

Dave

flyfishinPam - 8-1-2007 at 03:03 PM

how large is this plant?

are there any flowers on it or have you seen it bloom?

are the leaves palmately simple as they look or am i missing somehting like they´re compound?

is this an annual or perennial?

it looks like a plant my husband grew from the mainland, i don´t remember what its called but when he gets in a little later on i´ll ask him.

Bajalero - 8-1-2007 at 07:56 PM

Looks like a possible Chenopodium . Maybe

Mexican Tea?

Is it pungent?

bajajudy - 8-1-2007 at 08:22 PM

From what I saw of chenopodium googling it. that doesnt look anything like what we have. It has purple stalk and the leaves come from above the branch. It hasnt bloomed yet and is over 2 feet tall and still growing. The leaves also have this purple tint on the edge. I believe that it might be some sort of pea but in all honesty, I thought it might be a tea too.

elizabeth - 8-1-2007 at 08:55 PM

This is a fun puzzle!

At first I thought it was a variety of chenopodium, too...and especially because there are varieties with purple stems...but looking more closely, it looks as if the leaves are palmate, and chenopodiums aren't. Are they palmate with three lobes?

You may just have to wait until they bloom unless there is a botanist in the crowd!

O.K. Back to work again!

Mexitron - 8-2-2007 at 06:19 AM

I've never seen a pea plant with palmate leaves...they're usually trifoliate...the petiole sheath looks like the Chenopod but not the foliage. The leaf bases of our own Okra is tinged with the same purple. All of which makes me think its in the Okra/Cotton/Hibiscus tribe.

jimgrms - 8-2-2007 at 06:40 AM

Judy dry some and have Jamie smoke it you may be on to something big

elizabeth - 8-2-2007 at 09:44 AM

Someone just u2u'd me with the answer, but I can't tell. It has something to do with surfing.

Cypress - 8-2-2007 at 10:03 AM

It looks similar to an obnoxious stinging nettle-type plant that usually grows around old barns.

comitan - 8-2-2007 at 03:27 PM

Albaca

Diver - 8-2-2007 at 03:46 PM

Albahaca is lemon or sweet basi.
Different leave pattern and they would be very fragrant.

elizabeth - 8-2-2007 at 03:50 PM

Don't think so, Comitan...albaca (albahaca) doesn't have palmate leaves and would be easily recognizable....

Debra - 8-2-2007 at 04:41 PM

It looks like the leaves of a Peony that we have up north.

Mexitron - 8-2-2007 at 04:44 PM

Debra--Peony is what I thought too at first ...we've got one in the ground with leaves still but they're different--split leaves, not palmate...also don't know that Peonies like Southern Baja.

Debra - 8-2-2007 at 05:19 PM

I wondered about that too (Southern Baja) But, I suppose that if someone was caring for it, why not? The leaves look just like what we have up here.

BajaJudy, can you post a picture of the flower, or describe it? Now you have my 'need to know' thing going on!

bajajudy - 8-2-2007 at 05:29 PM

As I said it hasnt bloomed yet and it is beginning to appear that we will all have to wait until then to solve this mystery. It is getting pushed out by the okra so I hope that at least one makes it the flowering stage.
Vamos a ver

marv sherrill - 8-4-2007 at 10:17 AM

How about swiss chard??? giant turnips? or funky leaved Rhubarb.. whadoiwin?

bajajudy - 8-4-2007 at 10:34 AM

Marv, I asked Jaime and he said that he would not want to eat anymore of the leaves that he tried.
nice try...you win.......NADA

even if you had gotten it correct....you win....NADA :lol:

marv sherrill - 8-4-2007 at 01:03 PM

oh well - knowledge without experience is just information...the taste test always wooked for mushrooms!....

woody with a view - 8-4-2007 at 01:09 PM

a lost strain of missionary sinsemilla??? :?:

bacquito - 8-6-2007 at 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by marv sherrill
How about swiss chard??? giant turnips? or funky leaved Rhubarb.. whadoiwin?

Or Rutabaga?

Ken Bondy - 8-6-2007 at 05:56 PM

Hemp. Cannabis humungousi.

marv sherrill - 8-6-2007 at 06:09 PM

ok - Senior Doug - I appeal to your greatness and fairness - what is the "rule" as to how long someone can torture us with a "what is" or where is ??? I think one week is too long - I can't stand the suspense!!!!please intervene and help those of us who are weak....back to the botany books - Marv

Mexitron - 8-10-2007 at 08:47 AM

Here's our Okra plant for comparison.

Okra.JPG - 25kB

Osprey - 8-10-2007 at 09:57 AM

Judy, you took a trip to the states earlier this year. Did you perhaps stop and pick something up in Okrahoma?

bajajudy - 8-10-2007 at 10:23 AM

Marv
If I knew, I would be telling!

Mexitron
We also have okra and this is not okra or, if it is, it is a weird variety...no flowers. The stalk is purple. I tried to get a photo but none of them are clear enough to see. But here it is.

Ken
I hope so we need some rope!

Dsc00825.jpg - 44kB

marv sherrill - 8-10-2007 at 06:55 PM

It looks like some flowers will be blooming out of the axils of the leaves - keep us posted it could be a type of hollyhock!! My best new guess!!! expiring minds want to know.....

Judy

woody with a view - 8-10-2007 at 06:59 PM

es YESCA!!!!!

edit: probably from "the neighbors".

:light:

[Edited on 8-11-2007 by woody in ob]

bajajudy - 8-10-2007 at 07:18 PM

Marv, I just had a look and the flowers are forthcoming.

Weedy, is that another word for mota

Mexitron...I think that it may be okra. This is a good thing because the other variety has just about run its course.

Cypress...we fry the okra in corn meal, salt, pepper

woody with a view - 8-10-2007 at 08:12 PM

Quote:

Weedy, is that another word for mota

Sra. Judy

no dice "yesca" en la delagation...... :light:

bajajudy - 8-11-2007 at 06:08 PM

And the winner is

OKRA

Finally got a bloom and although after Don Jorge's pic, I was pretty sure that is was okra, the bloom proves it.

We have never bought those seeds but people bring us seeds all the time and most of our friends know that we love okra so voila.

Thanks all

bacquito - 8-12-2007 at 09:58 AM

Thanks for following up :light:

Bob and Susan - 8-12-2007 at 10:08 AM

we've never eaten okra... :?:

never seen it on a menu either

"let's see..i'd like the plate of okra please" :lol:

what's okra used for????? :?:

bajajudy - 8-12-2007 at 10:21 AM

BandS

You obviously have never been to Louisiana...ever had gumbo?

We slice it across the pod(you have little circles of okra) , add a little corn meal, salt and pepper and fry it in a little oil til crunchy.

It is NOT crunchy in gumbo. I also put it in vegetable soup. Never have cared for it steamed....way too slimy for me.

Debra - 8-12-2007 at 10:23 AM

It's vegetable most common in the south, I've had it batter dipped and deep fried, not bad. They also use it in Gumbo, I don't care for it that way, too slimey.

[Edited on 8-12-2007 by Debra]

elizabeth - 8-12-2007 at 10:29 AM

It's pretty good pickled, too!

If you've ever had campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup, you've eaten it, it's in there. When I was a very young kid, I thought that those little slices of okra were the vegetarians...since I never saw them anywhere else but in the vegetarian vegetable soup!!

Thanks for solving the mystery!

Cypress - 8-12-2007 at 10:55 AM

Okra is good; fried, boiled(put some butter on it), pickled, in gumbo, cooked with beans, and any other way you can imagine. :yes:

I suspect it has unknown qualities that have yet to be discovered. :yes:

The only bad thing about okra is picking it, also referred to as harvesting. :spingrin:

bajajudy - 8-12-2007 at 11:40 AM

A friend was over for dinner last night and she said that it is very popular in India.

I have heard of angu(I think that is the word in Spanish) relleno but have never had it. Seems that the ones big enough to stuff would not be very tender.

Mexitron - 8-12-2007 at 12:07 PM

Our Okra is growing so fast right now in the hot weather that we can harvest the pods when they're six or seven inches long and they're still pretty tender...we'll have to try that angu relleno!

bajajudy - 8-23-2007 at 01:25 PM

Here are the flowers
Still no okra but the plants are beautiful

okrared.jpg - 30kB

Iflyfish - 8-23-2007 at 01:57 PM

What a fun thread this has been, got me interested in trying fried okra, what lovely flowers.

Iflyfish

Cypress - 8-23-2007 at 02:10 PM

Okra The smaller "pods" are the ones you want, if they're over 5 or 6 inches long they can be tuff and stringy.

Oso - 8-23-2007 at 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
we've never eaten okra... :?:

never seen it on a menu either

"let's see..i'd like the plate of okra please" :lol:

what's okra used for????? :?:

What, you've never watched Okra Winphrey?

The optimal time to pick okra pods is when they are the size of "puppy peckers".

The word gumbo comes from the Bantu kigombo meaning okra. The plant (in seeds) was brought to America by slaves as a survival measure. It is prolific and easy to grow, especially in warm weather.

I may have been reluctant at my first encounter with boiled okra. But, Mom convinced me they were baby alligators with their heads cut off and I've loved them ever since.

Gumbo Yaya, oui mon cher! Put a foot in it! :tumble:

Oso - 8-24-2007 at 07:47 AM

Just thinking about it, me hace salivar. I'm going to post a recipe on that forum. Not Gumbo Yaya, a multi-ingredient version ("put a foot in it" is an expression meaning add everything you got) but one from my favorite Coon Ass, Justin Wilson.

bajajudy - 9-13-2007 at 11:15 AM

This is actually the fruit of the plant
It has this hard red shell, then a green thing inside. It has never elongated to look like a regular okra
Any ideas....

[Edited on 9-13-2007 by bajajudy]

okra.jpg - 45kB

bajajudy - 9-13-2007 at 11:18 AM

Oh here is the flower

okraflow.jpg - 32kB

Cypress - 9-13-2007 at 11:25 AM

bajajudy. That's weird? :?:

It doesn't really look like okra.

Has been a while, but seems like the okra pods formed close to the stalk, sorta like corn. Could it be a cross-pollinated hybrid?

bajajudy - 9-13-2007 at 11:33 AM

If this works you can see the one in the back with the green thing inside

almost.jpg - 43kB

bajajudy - 9-13-2007 at 11:36 AM

Tonight we are having fresh pink eyed peas from our garden and I am going to try to cook some of these weird things....
report to follow

[Edited on 9-13-2007 by bajajudy]

peas.jpg - 43kB

Bob and Susan - 9-13-2007 at 11:39 AM

i tried some okra...

my sister made it

not for me...
you'll never hear me EVER go to the restraunt and say...
"i'd like a plate of OKRA please"

Hook - 9-13-2007 at 12:32 PM

I think I've seen pods like that in a 50's sci fi movie with Kevin McCarthy.

Has the mister been acting a little strange lately? If so..........

RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN !!!!!!

Cypress - 9-13-2007 at 12:42 PM

Okra might be one of those "acquired taste" things? :?:

Mexitron - 9-13-2007 at 12:49 PM

Bajajudy--those aren't okra, at least any I've seen before...the flower looks right so its closely related but the fruit almost looks tomatillos with a red wrapper!

Mexitron - 9-13-2007 at 12:58 PM

Here's our okra plant:

bajajudy - 9-13-2007 at 02:14 PM

Mexitron
We have those like your picture too but this is the one that I was originally asking about.
Muy raro

Cypress - 9-13-2007 at 02:42 PM

Mexitron. No doubt about it, that's a full grown okra plant in it'sprime.

Just finished a plate of fried okra and green tomatoes with a side dish of chicken, would prefer most any kind of fish to the chicken, but I'm a long way from good fishing.

Mexitron - 9-14-2007 at 07:27 AM

Its been a banner year for okra in Texas with around 40-50 inches of rain since January and hot humid weather--one of our plants is 12 feet tall and growing! We have it for dinner 5 nights out of seven--the latest is throwing it into stir fry with Asian vegies--works great!

Hook - 9-14-2007 at 09:23 AM

My granny used to fry okra with Grape Nuts cereal. Maintains the crunch necessary to mask the slime.

Cypress - 9-14-2007 at 11:06 AM

Hook Okra and grape nut cereal. :light:

Sounds good to me.

Great thread...Funny thang Oso...

Sharksbaja - 9-14-2007 at 11:54 AM

Sometimes when customers ask me if I use okra in my gumbo, I reply "no, I actually use Oprah". They say "wha???" I then explain that my "oprah" is a rick, black spice. Sometimes heavier at times, sometimes not. You'd be suprised how many reply "never heard of it" :lol:

Frankly, I don't care for the stuff but I have enjoyed it fried,tho.

[Edited on 9-14-2007 by Sharksbaja]

Mexitron - 9-14-2007 at 01:06 PM

Nice lookin' gumbo there Sharks...okay, I'm makin' some tonight!

Cypress - 9-14-2007 at 01:44 PM

Sharks That's some righteous looking gumbo you've got there.

Smoking fish etc. par excellence, a gumbo chef, a man who definitely knows his way around a kitchen. :bounce:

My money would be on you in a heads up cooking contest with Emeril. :bounce:

Iflyfish - 9-14-2007 at 01:54 PM

Oh man Sharks, we have to visit your place! From what I have seen it would take a few days to really get into your menu.

Iflyfish

bajajudy - 9-16-2007 at 04:09 PM

Ok this has been driving me nuts so I started googling okra and guess what.....
Okra is a member of the hibiscus family and
I am growing the plant for Te Jamaica

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

te.jpg - 48kB

Sallysouth - 9-16-2007 at 10:23 PM

Ok Judy, so now the question is..where did that seed come from? Birds, etc.? And what are you gonna do with it ?Inquiring minds, well you know...It is a lovely plant tho. And if you really make "Ti" with it, does it have medicinal properties? Hmmmmm, Dr Judy? :bounce:

[Edited on 9-17-2007 by Sallysouth]

Interesting veggie

Sharksbaja - 9-16-2007 at 11:47 PM

Does it also contain the sticky substance Judy? Is that edible? It is a good way to thicken gumbo. Given a fresh product source I'd consider using it.
I can make decent seafood meals, thanks Cpress. We've had a few Nomads cruise thru here(mostly lurkers:lol

and a few resident Baja Nomads stop here for meals regularly. I've scared off many potential clients, especially the Canadians. :lol:

Not really. They love us....they are less thrilled with fried food...
We'd love to have Nomads come and visit, we don't bite that hard! Viva Baja(Nomads)!

btw, there are umpteen ways to prepare gumbo. I make a creole(blackened roux) style number. It is made with peppers,onions, celery, 7 (fresh) seafoods and multiple spices. It has a small amount of butter per serving. I call it comfort food. It's moderately spicy and made for everyone. I can adjust many meals to accomodate those with food allergies and "food intolerances" because every order is made on the spot, independent of other meals in it's own steamer kettle. Very healthy food.
ok enough promo sorry

[Edited on 9-17-2007 by Sharksbaja]

bajajudy - 9-17-2007 at 07:19 AM

Sally
Yes I assume the seeds came from birds and after taking one of them apart it is easy to see how. The outside red is what you make tea out of. The inside green thing is full of dark seeds which apparently in Africa they use to make some sort of bread. You can eat the leaves and stems, cooked like any greens. Google it for all the info but it is a very versatile plant with many medicinal uses. I cant wait to make some tea out of fresh jamaica.

bajajudy - 9-17-2007 at 07:24 AM

Oops, sharks, I forgot to answer your questions.
No it is not gooey however I did read that it can be used to thicken stews. I also read that you can make a jelly out of it and you dont need to add pectin because it already has so much in it. You can make a syrup out of it for cakes, waffles, ice cream..and the list goes on. If you really want to know ALL about this plant, here is a link:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/roselle.html

Cypress - 9-17-2007 at 08:03 AM

bajajudy Thanks for the info. :tumble: