That's wild looking. It could be a fig/ficus, but it also puts me in the mind of a magnolia. Trouble with either is the habit ~ straight-out limbs spaced so far apart doesn't fit with any cultivars of either fig or magnolia I know of, but there may be one out there that grows that way? Even though you said there were many that way in out of the way places, could it be that there's a "Guerrilla Gardener" pruning them?

my default.. for all vines.. houseplants.. is that they grow up rainforest trees ... [i didnt say it was right.. lol.. this is how i 'think about it' for 'culture' purposes .. 'culture' being how you grow a plant ...] ... they have roots in the ground.. that stay very humid.. but with the vast canopy .. may never get a much rain ... [except for a brief rainy season] they climb up the tree.. capturing ambient moisture with large leaves.. and putting roots into the bark.. again.. little water for those roots.. etc... so when we think of a potted .. tropical.. or semi- tropical houseplant .... we would want media .. and watering ... consistent with such thoughts... and that.. for me.. would translate to a drink .. and then full drainage ... a second reason such work well as houseplants.. is because of how little actual sunshine gets down thru the canopy ... which is similar to house-level light ... as i said.. this is NOT science.. this is how i 'think about it' .. when i analyze.. what i might have to do with a houseplant.. now.. with the WWW .. you can do a few minutes of research as to its native habitat ... and you should be able to intuit what direction you should go ... [can you believe in the good old days.. i had to actually buy a book to learn this stuff] and a glass vase that holds water.. will not be the answer anywhere.. that is all i wanted to point out.. i did not address whether it looked good or bad.. or anything else ... just those stains on the glass ... until OP comes back and explains such .. there is no further concern ... and its winter.. no plant holds its old leaves forever.. and the extra low lighting of winter .. in the house .. makes some of the older weaker leaves fall off .. its natures way [and a forced air furnace sucking all the humidity out of the house doesnt help either] ... good luck ken

That mystery plant is Mullein! http://kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=46 http://www.altnature.com/gallery/mullien.htm Grows all over the rolling hills, they make are real neat ground cover the first year, soft leaves covering the ground. Flowers smell sweet and delicate. I would suggest cutting the seed head off when it starts to brown out and die, transfer to a location where you would not mind lots of these growing and they will self seed where you place or plant seed. It is a wonderful lung herb and also works well in a pinch as an emergency toilet paper! .... so I've been told.......

Looks like tall fescue. Photo 1 and 4 show auricles that tall fescue has. I believe I can also see the ridges in the lead blade in photo 4. Photo 5 shows that is has a bunch-style growth. If the blades come out rolled (not folded or flat), I think we have a winner. Fescue should have deeper roots that thst, though. Either you didn't pull the roots out completely (my guess), or you have extremely shallow roots from your watering practices.