conuly: (Default)
conuly ([personal profile] conuly) wrote2008-06-04 02:35 pm
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Okay, what the heck is this?

I realized after I took a picture that it *can't* be plantago anything - the bottom of the leaves is right, the roots are right... but instead of the veins in the leaves going straight up and down, they kinda meander. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking.



The shoe is a toddler size eight, it's Evangeline's. The leaf is bigger than my shoes (size eleven), and can in fact be used as a light sheet for a small child... say Evangeline sized. She's average for a two year old in her height.



You can see how the leaf is big enough to hold over your head as an umbrella.

Honestly, I don't normally see big-leafed plants like that, and what I do see are carefully potted plants that are tended, you wouldn't think they're natural to our climate up here! But this year I see these everywhere, and in untended gardens, too.

Long-ass roots, as I said.

Edit: The nice people in [livejournal.com profile] gardening are saying it's burdock, which seems right. If you can say otherwise, though, do tell me.
ancarett: Change the World - Jack Layton's Last Letter (Default)

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Looks a bit like rhubarb leaf to me -- what does the stem look like? Thick and with a reddish tint.

If it's rhubarb, make sure no one eats the leaves. Poisonous!
ancarett: Change the World - Jack Layton's Last Letter (Default)

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen rhubarb leaves get as long as my arm from elbow to tip of finger (and that was from a patch that was harvested regularly). The stalks don't have to be red -- there are some green varieties of rhubarb. But if the stalks aren't terribly thick or have branching of any sort, it's probably not rhubarb.

I'll forward the leaf picture to my sister and see if she can identify it -- she's got a Ph.D. in horticulture and works in extension.
ancarett: Change the World - Jack Layton's Last Letter (Default)

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Burdock? Could be from the leaf size. Is the underside of the leaf downy or woolly? That and some stems coming up from the centre (for the thistle) would be strong signs.

If I recall correctly, burdock leaves can cause skin rash (annoying, not serious). I fell into a patch and the thistles weren't as bad as the rash. Ugh.

[identity profile] xianghua.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Burdock.

I had it instead of lawn when I lived in upstate NY and it got large enough for corgis to nap on the leaves without hanging off the edges.

[identity profile] elenbarathi.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Definitely burdock, and those long-ass roots are both edible and medicinal.



[identity profile] feebeeglee.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Oo, burdock! Tasty if you stir-fry the roots. Chop them up and soak them in water for a little while though, they taste bitter? weird? if you don't.

[identity profile] xiggaroo.livejournal.com 2008-06-10 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
i want to take you into some of the old growth forests in the northwest... imagine trees wide enough to carve holes out and live inside of. it's insane to see up close.
ancarett: Change the World - Jack Layton's Last Letter (Default)

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Looks a bit like rhubarb leaf to me -- what does the stem look like? Thick and with a reddish tint.

If it's rhubarb, make sure no one eats the leaves. Poisonous!
ancarett: (Book of Kells Initial "A")

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen rhubarb leaves get as long as my arm from elbow to tip of finger (and that was from a patch that was harvested regularly). The stalks don't have to be red -- there are some green varieties of rhubarb. But if the stalks aren't terribly thick or have branching of any sort, it's probably not rhubarb.

I'll forward the leaf picture to my sister and see if she can identify it -- she's got a Ph.D. in horticulture and works in extension.
ancarett: (Gasp! emoticon)

[personal profile] ancarett 2008-06-05 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Burdock? Could be from the leaf size. Is the underside of the leaf downy or woolly? That and some stems coming up from the centre (for the thistle) would be strong signs.

If I recall correctly, burdock leaves can cause skin rash (annoying, not serious). I fell into a patch and the thistles weren't as bad as the rash. Ugh.

[identity profile] xianghua.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Burdock.

I had it instead of lawn when I lived in upstate NY and it got large enough for corgis to nap on the leaves without hanging off the edges.

[identity profile] elenbarathi.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Definitely burdock, and those long-ass roots are both edible and medicinal.



[identity profile] feebeeglee.livejournal.com 2008-06-05 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Oo, burdock! Tasty if you stir-fry the roots. Chop them up and soak them in water for a little while though, they taste bitter? weird? if you don't.

[identity profile] xiggaroo.livejournal.com 2008-06-10 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
i want to take you into some of the old growth forests in the northwest... imagine trees wide enough to carve holes out and live inside of. it's insane to see up close.