It is a highly invasive, toxic weed. I spent two summers pulling it out by the trash bag full from the roadside of our property. It pushed out my daisies and brown-eyed susans.

Currently: Schefflera elegantissima, formerly: Dizygotheca elegantissima, commonly: false Aralia Hard to say what's wrong from the info offered, and there are several cultural issues that can be made manifest in the symptoms shown; but since it's known the plant tolerates wet feet poorly, I'd make over-watering and/or a soil that holds excessive amounts of water my starting point. If you tell all you can think of about what you do for the plant culturally, you might say something that leads to a moment than ends in 'aha'! Use a "tell" to test the soil for moisture levels and water when the tell comes out dry or nearly so. Something I wrote about using a "tell": Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al

Identifying plants is a learned skill. One has to look at the overall plant body to categorize the form but examine the small details, too. Sometimes, it helps to feel a plant in order to determine the surface texture and sometimes the nose can help, too. In the case of Spathiphyllum ( peace lily) suggested here as a possibility, one needs to look beyond an individual leaf, which does bear a strong superficial resemblance to any of the gingers suggested. That's as far as the resemblance goes, however. The ginger leaves are clearly arranged alternately up and along the stem....several leaves on each stem. Spathiphyllum has one leaf at the top of each stem. Cast Iron plant is much easier to separate from the pack. If you look at a leaf, you will immediately see that the veins are very visibly arranged in a parallel pattern. The gingers and the peace lilies have foliar veins arranged pinnately along one central vein, like a feather. Plant ID is very much all about being able to see the differences between plants and not the similarities. That can be a challenge when using a couple of photographs instead of seeing a plant in person. Those of us who happen to be familiar with the gingers were able to recognize that the images are that of a ginger of some kind immediately. I mentioned cardamom (a type of ginger) because it is rather popular right now.

whether or not the weed is edible... most will steal all water and nutrients .. in a pot ... from the favored crop ... which was what you wanted in the first place .... so its a real catch 22 ... in other words.... one reason its called a weed is because of its aggressiveness .... for best production ... you should probably change the media in the pots every season ... at least every other ... with the genetic breakdown over the years ... you may or may not end up with tasty crops.. if you rely on last years seeds .. some times it works.. sometimes it doesnt ... ken