Herbaceous plant ID

[Dodgy Loner]

A client sent me this photo and asked me to identify the plant.  Please help me look smart .
It's a wild plant growing in a forested area of the north GA mountains, if that helps.

[HOOF-ER]

Looks like wild rhubarb to me. Just my guess 

[Bro. Noble]

Well,  I think the DanG thing is going to get burrs on it

[Gary_C]

Looks like rhubarb to me too.

[Timburr]

I think Bro. Noble is on to something, 'cos my first impression was what we call a burdock (family asteraceae, genus arctium....).  Our green ground coverings are vastly different to yours, so it's a stab in the dark to us!

[Dale Hatfield]

Looks like Burdock from here. Its been kinda odd spring the burdock is up and about a foot tall. Its usually a later season weed .

Dale

[Corley5]

Burdock   It's usually tall enough up here by the middle of June to cut with a sickle bar.  We've got a patch along Dad's barnyard that we mow when we cut hay.  For a change of pace I sprayed it with 2-4D a few days ago 

[Dodgy Loner]

Nope, not burdock I'm afraid, although the leaves do look very similar.  This plant has a single leaf on a thick, fleshy stem.  It won't get any taller than it is right now.  Burdock would have many leaves, and as you said, it would get much taller.  It also tends to grow in open fields, not rich woodlands.  I'll probably have to throw in the towel on this one .

[WDH]

I have scratched my head on this one too.  We need a flower.

[OneWithWood]

Yep, Danny, that is what Linnnea said too. 

[Timburr]

Danny, we may have to wait a decade or so for it to flower!! 

Another notion that comes to mind is a species of butterbur - Petasites.....   It grows in moist deciduous woodland and has single or a few leaves.  Do you have them over there?

[WDH]

Timburr,

Yes, there are some here, but I am not familiar with them.

[Gary_C]

I know these plants are Ruhbarb.

 

 

This is what the stems look like.
 

[Dodgy Loner]

I have scratched my head on this one too.  We need a flower.

I looked up every "wildflower" that is supposed to occur in the southern Appalachians, and this plant didn't match any of them.  Not even close.  So apparently, the flowers are very inconspicuous.  Part of the problem is that I don't know of a single good resource for identifying native herbaceous plants (I'm pretty confident that this plant is a native).  There are books for IDing trees, shrubs, vines, wildflowers, grasses, fungi, important wildlife plants, edible wild plants...but none that cover just plain ol' herbaceous plants.  What's a feller to do

[WDH]

Vascular Flora of the Carolinas is the best resource I have ever used.  Very technical though.  The flowers must be inconspicuous or you would have found the answer.

You just need to learn them all and become the expert .  You are still young.  It will probably only take about 50 years to find them all and key them out .

[metalspinner]

There are books for IDing trees, shrubs, vines, wildflowers, grasses, fungi, important wildlife plants, edible wild plants...but none that cover just plain ol' herbaceous plants.  What's a feller to do

Uhmmm... I think your book is waiting to be written.

[scgargoyle]

Hurry up and eat some, so we'll know if it's poisonous or not!

[Dodgy Loner]

Uhmmm... I think your book is waiting to be written.

Looks like I've got some work to do

WDH, now that you mention it, I am familiar with the vascular flora of the carolinas.  My dendro professor used it to key out some hawthorns I brought him when I was an undergrad.  Definitely very technical, but that's what I need.  I'll see if I can find a copy on amazon.com

[Bro. Noble]

If I found that plant and wanted to know what it was,  I'd look it up in a book written by Stermark (sp?),  do you have access to it"

Course if I found it,  I probably wouldn't care what it was  and would just spray it with 2,4,-D

[WDH]

Uhmmm... I think your book is waiting to be written.

Looks like I've got some work to do

WDH, now that you mention it, I am familiar with the vascular flora of the carolinas.  My dendro professor used it to key out some hawthorns I brought him when I was an undergrad.  Definitely very technical, but that's what I need.  I'll see if I can find a copy on amazon.com

My tattered copy is well used.