Mystery Plant

[fatgaz]

hi peeps, could anyone advise me on the best way to identify a plant that i have growing in my garden, we only moved into the property last sept and back then we joked that the leaves looked very similar to a canabis plant (its not) now there are buds growing upwards from the center of the plant with a single round bud on each stem

[rowanwitch]

I think we might need a picture... but there are other legal members of the hemp family ... are you in the uk

[Kiki-frog]

It could be Cleome hassleriana, which does look incredibly like cannabis. Try google images and see if that's it.

[frugalfred]

The nearest wild British plant to cannabis is Hemp Agrimony, Eupatorium cannabinum. The leaves are very similar to the cannabis. It prefers damp places.
I suggest you search on Google Images for the above to see if your plant is in fact Hemp Agrimony.

[mightymouse]

Definitely not Cleome which is an annual, and would die with the first frost.

[Chipchopper]

I'm thinking it could be a Hellibor (Helliborus)

[Chipchopper]

PS, The one I was thinking of was Helliborus foetidus (stinking hellibor) check it out on Google images

[fatgaz]

hi chip, yep your right it is Helliborus foetidus, now is this an illegal plant, if so i will bin it, thanks for answering the question

[frugalfred]

No! Don't destroy it. Helleborus foetidus grows in the wild, especially in limestone districts. It has green petals. It's not very common in the wild. It's good in shady and semi-shady parts of the garden.

[Chipchopper]

Hi fatgaz,
Great, I just had a feeling that's what it is, don't worry even the cops have been trained to tell this apart from Canabis
As fraugalfred says they are much treasured plants, so look after it and enjoy it!

Regards chip

[dollie65]

cut a section off and take it to the garden centre and ask them...

[Grandma_Yiddo]

Just been on R.H.S site and they don't say anything about it being illegal.

[Chipchopper]

Just to re-ashore, it's perfectly legal and is not even related to an illegal plant, and only bears a passing resemblance to one that is

It's just about this time of the year, when hellibores look their best, at a time when most things in the garden look a little drab