Plant ID...

[LeeAnne]

I'll try to get a pic to post in the binaries group, but figured I'd throw this out there for all the experts.

Plant is now about 2 feet tall, has purple coneflower style leaves (ie sorta start fat at the stalk and go more pointy), the stalk is fairly dark green & bamboo like , ie grows in noticeable segments or sections, and it looks like it's going to have some very small purple flowers on a stalk at the top but not a lot of them - sort of a wispy little flower stalk like grass seed (those are subject to change as it's still growing). I think there are 3 or

4 stalks all coming up, seemingly one plant.

Any ideas?

Thanks LeeAnne

-zone 5, north of Boston-

[Gaby Chaudry]

LeeAnne,

Mmmh, sounds like a member of the Polygonaceae (hope I spelled it right) family. If the leaves weren't purple, I would have said: Fallopia japonica. But that one has got green leaves and a somewhat rhubarb-coloured stalk. And it's a *weed*! Hopefully your plant is something else, otherwise you've got a problem....

Bye, Gaby

[LeeAnne]

I looked those up and that's not it - but thank you. The leaves and stalk are definitely green and the stalk comes in segments like bamboo - you know how there is a portion of stalk, then an area that is more fat around, the next portion of stalk? That's how it grows. The flowers will be interesting to see, that should really help.

I'll try to get a pic tonite.

LeeAnne

[Pat Kiewicz]

Maybe Polygonum orientale -- Prince's feather or 'Kiss me over the garden gate'

The flowers are usually described as pink, but it's a purplish pink.

[LeeAnne]

A valiant effort, but nope. The leaves on that are too fat and the plant isn't dark enough. OK, tonite I will get a picture (if it's not raining!)