Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with leaves

Put a spell on the John?

mds35 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:00:27 -0800

Can anyone tell me what kind of plant this is? I found these in the men's room at work, in Boston. They don't look like a native species to me, and we don't have them in the atrium in my office building either.

Also, it looks as though they were placed purposefully. Note the arrangement in the last photo.

Any ideas? Is this some sort of spell?

I am asking two questions, I guess:

1. What plant are these branches from?

2. is this some sort of ceremonial/religious/magical arrangement?

What would happen to my lawn if I just didn't rake the leaves?

Flunkie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:15:35 -0800

What would happen to my lawn if I just didn't rake the leaves? I don't particularly care if my lawn is covered in leaves. But will it actually damage my (normal grass) lawn if I just leave them there until they blow away or disintegrate or whatever? Come Spring, will I have a barren patch of dirt where there used to be grass?

Why don't we eat the leaves off the trees?

escabeche — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:45:05 -0800

Why do we eat leaves from plants that grow on the ground, but not from trees? Help me give my three-year-old authoritative answers to his difficult questions. He wanted to know why we don't eat leaves off the trees. And I have no idea! Other animals eat tree leaves, and people eat all kinds of green leaves from lettuces, cabbages, herbs, etc. Are tree leaves non-nutritive for humans? Would they make us sick? Or do they just taste bad? Please help me be Dad Who Knows Everything.

Help us identify this plant!

pghjezebel — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:52:46 -0800

IdentifyPlantFilter: A new plant has sprung up in my Mother's rock garden this year. She loves it, but had no idea what it is! Can you help us identify it? IdentifyPlantFilter: A new plant has sprung up in my Mother's rock garden this year. She loves it, but had no idea what it is! Can you help us identify it?

Characteristics:
Perennial
Tall
Silver somewhat fuzzy leaves
Spreads (in clumps) easily
Pink Flowers

I've upload a few photos of it over here on Flickr.

Please recommend 3D software for doing leaves

jfuller — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:48:33 -0800

Digital graphics artists, hi! I have a painting in mind--a foliate head (aka 'green man') or rather several of them, embedded in foliage. I expect the final form will be in acrylic on masonite because I want it to be bigger than any monitor or color printer I'm ever likely to have. But I want to do most of the detail prep digitally, and it will involve 3D work because I plan to stare at and think about every single one of X hundreds of leaves, sized and rotated to fit in with its neighbors. So I'm fishing for recommendations about which of the free 3D packages I should plan on using. I know the learning curve will be pretty steep and I want to pick one program and stick to it. Free candidates I know of are SketchUp, Blender, and Bryce 5, but I'll consider anything. Does any one of these, or any other one you've used, stand out from the rest for doing complex-mesh organic forms like, um, leaves? If any of them make it easy (or anyway less hard) to texture flat(ish) objects on both surfaces, that's a big plus. Thanks very much! Oh, Windows or Linux. Got no Mac.

Lawn leaf removal best practices

profwhat — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:02:26 -0800

What is the easiest way to get leaves off of my lawn? (Short of paying someone to do it). Leaf blowers? Ergonomic rakes? Lawn mowers?

Mulching Mower vs. Autumn Leaves

14580 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:40:52 -0800

Will mulching our leaves with our mower help or harm our lawn? We have a huge amount of leaves of that fall or blow into our yard and we own a good mulching mower. Our soil also has a very high clay content, which seems to be why we have a lot of bare spots in our lawn that that look and feel like concrete after even short dry spells.

I was wondering if I can get rid of some or all of our leaves by mulching them with our mower, and in the process also improve our soil by adding organic material to it. Keep in mind that we have a LOT of leaves so I'm wondering if I can overdo it.

I spend at least 20 hours every year raking/blowing leaves. The chore has become worse since our town told us we can't compost them anymore because the pile was too close to our property line. That means I have to bag them and put them out with the trash, which bothers me for ecological reasons.

If it helps, we're in western NY and we don't exactly have a thick lush lawn. A couple of big Labrador retrievers beat it up and we have a lot of moss this year because of unusually wet weather.

Japan autumn colours in early November?

destrius — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:45:20 -0800

Going to Japan over the 1st week of November: where to see autumn colours? I'll be landing in Tokyo on 2nd November this year and I'll probably be spending upwards to a week in Japan. Does anybody know where would be a good place to visit to see the autumn colours (kouyou)?

I've found some online resources (e.g. http://kouyou.nihon-kankou.or.jp/) which give me a rough idea of what areas will be in full "bloom" during the period I'm there, but I get the idea I'll be a few weeks too early for the main autumn colour season. The areas towards the north (Tokohu) will likely be in season, but from what I gather there are less places up there to visit. Currently I'm planning to stay in Nara for a day or two.

Any more general suggestions of places I could visit are very welcome too... this is quite a sudden trip so I haven't really made any concrete plans yet.

Should I eat that leaf?

serazin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:19:28 -0800

Can you think of any godly reason why I should not eat the leaves of my cauliflower plants? I think they’re delicious, and I suspect they’re nutritious. I leave most on the plant for doing their planty stuff and for covering the actual cauliflower head with when it starts to grow, but I like to pick some of the big leaves off and eat them. Google has offered me little except a few links that say the smaller leaves are edible. Why not the bigger?

I would like to save as much as my tree as possible

stormygrey — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:23:39 -0800

TreeFilter: How do I know what is actually dead? I live in downtown Atlanta and as you may know we had a tornado a while back. Our house was in the path and one of our ancient oak trees took a hit. I am not sure it is was lightning or just wind damage, but there is a large V shaped swath of dead limbs that we just noticed now that the trees are filled back out with foilage.

Its probably over a third of the canaopy that is affected, they didn't leaf out at all and viewed from the street approach it looks like the majority of the tree is dead.

These are the oaks in question when they were healthy, they are rather squat, so the limbs are possible to get to. TREE

My questions are:
Are the limbs that didn't get any leaves for sure dead?
Does this indicate the rest of the tree may be in trouble?
I have chainsaws, do I take out as close to the trunk as possible?
Will my poor tree fill back out?

Is this pot?

chillmost — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:27:31 -0800

Hey man, is this plant what I think it is? I found it in the big planter right outside of our front door. I know there are other plants that look similar to cannabis, but I don't have a lot of experience with it in the, uh, pre-harvest stages. Pictures online are inconclusive. It is about a foot and a half tall and there are no buds on it as far as I can see (does this mean it is male?). It does have an odor but it is not a strong one which I would identify as cannabis.

Revamp of old question: Need help identifying 3 southeastern Minnesota trees.

LittleNami — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:10:20 -0800

Revamp of old question: Need help identifying 3 southeastern Minnesota trees. Ok, this is a repeat of a previous question I asked here because it got too old and no one who was helping me saw the upodate with pictures. Here is the same stuff over again:

Need help identifying 3 tree branches from the Southeastern Minnesota region.

I recently came back from the local zoo here in southern MN with some branches in tow for nature studies fun. However, in my research of what they were, 3 seemed to be giving me a little trouble. I have taken photos of the branches in their length and a closeup of each of their leaf clippings for examples.

The first I believe to be a Northern White Cedar and I just need a rousing yay to be sure I am correct on it.

Cedar
Cedar Closeup

The second is giving me some hard time, but I am pretty sure it is a spruce, just stuck on what kind exactly, like Black, Norway, White, Sitka, or Eastern.

Spruce
Spruce Closeup

The third is the crowning jewel of confusion. I am not sure if I accidentally grabbed a leaf from too low on this still young branch, but I am thinking I have it narrowed to a Maple tree, just not sure what kind. Some back details for you is that the tree itself was not large, maybe about 10 feet tall and acting as a decorative tree lining on the sidewalk to the zoo. None of the leaves on the rest of the tree were glossy/waxy looking, just rather plain green with a minor bit of shine. Leaves on the rest of the tree were soft and moving, not stiff, and none that I remember were any bigger than maybe a dollar bill.

Maple Wannabe
Maple Wannabe Closeup

As a note, I have contacted the zoo itself, but they don't offer me a lot of help. I am starting to wonder if I need to make a second trip to the zoo.

This is the new pictures that I updated with:

Ok, I have an update for everyone. Was able to get back to the zoo yesterday and took some photos of the trees themselves. Maybe now we can finish this one off

Need help identifying 3 tree branches from the Southeastern Minnesota region.

LittleNami — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:22:39 -0800

Need help identifying 3 tree branches from the Southeastern Minnesota region. I recently came back from the local zoo here in southern MN with some branches in tow for nature studies fun. However, in my research of what they were, 3 seemed to be giving me a little trouble. I have taken photos of the branches in their length and a closeup of each of their leaf clippings for examples.

The first I believe to be a Northern White Cedar and I just need a rousing yay to be sure I am correct on it.

Cedar
Cedar Closeup

The second is giving me some hard time, but I am pretty sure it is a spruce, just stuck on what kind exactly, like Black, Norway, White, Sitka, or Eastern.

Spruce
Spruce Closeup

The third is the crowning jewel of confusion. I am not sure if I accidentally grabbed a leaf from too low on this still young branch, but I am thinking I have it narrowed to a Maple tree, just not sure what kind. Some back details for you is that the tree itself was not large, maybe about 10 feet tall and acting as a decorative tree lining on the sidewalk to the zoo. None of the leaves on the rest of the tree were glossy/waxy looking, just rather plain green with a minor bit of shine. Leaves on the rest of the tree were soft and moving, not stiff, and none that I remember were any bigger than maybe a dollar bill.

Maple Wannabe
Maple Wannabe Closeup

As a note, I have contacted the zoo itself, but they don't offer me a lot of help. I am starting to wonder if I need to make a second trip to the zoo.

Eat Food, but which leaves, and how?

bbranden1 — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:44:24 -0800

According to Michael Pollan's Eat Food article in the New York Times, we're supposed to eat more plants, esp leaves. So where are the leaf recipes? Does this come down to nothing more than spinach and lettuce salads or is there a interesting cuisine out there somewhere? Are there any cookbooks with leafy foods as their focus?

How can I simulate natural light patterns?

bchaplin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:50:37 -0800

How can I create lighting in my room that simulates the patterns made when the sunlight shines through a tree? I live in an attic apartment with long sloping walls. When the sun shines through a tree in front of my house at certain times of the day it projects a lovely pattern of leaves and tree branches along my ceiling. I'd love to simulate this pattern with a lamp. I am not an electrician -- anything that I create would have to be a combination of DIY and ready-made.

Can my tulip plant be saved? How?

Kwantsar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:36:47 -0800

The leaf tips are turning brown. Are my tulip plants dying? I got a few bulbs in a small planter for Christmas. In short order, some stems (stalks?) emerged from the soil. They were green and robust.

Somewhere along the way, the growth decelerated, and the ends of the stalks turned brown. I (foolishly, perhaps) replanted them in a larger pot with some fresh soil. I may have damaged the root structure a bit when I transplanted the bulbs, but I don't believe I did a whole lot of damage. Either way, the browning has continued. As it stands, I have three or four reedish six-inch sprouts, two string-ish six-inch sprouts, and a handful of shorter reedish sprouts emerging from the soil. The long reeds have gone brown at the top, sthe short reeds and strings have wilted a fair bit.

Some resources say to trim the brown, some say to give more water, some say to keep the brown, some say to give less water, some say to give more light, et cetera.

So, I guess my question is:
1. What should I do?
And my other questions are:
2. Can I keep it outside when the nights are near-freezing?
3. Is there a reliable web resource for plant care?

Safely cleaning gutters from the roof

lyam — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:39:41 -0800

How do you safely clean your 2nd story gutters from a steeply sloped roof? I saw this question but it doesn't really address the heart of my question. How would you safely clean gutters from a high, sloped roof? A tall ladder could work, but it seems likely that the risk of falling is increased by constantly moving up and down the ladder. Also, it's a tremendous pain in the ass. Scaffolding would also work but is cost-prohibitive. I suppose I could pay someone but I'd rather not. I enjoy saving money and the satisfaction of working on my home where possible. So that leaves working from the roof. Which is dangerous. And scary. So what methods can be used to safely work from the roof and close to the gutters? Harness and anchor? To what? Special shoes? That won't damage asphalt shingles?

Or perhaps I'm missing other options from working on the ground. Cherry Picker? iRobot gutter cleaner? 2 story gutter wand? Trained squirrels?

Help me maintain 2 wooded acres. Please.

JMOZ — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:26:52 -0800

We just bought a house on 2 acres of wooded land. I need help with leaf management (fall is coming soon!) and path/trail maintenance. More specifically, I think I want suggestions for leaf blowers and string trimmers/brushcutters. My wife and I have bought a house, and we love it. The lot is very wooded (yet is near work, shopping, etc.) I just need to learn how to manage the outside most effectively. I've looked around on google, but it's hard to separate good content form crap. Basically, there are 2 main issues:

1) We have a path/trail which goes from the back of our house to the stream. It isn't terribly long, but tall grasses/weeds want to overgrow it. In some places, there are thin bushes, as well. I did a bit of preliminary work with a machete, but that doesn't work well for the grasses or weeks. I think I need a (gas-powered) string trimmer with a brushcutter attachment for the heavier bushes. Anyone have recommendations for equipment or alternative approaches?

2) Fall is coming, and all these trees will be dropping tons of leaves. I'm pretty sure I'm well outside of what I could possibly rake. Also, we have a crushed stone driveway, so a rake isn't likely to work very well. Any suggestions in what leaf blower to buy? We'd like something reliable, and since we're going to clear a decent bit of land, I think I want a backpack rather than handheld.

In recommending tools, etc, I have a preference for left-handed friendly, but really, reliability/quality and performance/effectiveness are key. Many thanks!

Help me chase the fall!

AsRuinsAreToRome — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:37:59 -0800

I'm looking for people's past experiences visiting Julian, California. A little backstory: I'm originally from the East Coast (Northern New Jersey to be exact), but I now live in Los Angeles, CA. My favorite season has always been fall, and by the time I actually make it back home for the holidays in Dec, New Jersey is already well into winter. Recognizing that fact, my girlfriend suggested we book a cabin in the mountains surrounding Julian, CA for our Anniversary in the middle of October. The way the town was described to me was a "transplanted New Hampshire village". I want to get away from the palm trees and the beaches of Los Angeles.

I want all the trimmings: apple picking, hayrides, cider, pumpkins, pie - all of it. I've checked out the Julian Chamber of Commerce webpage, but I'm interested in what other MeFi'ers experiences have been at Julian. Whats your favorite part? Where do we go? What do we see? Lay it on me!

Aspens in New Mexico?

1f2frfbf — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:35:45 -0800

Amateur photographers want to find aspens in New Mexico. I will be visiting my father in Las Cruces, NM on the first week of October. We recently read in the National Geographic about the decline in Aspen populations, so we'd like to stage our own "Last Chance to See" trip. What's the best/closest place to go see a stand of aspen in a natural environment (ie. National or State Park, National Forest, etc), and how far would we have to go to find then in fall color?

Fig Leaves: For Eatin', Not Wearin'

maryh — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:22:25 -0800

I'm in foraging mode lately. I know fig leaves are edible, but how do I make them palatable? Thanks to an anonymous little bird, I now have a lovely Kadota fig tree, laden with fruit, gracing my front yard. The figs themselves are wonderful, but after reading this entry at the WHF website, I'm interested in finding ways to use the leaves in the kitchen. Google searches turned up a lot of recipes for baked fish wrapped in leaves, and an awful lot of Adam & Eve references, but I need more. Can the leaves be used like, say, spinach? When are they best harvested? Nutritional benefits? Besides the production of tiny skirts to hide one's shame, what other creative uses are there for the fig leaf?
(Fig recipes are welcome too.)

Lawn sweeper, anyone?

SashaPT — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 13:32:37 -0800

Have you ever used a lawn sweeper? I don't want to get a leaf blower, but the thought of raking 100 bags of leaves this fall is depressing.

I saw one of these in a catalog and was intrigued. Do they work?

(We mostly have maple trees, so fairly big leaves.)

How do I get leaves to turn into mulch or compost?

Faze — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:45:28 -0800

I have a humongous pile of leaves in a corner of my back yard, that had been building up for about three years now. It is nearly four feet high and occupies about 15 square feet. I thought it would automatically turn into mulch, but this doesn't seem to be happening. None of the mulch or compost-related sites I've googled seem to deal with a leaf pile of this unwieldy size and bulk. How can I make this monster disappear into something that looks and acts like dirt?