Another Plant ID

[Yaffle]

Not very glamorous I know, but another "weed of cultivation" that is giving me problems. I found this growing in a shrub container at our local garden centre, I think it could well be a member of the rockcress family.

Thanks again for any ideas.

Yaffle

[Silver]

Not very glamorous I know, but another "weed of cultivation" that is giving me problems. I found this growing in a shrub container at our local garden centre, I think it could well be a member of the rockcress family.

Thanks again for any ideas.

Yaffle

Yaffle, I'm fairly certain that this is White Wall-rocket (Diplotaxis erucoides).

It's a rare alien in Britain, but reputedly on the increase. As with other Diplotaxis species, the leaves are very variable - a Google search will show that usually the leaves are distinctly lobed, but this isn't always the case. Stace's flora makes a point of stating that sometimes the leaves are unlobed, and at least one Google image has leaves the same shape as your plant.

Yes, garden centres can be botanically interesting. The recorder for East Lothian and I followed up a report of the horticultural alien, Cardamine corymbosa, at a garden centre a few years ago and we indeed found it in some of the pots of plants for sale. However, as we found none actually rooted in East Lothian soil we still haven't decided if it counted as a new vice-county record. The same nursery proved to have the tiny yellow saxifrage, Saxifraga cymbalaria, as an established weed, so it was quite a worthwhile trip, even if we didn't buy anything!

Alan

[Yaffle]

Silver, thanks for the pointer, I'm glad i wasn't missing anything too obvious!

Thinking about it, a lot of container grown shubs in garden centres start their lives in Europe and probably even further afield, so they will often bring with them some fellow travellers from those parts.

Yaffle

[Silver]

Thinking about it, a lot of container grown shubs in garden centres start their lives in Europe and probably even further afield, so they will often bring with them some fellow travellers from those parts.

Yaffle

Yes, I am sure you are right. With the disappearance of rubbish tips as a place to go to find weird plants, maybe garden centres will become a new haunt for botanical recording?

Incidentally, I am very jealous of your Diplotaxis erucoides. It's something that's been on my own wish list for a long time.

Alan

[Yaffle]

Yes, I am sure you are right. With the disappearance of rubbish tips as a place to go to find weird plants, maybe garden centres will become a new haunt for botanical recording?
Alan

Here's another alien that I found last year on a raised bed in a Sussex garden. The bed was filled with pieces of slate and stone which must have contained seeds of Amaranthus blitoides.

Yaffle