Beautiful banner!

[jcarter]

This is an exceptionally beautiful picture!  How ever did you get the colors into the leaves like this, its lovely.
Love to see the entire picture.  Almost like Coleus, but prettier.
Jane

[kimmer]

Photo album: http://spatulagraphics.com/Wet%20Lands/album/index.html

Banner was taken from last photo.

I should know what the plant is, but I can't pull the info from the deep, dark recesses of my brain. Photo was taken in May, and it's a "wildflower" - I think. If I can find what it is, I'll post the name.

And, Sneakers, it's about time you dug those photos out and shared with me.  

[Xairbusdriver]

Excuse me, but can't you two set up a LAN and carry on your private conversations there?!

The plant is called multicolorous smallfolia, v. leftcoastiana. It grows in cool, damp areas with a spreading, ground cover habit. The various colors originate in the various non-organic substances in the soil. There are lots of those in the volcanic soils of Oregon, specifically in the 97xxx zip codes.

[jcarter]

What a pretty wildflower. We have the yellow ones here, but never seen the coleus like one. Googled the name, nope.
I will try it on my iPhone with the plant ID app. Tho they dont have many of the wild plants on it.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

Googled the name, nope.

Strange. Maybe you should try Bing. Or Frank! Tony Bennett would be my choice for a live search, however.

<Here's a place> I use to verify names, especially when they are hand-written... just start typing in the scientific name and the search engine will offer possibilities as you type.

[jcarter]

Great site, thanks for the link!

[kimmer]

I pulled out my copy of Coastal Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest by Elizabeth Horn, and my quick research leads me to think that the multicolored leaves are glehnia littoralis (or beach silvertop) - a member of the parsley family. But, it could also be fragaria chiloensis (coastal strawberry). It's really hard to id without either an expert (which I'm not) or the flowers being in bloom. Plus both of these are "beach" wildflowers and supposedly not found in wetlands. But I couldn't find anything in the wetlands section of the book that looked anything near what is in the photo.    The book says both plants are found along the west coast from California to Alaska. I imagine the eastern coast of the US has something similar.

Just for fun, the leaves in the far right section of the banner are different and I have NO clue what those are.

Sneakers is gone for the day and when he comes home I'll ask him if he knows what the plants are -- but somehow I doubt he does.  

QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Jul 10 2013, 08:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excuse me, but can't you two set up a LAN and carry on your private conversations there?!

[jcarter]

I think I have an idea what the plant is.  I dont know what its called, but it has lovely leaves and the stem has prickers on it.
Once in a while I find some in my daylily garden, so next time I find some, I will use the leaf ID app on it.

Its very short and is more of a vine.
I will go out tomorrow and see if I can find some, its not very common. And in the fall it turns a bit lighter and reddish.
Hopefully its a similar plant.

[kimmer]

QUOTE(kimmer @ Jul 11 2013, 12:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sneakers is gone for the day and when he comes home I'll ask him if he knows what the plants are -- but somehow I doubt he does.  

Sneakers just got home and walked in with a leaf in his hand ... it's wild blackberries:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bla...d_in_forest.jpg

[jcarter]

Thats it!  Wicked nasty prickers on the darn things.

And now that you have solved the mystery, I now know what these things are all around the back of the tennis courts at my brother's house. And many balls dont get retrieved when the kids hit them over the fence during their lessons. Along with the poison ivy. The birds love this stuff in the fall.

What is Cape Cod's national flower?  Poison Ivy for sure.

[Xairbusdriver]

The banner shot must come from very early in the season when the shoots are short and crowded. Around here, the plants grow three or more feet high and as wide as the location will allow; a fence row means a narrow row of stalks, an unused corner may allow for a bush-like formation. Either way, the stalks are covered with sharp thorns! You won't walk through these plants in shorts for very long nor more than once! Leather work gloves are good protection for fingers, leather jacket and pants will protect your skin but you'll melt from the heat! However, nothing makes better black berry jam/jelly than these plants!

I was surprised at how covered the Seattle and Portland areas are covered with blackberries! I think they pretty much cover 90% of the land west of the Cascades!