Plant ID ??.. birdseed volunteer

 
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/67010419@N05/sets/72157627567741228

   Can anyone identify this clump of volunteers that sprang up beside our
birdtable, from dropped  "mixed bird seed"?  The plants are 6 ft high, the
stems are softly hairy,the large leaves are soft, and slightly hairy and
sticky. The yellow flower is 2cm across, nine petals.
    Quite handsome as an annual foliage plant, but it has only just
started flowering  at the end of August so I doubt we'll be able to
harvest seed :-)

    Janet

 
My first thought is some form of Inula.

 

Looks like nyger flowers.Have a look at:

http://www.ukwildflowers.com/Web_pages/guizotia_abyssinica_niger.htm

It's an annual, though considered invasive by some. Flowering period
is July-August and seed ripens through September. I have tried but not
succeeded in collecting seed when the odd plant has arisen from below
a feeder but I suspect that is because the UK isn't warm enough, at
least a this end of Swansea Bay :)

Someone once tried to sell me a quantity of "sterile" bird seed.
Turned out the definition of sterile was that the mix was such that
finicky eaters wouldn't chuck much onto the lawn!

Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk

 says...

     I'm sure your ID is right; the pic fits and we go through a lot of
nyger seed, or rather the goldfinches do.  On my flicjr link, that's an SS
topped nyger feeder hanging off the bird table and the black mess under it
is old seed.

    Many thanks!

  I've read elsewhere that for biosecurity reasons the USA insists  
certain  imported feed-seed is sterilised by irradiation.

   Janet

 


I think it's a heat treatment rather than irradiation but it's
acknowledged to be not 100% successful on nyger seed though it is
apparently great for zapping the hitch-hikers.

Most of my bird feeders are now over grass where mowing stops unwanted
growth and I tend to go for single seed types such as nyger and
sunflower hearts rather than the mixes which contain a lot of maize
that goes uneaten or gets chucked off the table. The most fun is with
peanuts - I have a feeder near a side fence and have noticed the cat
likes lying nearby. He doesn't bother the birds at all but watches the
ground. I eventually got round to  investigating and discovered a
little tunnel under the fence through which would occasionally pop a
mouse who would grab a bit of discarded peanut and dash back under the
fence.

So I feed the birds, the birds feed the mice and, occasionally, the
mice get brought indoors for a run around by the cat. :)

Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk