i found this growing amongst some bamboo and my first thought was a lilly but the bottom of the plant was much different.
Looks like Dracunculus vulgaris. Common name Voodoo lily. http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=Dr...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1244&bih=497 Or Sauromatum venosum. Common name Voodoo lily as well! http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=Sa...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1244&bih=497 Until the leaves unfold completely I cannot be sure which it is.
oh wow thanks. those links had some real beautiful looking plants. i transplanted a little one and i hope it can rival some of its tropical buddies.
VERY few plants have a pedate compound leaf structure. Maybe my monitor is goofy - hard for me to see this leaf structure in the photos. Anyway, thanks for sharing. I am jealous that such an interesting bulb is naturalizing in your garden!
The beautifully marked stems are very distinctive though! See these link... http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Dracunculus+vulgaris http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=95&ty=62
Yes that stem is very distinct. Totally agree that you nailed the id to begin with - I am lucky enough to have been given a pedate leaved bulb by one of the curators from UC Davis. Still have it growing in a pot I can move around to protect from seasonal cold. You were smart enough to be able to id from the stem - I might have gotten close with a picture of the distinct leaves. Your links do show that some leaves on the species can be simple - possibly those are emergent or on immature plants. Anyway, pedate leaves are a wondrous shape nonetheless.
i actually found them by the river. when i get a chance to go back there, i will take a better picture of the plants. if it helps any, they were growing in little patches. there must have been four separate patches all within 10ft of each other, and within each patch was about 10-15 plants. none of them had flowers at this point, but some were a few (about 3ft) feet tall.
