So, funny thing happened on the Lot this Spring. Back in the beginning of May, I gave the Lady’s Mantle it’s annual haircut to get rid of winter damage and dead leaves. That entire area also needed to be weeded and remulched. I then snapped this photo.

That’s when I noticed I had overlooked a plant that was definitely NOT Lady’s Mantle.

Whhhaaaat… How did that get there and is that really what I think it is?!

I scurried inside and retrieved the Other Half. His response was a puzzled look and “Hmm.” I obviously am not an expert on identifying the genus Cannabis, because I immediately had rather nerve-wrecking visions of us being hauled away on charges for growing illegal crops. I felt like we were Sookie and Jackson discovering 30 lbs. of plants we didn’t put there. Except this was one plant, and the Other Half was pretty sure this plant was harmless.

So… I let it grow. Here it is now.

After searching about online, I was able to identify the lobed, yellow five-petaled plant as Rough-fruited Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta). It is a perennial herb introduced from the Mediterranean area of Eurasia and considered across most states in the US as a noxious weed. My best guess is some undigested seeds may have arrived via a load of horse manure last season. I will more than likely pull the plant before it goes to seed.