The plant in the photograph in this thread I identified as being Armoracia rusticana but, and there is a big but, the leaves when crushed do not emit an odor of horse radish! A couple of the books I have referred to definately state that the crushed leaves will emit an odor of horse radish. Any conflicting opinions about my ID? I do not want to dig up the root because I prefer to wait until the plant has it's flowers.
Rumex is my guess, too. Without seeing flowers, it's difficult. However, I can personally confirm the scent of Horseradish leaves (I grow it) - it's very strong and astringent, like the root itself.
I'd go with Rumex too. Other than the lack of scent, there are a few visual clues from the leaf that it's not Armoracia: the midrib and veins are not clearly defined enough or quite the right colour and the edges look smooth, whereas A. rusticana usually has slightly raised, pale veins and shallowly toothed leaf edges. Both of these features can be seen in the attached picture. Geoff Bryant www.plantshots.com
Many thanks to Andrey, hortiphoto and lorax. I will have to search all the Rumex files in the two major italian botany sites. Accually, Armoracia rusticana was lacking on one of these sites. Thanks to hortphoto for the link.
