Right ON ellen s - THAT'S IT!!! Pilea pumila or clearweed. Seeds must have come in on the impatiens, from the nursery. Check out the online info: "The official vernacular for one variety is known as Dream's Clearweed and one Canadian Clearweed. Clearweed is the vernacular for the genus. The leaf arrangement is opposite. Each leaf is toothed with long petioles. The flower parts are not discernable with the naked eye . They are white or greenish. Blooms first appear in mid summer and continue into mid fall. The branching clusters of tiny flowers are at the leaf nodes. Moist shaded areas. Its range is Most of eastern and midwestern U. S. In the nettle family, but lacks stinging barbs. The stem of a young clearweed plant appears to be translucent. This plant is considered Native to the United States of America. It is a small plant that rarely exceeds 20 cm in height (8"). The flowers are tiny, usually unisexual, and presumably wind-pollinated. They occur in dense cymose clusters in the leaf axils. Female flowers produce a single seed, which is green with purple spots. The species gets its name from the water-filled, translucent stems, which relate to the species' ecology. Instead of investing energy in the production of strong fibres to give the stem mechanical support, Canada Clearweed uses cells that are filled with water under high pressure. This structural solution is less costly in terms of energy, but it does restrict the clearweed to habitats that are continuously moist, and it makes the species especially susceptible to frost. It is almost certainly a shortened growing season, combined with its annual nature, that restricts the clearweed's abundance at the northern limits of its range, as in the Maritime provinces. Clearweed is found in continuously moist, nutrient-rich, often shaded sites with limited competition from taller plants. The clearweed tends to be most abundant in vernal pools or shorelines within swamp forest, where seasonal flooding limits the growth of other species." Pretty darn cool! I must say, I've had the wierdest weeds at this place, last year it was Tumbleweed (salsola collina)! Thank you all SO MUCH for helping me on this. You are very kind (and persistant!!!). Great plant people. Another case closed & solved. Best, PP

Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb

I can blow up pictures now. Maybe it only works when I enter the thread via email. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae.Cynanchum laeve. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Leptadenia species. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Gomphocarpus cancellatus. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Asclepias cryptoceras. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Matelea reticulata. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Pseudolithos species. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Ceropegia species. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Hoodia species. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Hoya species. Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae. Tabernaemonana panacaqui. Apocynaceae.

Sandy, I took that picture at a wooded area next to a prairie. It's not mine. I do have a small colony of about 10 Pilea pumila plants. My former plants dissapeared when conditions became dryer. I started growing them again this year and I want many more.They produce a lot of seeds, and by just spreading the seeds further out than where they drop should give you a nice sized colony relatively fast. I don't have any areas that remain continuously moist, so I need to give mine supplemental watering. You are lucky that yours grows well without any help. So far the deer haven't touched my plants. They have nibbled on a Hosta and brown eyed susan. I grow the native wood nettle, Laportea canadensis also. It's bigger, and also makes an impressive groundcover. It has a sting. I think the sting from Laportea canadensis is more of an itchy sting. The sting of stinging nettle, Urtica dioica is more of a burning sting imo. I don't have any weeds that need suppressing, so I would like to have drifts of Pilea mixed in with other shade loving natives, spring ephemerals, grasses, sedges. It's an ongoing project but very enjoyable. Good luck with your plants, I hope the deer stay away. Sorry there's no picture of the Pilea colony, but one plant popped up in front of some Laportea canadensis in another part of the yard. The wood nettle flowers are bigger and more noticable.These are my Pilea pumila plants.