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Mallow -Malva spp
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Wild fennel -Foeniculum vulgare
Latin Name: Foeniculum vulgare
Description: A green leafy perennial herb, it can be 2 m high and 45 cm wide. The leaves are very fine , have a feathery appearance and when crushed they smell like aniseed. The stems are ribbed and at the bottom of the stalks there is a broad green section. The flower at the top is a group of small yellow flowers. The seeds are oval and ribbed and about 5 mm long. Ripe fruit are wingless which distinguishes it from dill. There are several named cultivated varieties.
White Clover -Trifolium repens
Latin Name: Trifolium repens
Description: A creeping or erect herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 20 cm high. The stems are creeping and hairless and root at the nodes. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaflets can be oval or heart shaped. They have a dent in at the ends. They are hairless. They are on long stalks and usually have a white band. The flowers are white and in a round head. It is on a stalk that is longer than the leaves. The pods are narrowly oblong. They are 4-5 mm long. There are 2-5 seeds.
Warrigal greens -Tetragonia tetragonoides
Latin Name: Tetragonia tetragonoides
Description: A perennial branched herb. It starts growing erect but after this lies over. It then grows along the ground up to 12 cm high. The stems can spread out to 1 m along the ground. The leaves are small and thick on round fleshy stems, triangle shaped, 4-6 cm long. They have distinct veins underneath. The flowers are yellow and 8 mm across and are hidden at the base of the leaves. The fruit is up to 1 cm long and with 4 or 5 horns on top.
Turkey Rhubarb -Acetosa sagittata
Latin Name: Acetosa sagittata
Description: A creeper, keeps growing from year to year up to 2 m high. The leaves are smooth and arrow-shaped. They are 3-7 cm long. They are pale green and soft. The flowers develop clusters of papery capsules about 1 cm wide changing from pale green to reddish-brown when mature.
Trad -Tradescantia fluminensis
Latin Name: Tradescantia fluminensis
Description: A perennial ground cover that spreads along the ground with soft, hairless stems and leaves. The fleshy stems root at any node that is on the surface. The plant has oval, dark-green leaves with pointed tips that are shiny, smooth and slightly fleshy about 1.25 – 2.5 inches long. The flowers are white with three petals and approx. 0.5 – 1-inch in diameter. They are produced in small clusters in summer but do not produce seeds.
Sowthistle -Sonchus spp
Latin Name: Sonchus spp
Description: An erect annual hairy herb with a milky sap. It is 40 to 60 cm high, bluish-green, the leaves are alternate, do not have stalks and half clasp the stem. Leaves are 10 to 20 cm long and very coarsely lobed. Flower heads are about 1 cm long and yellow. The fruit is dry and 3 ribbed, it opens to a round white ball. The seeds blow in the wind.
Shepherd purse -Capsella bursa-pastoris
Latin Name: Capsella bursa-pastoris
Description: A cabbage family herb. It is an annual plant or it can take 2 years to complete its life cycle. The stem is erect. It grows to 60 cm high. It has a rosette of leaves near the base. The leaves vary in shape and are toothed along the edge. The upper leaves are smaller, sword shaped and without stalks. The flowers are white. They are in clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit is a flat, triangular, pod.
Scurvy weed -Commelina cyanea
Latin Name: Commelina cyanea
Description: A weak straggling herb. It is an evergreen plant, grows to 30 cm high and spreads to 2 m across. The stems are weak and fleshy, and lie along the ground forming roots at the nodes. The leaves are green or blue, and sword shaped, 3-7 cm long, by 2 cm across. They form a sheath at the base. The flowers are bright blue, with 3 petals, 1.5 cm across. The flowers are carried on a branched flower stalk and open in the morning to then collapse by afternoon.
Salsify -Tragopogon porrifolius
Latin Name: Tragopogon porrifolius
Description: A herb which keeps growing from year to year. It can be up to 1.5 m high and spreads to 1 m wide. It has a white thickened root. It can grow for one or two years. It has a clump of long leaves a little like an onion. They are bluish-green and grass-like. They clasp the stem and are keeled along the back surface. It produces long stalked purplish flower heads. The flowers are 3-6 cm across. The cut leaves produce milky sap.