A seedling has popped up in one of my planters (acid soil; Toronto, Ontario).
What is it?
June 4, 2020:
June 20, 2020:
省政府法制办赴吕梁忻州调研《山西省农村扶贫...
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2$\begingroup$ it's a kind of tree, perhaps a kind of oak. ask.extension.org/questions/332861 $\endgroup$– bandybabboonCommented Jun 4, 2020 at 21:02
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$\begingroup$ @com.prehensible The leaves look opposite. Are there Oaks with opposite leaves? $\endgroup$– User1974Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 14:44
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$\begingroup$ Yes i wasn't that convinced either that it's an oak, it just has a lot in common and also some differences. You could tell straight away from it's woodyness and toughness if its a tree by feeling it, if its twiggy its a tree, time will tell. $\endgroup$– bandybabboonCommented Jun 6, 2020 at 17:39
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3 Answers
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An extension of com.prehensible's comment -- your sapling could be a bur oak. It is older than the seedling pictured below, but retains a similar cotyledon. The range of this species includes Ontario.
bur oak seedling
Photo by Todd Dwyer, via Flickr
(please ignore the image artifact -- an effect of resizing)
Your photo appears to show the tree at a stage after the seedling shown above and before the more mature sapling shown here:
bur oak sapling
Photo by John T. Fowler, Alamy Stock Photo
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1$\begingroup$ Thanks! For what it's worth, an aquaintance had this comment: "...I don't think it's an oak of any species, since it has normal cotyledon (seed) leaves above ground. Oak cotyledons are modified to store food for the seedling, so they don't resemble leaves and usually don't emerge from the acorn. I don't think the example photo posted to Stack Exchange is an oak either." ... Food for thought? $\endgroup$– User1974Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 19:05
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$\begingroup$ Seedling emergence patterns - PDF: "...the cotyledons remain underground and the stem (epicotyl) emerges above ground. This pattern is called hypogeous. Large seeded plants like Kentucky coffeetree and oaks tend to have hypogeous germination." $\endgroup$– User1974Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 19:15
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$\begingroup$ ..."the first photo is not an oak. The second one (the older plant) is an oak, but the bristles on the leaf lobes mean it's not a bur oak." $\endgroup$– User1974Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 19:21
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$\begingroup$ A diagram from The Woody-plant Seed Manual - United States Forest Service -- Google Books link here. $\endgroup$– User1974Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 19:24
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2$\begingroup$ @Wilson it sounds like your acquaintance is quite knowledgable! I don’t suppose you can convince her/him to make an account on biology.SE? ;) $\endgroup$– acvillCommented Jun 5, 2020 at 20:07
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With regard to the seedling being an oak, just gently excavate around the stem - the acorn will still be there to identify. You can do this without hurting the roots.
answered Jun 27, 2020 at 5:51
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The hairy stem and leaf pattern remind me of elms. Wikipedia has an example of american elm seedlings which look quite similar to what you have to me:
