Weed identification

[Melymann]

Please help identify

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Horseweed... pull it out and anymore that u find coz it spreads like crazy

 

[Melymann]

Sooooo not good for my Hermann’s….?

 

[Melymann]

Horseweed... pull it out and anymore that u find coz it spreads like crazy

Thank you. Big no feed according to tortoise table! Darn, I have so much!?

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Sooooo not good for my Hermann’s….?

Its a no no lol

 

[TisMary]

Its a no no lol

Thanks for identifying this @Chubbs the tegu. Did a little deeper dive and found this to be just one of over 400 species in the genus Erigeron, which belongs to the Family Asteraceae (think asters, daisies, sunflowers). Fun fact: this Family is second only to the Orchid Family in the number of species that belong to it. But I digress! ?

The most common name for these plants is "Fleabane". The Tortoise Table Plant Database warns us away from all species of Erigeron (whenever you see "spp." after the name of the genus - as on this page - that means that their advice (for example DO NOT FEED) applies to any and all species of this genus.) Here is a link to the wiki page on Erigeron.

If you want to practice identifying this in your yard (who needs grass?) here are a couple of things to look for. Start with the flowers and the leaves. Take a look at the attached pictures. This plant has numerous small (less than 1/2") white, lavender, or pink "ray flowers" (the ones around the outside that look like the rays of the sun, or a "corona") and yellow "disk flowers" (the ones in the center). If you look closely at the yellow center, you'll see that it's actually made up of lots and lots of smaller circular shaped individual flowers! Sunflowers have this too (plus they're bigger and easier to see). Next time you see a sunflower, look at its ray and disk flowers - it's amazing!

Another thing to look at is the "coarsely toothed" margin (outside edge) of the leaves which, as the plant gets taller, grow in an alternate spiral up the stem (the stem is usually "hairy" - yeah - it's a thing!)