Walking down by the withy (another bit of local ‘Devonish’) bed I found this weird plant. We’ve never seen anything like it, growing up from the stream between railway sleepers used for a now derelict footbridge. The leaves are at least two feet long, shiny, oval, bright green with dark blotches and uncurling from the centre. I’m hoping for an exotic flower spike soon, as it’s growing daily. Can anyone identify it?
Later. My friend Chris Bromage reckons it’s a ‘Skunk Cabbage’ and , looking at the Wiki I think he’s correct. I went down to give ours a good sniffing but it doesn’t register much above the ambient cow odours. However a couple of flies were crawling around inside the furled leaf, and flies know best – at least in these matters. Maybe it’ll smell more strongly when it flowers & needs pollinators? Your ace botanical reporter will add to this intriguing tale when it does. Meanwhile the next question is ‘How did it get there?’.
