Need help to identify this plant got at garage sale

Discussion in 'Plant ID' started by skellie, Apr 2, 2012.

  1. skellie

    skellie New Seed

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    Got this plant at a garage sale about 4 years ago in Port Charlotte, FL. They had it tagged as a bottle plant but I have not been able to find anything online to match that name. I have it in a pot on my lanai and would like to know more about caring for it. Does anyone know what it is? Thanks!

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    Unknown plant needs a name ( photo / image / picture from skellie's Garden )
     
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  3. luvdirtyhands1

    luvdirtyhands1 Seedling

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    I believe it is a fig plant.
     
  4. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I have looked at that photo while thinking "gee, that looks familiar but I can't place it" DUH!!! I have a fig tree out in the back yard, not the same species, but they have very similar leaves and tree bark.

    Skellie, I don't know for sure which species yours is and possibly neither did the person selling it but if you have room, put it in the ground in a sunny spot or at least a larger pot in full sun.
    Make sure it has lots of room to grow, most can get quite large but you can keep it a manageable size by pruning.
     
  5. chocolate

    chocolate In Flower

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    Good morning, in my opinion...definitely not a fig tree, but a jatropha podagrica, it will have a spray of bright red flowers if kept in the sun.The common name of 'bottle' can be misleading though some of the jatrophas have bottle shaped trunks.If it had one main trunk it would form a 'bottle' trunk but it has been pruned or has died back at some stage of its life.I have a different type,the leaves drop off in the winter and come back again in spring.

    I am not sure about this......a member of the euphorbia family?
    If a leaf comes off it will have milky sap?
     



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  6. chocolate

    chocolate In Flower

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    Just a little more which might interest you, this is my jatropha multifida, lovely leaves arent they?It has flowered once in about 5yrs.

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    Jatropha mutifidia ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
     
  7. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Hmmm, The Buddha Belly Plant aka BottlePlant. I saw a large shrub version of this one outside a shop a couple of years ago and never did get it IDed. The lady who owned the plant had it labeled as a Fig variety.

    Learn something new everyday here on the Stew ;)
     
  8. skellie

    skellie New Seed

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    Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestion as to the possible name of my plant is. I do think it looks like a fig tree. It loses it's leaves in the winter but during the summer after we start to get alot of rain, little yellow flowers with red centers appear. I was afraid that it had died one winter when we had a lot of days under 32 degrees but seems to come back each spring. It does look a little scraggly right now but will fill out nicely in a few weeks.

    A note to Chocolate: I have a jatropha multifida in my front yard and it blooms beautiful red flowers every year but the below freezing temps are hard on it. Seems to come back strong every year though.

    I agree it needs to come out of the pot and be planted in the ground. Thanks for the suggestion toni.
     
  9. chocolate

    chocolate In Flower

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    Hi, fig trees have fruit for flowers, the flower is the fig fruit, fig trees do not have red or yellow flowers.
    Fig leaves have 5 lobes.

    This is my fig tree today, you can see the small fruit/ flowers forming when they start to flower or split we will eat them.

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    ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )





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    ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
     
  10. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Skellie, Fig trees do not produce blooms.

    Not all Fig leaves are 5 lobed, mine are 3.
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    Fig leaf ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden )

    Different species of the Jatropha produce different color blooms...scarlet, pink, coral and there is a yellow flowered one Jatropha curcas that is grown primarily as a bio-diesel fuel plant. It is a somewhat common plant in Florida, it produces a round green fruit after the blooms drop.
     
  11. skellie

    skellie New Seed

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    Again, thanks so much for your help. I just noticed this morning my unidentified plant is blooming little red flowers with yellow in middle instead of yellow with red as I had stated, sorry :( I have included two more pictures. Maybe this will help!

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    ( photo / image / picture from skellie's Garden )





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    ( photo / image / picture from skellie's Garden )
     
  12. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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  13. chocolate

    chocolate In Flower

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    Good morning, thanks Toni you are right when you said new things are learnt on 'stew'.I have to look at other fig trees now.
    Because mine has 5 lobes I thought all others would have too. :stew1:
     

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