Velvet Leaf

January is an important month for the Ventura gardener. This is year One in my garden and most of the big jobs for the gardener will wait. This is a start up year. I won't be trimming trees, I'm still planning. Weeds are my big January job. A little rain has turned my backyard into a tangle of weeds. A walk around my neighborhood proved that I'm alone.

I am curious about these weeds. What are they? Some have pretty little flowers. When you look closely at them, many are quite beautiful. I found a weed identification website that is very helpful. They have a weed ID tool. It's a series of multiple choice questions. They tell you not to answer all of the questions, because one false answer will lead you to the wrong weed.

Here is the weed:

The first question to answer is Board leaf, Grasslike or Woody? I chose Broad leaf.
"Where was this weed found?" I answered Urban - Garden/Landscape/Parks.
"General Characteristics - Growth Form," I chose- upright.
"Leaf Characteristics - Leaf Arrangement," I chose - alternate.
With that, I hit 'search database'.

The result was a list of possible weeds, with scientific names and Common names and pictures. I need pictures and they are very generous with pictures. This weed is definitely, without a doubt: Abutilon theophrasti or commonly called Velvet leaf because of her soft leaves or China Jute because of her tough fibers. She came here from China originally, to be a fiber crop, now, she's a lowly weed.