cinequefoil came to mind.. maybe because i wondered if i could spell it ... and i was closer than expected.. lol ...

mostly just a WAG.. and a chance to say a local hello .. i live about 3 miles away ..

ken

info: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cinquefoil&t=ffab&ia=web

pix: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cinquefoil&t=ffab&ia=images&iax=images

ps: any idea what they are doing out around that plot by the nuns retirement home.. is that a 10 or 12 foot fence they are putting up.. around their gardens??? .. AT sienna heights i mean ...

Hi ken. This is MarcP from another site (helpfulgardner).. I was just at the retirement home a week ago, walking around the meadow and pond, but didn't notice anything unusual. I have a friend who takes me on walks to photograph, so I may pop over there again on Tuesday. They did install a massive number of solar panels, with no consideration to how much they might annoy me. No matter, I've accidentally become awfully old and decrepit so this may have been my last summer walking on such uneven ground, anyway.

No, this isn't sulfur cinequefoil, I'm quite familiar with that. I don't think it's wild chervil. The leaves don't seem right and I've never seen it flower.

floral_uk, it does look a bit like cilantro, doesn't it? It grows in fairly large patches, very low to the ground, and I've never seen it with flowers at any time of year.

im not familiar with that other site you mention ...

the fence is at the corner of howell hwy and sienna heights drive ..... north of the substation... across the street from it ...

ken

Cilantro wouldn't stay green all winter, it's an annual. Mine always bolts too early, I can't imagine it not blooming, unless it's in a lot of shade?

It looks so familiar... could it be a creeping buttercup? Ranunculus repens? I'm also z5 and don't think it would be evergreen here, but it would probably be very hardy and persist well into winter.

I didn’t suggest Cilantro. I was only prepared to go as far as Apiaceae. I think the small seedlings to the right are the same species. Here it would be Anthriscus sylvestris but I don’t know if that is a contender in Michigan and it does look a bit different. It is definitely not Ranunculus repens.

Have a look at Rough Chervil (Chaerophyllum temulum).

Anthriscus sylvestris is all over Michigan. It most likely germinates in summer and stays a rosette until the following year. The flowering plants that seeded these are dead and possibly unrecognizable now. My Cnidium is similar in growing habits. There are a few subspecies and varieties that could explain the slight difference in appearance. It is supposed to smell like parsley.

Cow Parsley, (Anthriscus sylvestris)

The originator of that other site must be named Gardner because otherwise there is no word "gardner". Anymore than "mchanic", "chf" or "waitrss".

I spose you're right, but can you splain it to me?

Jay 6a Chicago, it's definitely not cow parsley. It never grows anywhere near that tall and cow parsley has obvious flowers. This does not.

How often have you observed these plants throughout the season? Have you checked the leaves for smell? I can't find any Apiaceae species that match the leaves, not even in the young stage. I considered Corydalis flavula, but that doesn't seem right either.

Wouldn't that be "suppos" and "xplain"? Anyway I agree the mystery looks like carrot family. And will grow taller and bloom at some point, unless being prevented from reaching full development by grazing, mowing or other interfering occurrence. In other words there are no wild plant species that absolutely never flower under otherwise suitable circumstances except for ferns, mosses and so forth.

Grazing is a plausible reason. Is that stretch of woodland ever mowed or burned? A scent description might help.

heritage park is 3 miles from my house if i were a bird ..

about a third of it is mowed lawn.. baseball fields.. etc ...

it is never brunt ...

the rest is woodlands that i might guess havent been harvested in 50 to 100 years ... but nothing like heritage trees ...

they have a giant drive thru xmas disply in december ...

i couldnt find a link to it ... for some reason

ken

found this: https://www.adriancity.com/departments/parks_and_forestry/parks_information/heritage_park/index.php

Embothrium and Jay 6a Chicago, no, it will not grow taller. I have been looking at this in the same park, from spring to winter for years. You see my fingers in the corner. It never gets bigger than this. As Ken said, parts of the park are mowed but where I find this plant is never mowed. It does, however, grow on the edge of paths where there is a bit of sunlight.

It's Anthriscus caucalis and has been observed in Lenawee County. Rabbit's, deer, and other animals have to be grazing it for it to never grow taller and flower.

Anthriscus caucalis taken in Lenawee County.

Floral ID'd the genus. I followed that lead.

I went back and took more pictures. Here is one. They all look exactly the same, none of it is taller than this (which is only a little above the ground). I have never seen it flower at any time of year and I go to this park frequently. HOWEVER, I did smell it this time and it smells exactly like sweet cicely (licorice). Problem is, I have some in my own woods and it grows much taller and flowers in the spring.

There were flowering plants there in the past, before the herbivores found them. It's a good thing, because they can't spread any further if they can't make seeds. The BONAP map shows them in Ohio, but not Michigan, so they are on the move northward. Shade might be affecting the flowering too? Sylvestris smells like parsley. Caucalis smells like licorice, but the internet doesn't have much info about caucalis, because sylvestris gets all the attention.