Weed and Plant Rosettes

Lots of plants / weeds start as rosettes so I wanted to show all the examples I've seen. Some are more rosette-like than others. I will be adding to this page as I see them or find my photos (challenging as I've taken so many). Unknowns at the bottom

Black Medick	Medicago lupulina
Bristly Oxtongue	Helminthotheca echioides
Buck's Horn Plantain	Plantago coronopus
Cat's Ear	Hypochaeris radicata
Common Daisy	Bellis perennis
Common Stork's-bill	Erodium cicutarium
Creeping Buttercup	Ranunculus repens
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale
Dock	Rumex
Forget-me-not	Mysotis
Foxglove	Digitalis
Dove's-foot Crane's-bill/ Dovesfoot Geranium	Geranium molle
Globe Thistle	Echinops
Great Mullein	Verbascum thapsis
Greater Celandine	Chelidonium majus
Groundsel	Senecio vulgaris
Hairy Bittercress	Cardamine hirsuta
Hedge Mustard	Sisymbrium officinale
Herb Robert	Geranium robertianum
Honesty	Lunaria annua
Knautia Macedonica
Lesser Burdock	Arctium minus
Nipplewort	Lapsana communis
Ox-eye Daisy	Leucanthemum vulgare
Poppy
Prickly Sow Thistle	Sonchus asper
Ragwort	Senecio Jacobaea
Ribwort Plantain	Plantago lanceolata
Salad Burnet	Sanguisorba minor
Shepherd's Purse	Capsella bursa-pastoris
Smooth Sow Thistle	Sonchus oleraceus
Short-fruited Willowherb	Epilobium obscurum
Spotted Medick	Medicago arabica
Swine Cress	Lepidium coronopus
Teasel	Dipsacus fullonum
Thistles	Cirsium vulgare, Cirsium arvense
Verbascum
Wood Avens	Geum urbanum
Yarrow	Achillea millefolium
unknown rosettes

Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)

Bristly Ox-tongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

Buck's Horn Plantain (Plantago coronopus)

I saw this December 31st 2018. I hope it grows and flowers before it's mown down, always a danger when observing urban weeds.

I went back to check on it 7-2-2019. No further development but it has been quite cold. The rosettes are pretty small.

Cat's Ear ??

Common Daisy / Lawn Daisy (Bellis perennis)

this was at the bottom of this page as an unknown but seeing the one above in flower I'm pretty sure it's a daisy as well

Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium)

March 2019 quite a small example

quite near the above, a larger example

very distinctive leaves, February 2019

Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)

Dandelion

Dock

this dock rosette is huge

Forget-Me-Not

distinctive strong vein down the centre of the leaves

Foxglove

a close-up of a foxglove showing the texture of the leaves

Geranium Molle

not sure how "rosette" it is but in February 2018 one of the few plants growing so it caught my eye

a more developed geranium molle end of January 2019

Globe Thistle

Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)

Greater Celandine

I never thought of greater celandine as starting with a rosette but this January example looks rosette-like to me.

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

Herb Robert

Hedge Mustard

February 2019 I'm seeing a lot of hedge mustard rosettes but no plants in flower yet, too early for that.

this is a more advanced small plant rather than an initial rosette, seen May 2017

this is so much more textured, still hedge mustard?

Hairy Bittercress

Honesty

Knautia Macedonica

I think this is knautia macedonica but I think other knautia initial rosettes are probably similar (eg knautia arvensis / field scabious)

Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus)

Nipplewort

Ox-eye Daisy

Poppy

Atlas Poppy (Papaver atlanticum)

I'm not sure if this is one rosette or more than one.

Corn / field / red poppy (Papaver rhoes)

Prickly Sow Thistle

bit different, assuming prickly sow thistle, not thistle

 

I saw this prickly sow thistle (I think) at Rainham Marshes January 2019

Ragwort

early small ragwort rosette March 2017 on the patio next door

quite a small ragwort rosette March 2019 London NW1

large ragwort rosette at Rainham Marshes January 2019

Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)

middle of February 2019

I think this is the same rosette, first of April 2019

Shepherd's Purse

I saw these 14-2-2019 along the Regent's Canal. Two main rosettes are shepherd's purse but on close examination I see a hedge mustard in between them to the left.

shepherd's purse on the left, hedge mustard on the right

shepherd's purse with a small hedge mustard to the left below and another growing amongst below

photo below: two lower rosettes shepherd's purse, rosette above left hedge mustard

shepherd's purse next two photos

Smooth Sow Thistle

Seen in isolation the two plants below might both be identified as smooth sow thistle but right next to each other, it's clear they are different. I think the one on the left is shepherd's purse and on the right smooth sow thistle but I will keep and eye on them and take some better photos and confirm as they develop. Just down the road from me so should be feasible.

Short-fruited Willowherb

Spotted Medick (Medicago arabica)

Swine Cress (Lepidium coronopus)

12-2-2019

I saw this 4-1-2019

another rosette in the same area at the above, tiny buds in the centre

I saw the 3 swine cress rosettes above in the same place (Euston Road at Warren St) and that was the only place I'd seen swine cress until the other day when I saw these at a nearby park. This first one is a bit sparse and I thought it might be a buck's-horn plantain but looking more carefully I think it is swine cress but a very young less developed one.

this one is slightly more developed and more recognisable as swine cress, seen close to the one above

 

Teasel

the first year, teasel starts as a  low rosette

second year, the rosette is enormous

Thistles

I think this is a spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare).

this thistle has more pronounced spears than the one above which makes me wonder, is that spear

this is even hairier, natural variation? January 2019 Rainham Marshes

close-up of the thistle rosette above

a comparison of thistle leaves (2 kinds anyway), spear on the left, creeping on the right

Verbascum (phlomoides?) tall with white flowers

this verbascum rosette does look a bit like teasel but it's smooth and doesn't have the blisters, on March 20th (first day of Spring 2018) it has ice, we've had a bitter cold few days

Wood Avens (Geum urbanum)

Yarrow

February 2019

 

Unknown Rosettes

looks like autumn hawkbit but I'm not sure, hoping to see it flower and become identifiable (also visible, smooth sow thistle, chickweed, groundsel and goosegrass) -update- I saw this December 2017 so no hope of seeing it in bloom, when I went back a few times, the gate to the church was locked so couldn't check on it

January 2019 I saw this, looking extremely similar, at Rainham Marshes

The weeds above and below are in a church garden up the road, which unfortunately is locked sometimes so it may be difficult to follow up on these but I do hope to see them develop and flower this spring/summer and become identifible (also visible hairy bittercress, chickweed, petty spurge, oxalis and something I'm not sure of). Umbellifers - definitely something I need to come back to and I've seen recent examples which are more accessible

not sure how identifiable this is yet

close-up of this weed rosette -update- saw this round the corner, end of summer 2018 but it's gone now 2019

another view of that weed rosette showing to scale how small it is

not sure I'll be able to see this to maturity and therefore identification - but in case thought I'd take a pic - update - this has disappeared, did someone remove it on purpose?

In the back garden next door, I think this must be a knautia macedonia or a scabious, both of which I've grown from seed and purchased small plants. I mantain some pots on the patio next door, inc knautia and scabious plants and sure seeds are spread from my garden there as well. Hopefully he won't mow the "lawn" before I see what happens with it. Very soft, definitely not a thistle. -update- it's gone now - no idea why as that area hasn't been mown but sure it was a knautia.

this could be prickly sow thistle, if it was in my garden I'd leave it and see how it develops but as I saw it on the pavement, no guarantees it will be left to grow

I saw these on Dec 31st 2018. I went back yesterday (7-2-2019) and they look exactly the same. I guess the cold weather has prevented any further growth. Will revisit in coming weeks to see how it develops.

one of those difficult to identify umbellifers?

I saw a lot of rosettes yesterday (4-3-2019) and the previously week.

23.

24 dandelion-like

close-up of those buds

22

21 dandelion-like

close-up of the buds above

20 (similar to 21)

19 (similar to 20 and 21)

17

18

16 is this a younger version of 3 (just below)?

3 greater knapweed-ish

1 similar to 3 (just above)

15

14

13

12

11

9

8

7

6

5

4

January 2019 Rainham Marshes

January 2019 Rainham Marshes

Cat's Ear? I saw this end of February 2019

Quite near it I saw this with lobed leaves so I don't think it's cat's ear as well. In this position, I don't hold out much hope it will survive and bloom.

 

February 2019 - update - early rosettes of celery-leaved crowfoot (which is on the weed / wildflower page) but I'd only seen it fully grown, not at this early stage

I saw these in a wet area next to Regent's Canal. No flowers, or even, buds yet so not sure what this is yet. Water crowfoot? Common water crowfoot or another?

 

I saw this on St Pancras Way on the patch of ground where the buck's-horn plantain rosettes were, February 2019. Poppy?

 

I assume smooth sow thistle but it looks a bit different so was wondering hedge mustard? I guess I'm a bit rosette-blind as I've been looking at so many.

end of March, I thought I'd seen something like this before but I don't seem to have a photo here

end of March, there are a lot of other plants here but the rosette I'm looking at specifically is the very textured leaves one with the very red stems in the centre

end of March, at first glance I thought this was a thistle but it actually felt quite soft, I'll have to keep an eye on it to confirm one way or the other

end of March, St Pancras Way

end of March (think I have a pic from a couple weeks before as well - will check)