Identifying perennials in spring (image heavy)

THANK YOU!  I've been trying to figure out what those mystery seedlings in my front yard were!  I was hoping they were the nannyberry seeds I had planted there, but the leaf types don't match.  My reverse Google Image searches weren't any help.

It looks like they're maples!  Thank you very much!  Now I know I should pull them out, instead of letting them grow!  

Hmmm, and it looks like maple seedlings are edible . . .

https://www.eattheweeds.com/maples-how-sweet-it-is-2/

(Steeples fingers.)  Clearly I've got to find out if I like the flavor.  I may as well!

P.S. Apparently box elders are not edible, so if you're thinking of trying your maple seedlings too, maybe wait until they have their first set of true leaves.

Box elder seedling true leaves look like this:



The maple seedlings I have look like this:



So mine should be fine to eat.  But I should keep that in mind for the future.

Elizabeth Shulman wrote:What do we think this is? (Ontario, Canada, zone 5B.) I’m thinking cone flower maybe?

Elizabeth, how large is this shoot? It definitely looks like a shoot from and established plant, not a new seedling.

Update: I pulled out the maple seedlings and ate them.  They had very little flavor -- very slightly sweet, very slightly bitter, a very slight generic leaf taste.  Overall, nothing to get excited about, but inoffensive.  I'll happily eat them again if they sprout in my yard again.

There was also a seedling that looks an awful lot like this:



. . . which IS a nannyberry seedling!  Yay!  

So I left that one in place.

By the way, this is what Google Images shows for nannyberry cotyeldons:



So they look like maple cotyledons.  So, for anyone else who plants a viburnum in the same area that maple seedlings are coming up, maybe wait till those first true leaves appear before pulling out maple seedlings.  Just in case one is something you planted on purpose.

Thanks again for helping me figure out what my mysterious front yard seedlings were!

I'm surprised these haven't been added yet - Skirret and Scorzonera. Just the right time of year to transplant and harvest the Skirret, and the Sorzonera is so tender!

Nancy Reading wrote:I'm surprised these haven't been added yet - Skirret and Scorzonera. Just the right time of year to transplant and harvest the Skirret, and the Sorzonera is so tender!

Thanks, this is helpful. I planted skirret seedlings a couple of years ago, but looks like it has died as nothing looking like the leaves or roots is growing. Is it hardy? We didn’t have a bad winter here in Scotland!

Jacqueline Niven wrote:I planted skirret seedlings a couple of years ago, but looks like it has died as nothing looking like the leaves or roots is growing. Is it hardy? We didn’t have a bad winter here in Scotland!

It's pretty hardy - goes through winters here no trouble. I believe it should take winter temperatures anywhere in the UK. Was it growing well last year? Some people report problems with slugs, although mine don't seem to suffer particularly.

Nancy Reading wrote:
It's pretty hardy - goes through winters here no trouble. I believe it should take winter temperatures anywhere in the UK. Was it growing well last year? Some people report problems with slugs, although mine don't seem to suffer particularly.

It hasn’t grown well at all, not even last year. Maybe it was a sickly plant to start with or yes, maybe the slugs got it. 😞