Persistant weed. Can you ID please?

[wotweed]

Hello.
It's my first post here.
In our back garden veg plot and elsewhere, there is a perennial weed, with white, bootlace-like rhizomatous roots and dark green to red opposing leaves.

I'm attaching a photo and would be grateful if anyone can identify it please so that I may know my enemy !!

Thank you in advance.

[Flummery]

It has a look of Dogs Mercury - a woodland plant in origin, but I've seen it in gardens. Hard to tell from a photo though. Does it have a spike of tiny whiter flowers? It doesn't have a dark spot on the leaf, does it? Just trying to narrow things down a bit!

[Seahorse]

Looks like bindweed to me.

[HeyWayne]

Looks like bindweed to me.

The root does, but the foliage doesn't look anywhere near long and "binding" enough. Bindweed shoots up from the smallest of root pieces, with a root system like that I'd expect that plant to be about 8ft long by now.

[wotweed]

Hi Flummery - Can't any spots and no flowers as yet. I've potted up a sample in the hope of seeig some flowers.

Seahorse - I tried Bindweed but that has alternate leaves. I've been through every book we have and umpteen websites but, as yet, nothing with all the features !

Thanks

[wotweed]

I did hand remove a LOT of the root system in early Spring, thinking it was couch or similar but this has left me baffled.

[Seahorse]

You've no doubt seen it already wotweed but this is a handy site ~(not that I can find your visitor on there!)

Bayer CropScience UK - e-Tools - Broad-leaved weeds

[Flummery]

Bindweed would be curling at this stage.

[wotweed]

Here's a photo of it potted up, showing better the growth habit, though it has wilted slightly !
There are shoots from the leaf axils, implying quite a spread.
I know the roots are rampant too, so I'm amazed it isn't a lot easier to identify. Unless it has a wide variation and mine is an extreme example.
Thanks for all the effort.

[shirlthegirl43]

It looks a bit like Japanese knotweed

[wotweed]

Looked into that a while ago and, like bindweed, it has alternate leaves.
Much relieved obviously !!

[vicky]

Try this site

identify wildflowers online

It's the best I've come accross!

[wotweed]

Thanks vicky.

I'd forgotten that one. Been through the entire list with a few variations on leaf type, etc but still nothing that looks much like.

I'll have to wait for some flowers I think. They usually pin it down.

Rob

[~elizabeth~]

Definitely not bindweed or knotweed. Not one I recognise either, but the leaves/roots do look like this diagram of Dog's Mercury:

http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~st...indman/245.jpg

[Flummery]

That's what I thought - and it can be a bit reddish too. The flower spike will confirm it.