Does anyone recognize what this plant might be? Before I could plant anything for the summer, these leaves sprang up and started growing fast. Thanks for any suggestions. Gayle

My guess is a Celosia.

My guess is coleus.

A variable of amaranthus?

I agree, some kind of Amaranth (Celosia is an Amaranth)

I think it's a Celosia.

Agree! Amaranth! Would love to have that volunteer here!!
Lucky!

Thanks everyone for responding so quickly and accurately! After looking at photos, I agree that it looks like some type of Amaranth. It's weird how it ended up in both container pots on the front porch. I didn't know that it is a type of spinach. PS. I had not planted anything remotely close to Amaranth in those pots in prior years so I guess the birds brought the seeds. Gayle

Sometimes volunteer seeds come with nursery plants- especially something as seedy as Amaranth type things. Nice color!

terrafirma and sallyg:
Thanks! I wasn't realizing that "volunteers" meant seeds that might have come with former plantings that I bought. I think I had Coleus in the pots last year but my memory is hazy from all the heat we've been having and the amount of landscaping I've had to do because of drought. So the "Amarantha" is a blessing in disguise! Gayle

Even growers can get seeds mixed up, wind can blow them around and they end up in your containers, or the volunteers can also (and probably more often) come as a gift from bird droppings.