Visit to Howick

[ChrisB]

I was at Howick Garden, Northumberland today to see the snowdrops and came across this plant, wasn't sure what it was.  Can anyone enlighten me please?  It was growing on single stems with some arrow shaped leaflets up the stems but no other foliage.  Thought it might be something parasitic from its appearance.

[Maggi Young]

Hmm? A Petasites of some sort? not much else this early, is there?

Were there no other leaves.. roundish, on a short stem? Perhaps they had been pulled off, before the flower stem rose, as someone "tidied"  ?

[ChrisB]

No, Maggi, no leaves proper at all, just the bits you can see in the picture up the stems, that came out of the bare earth.  There was quite a stand of them really, most interesting things.  Looked a bit like triffids.

[Lvandelft]

I was at Howick Garden, Northumberland today to see the snowdrops and came across this plant, wasn't sure what it was.  Can anyone enlighten me please?  It was growing on single stems with some arrow shaped leaflets up the stems but no other foliage.  Thought it might be something parasitic from its appearance.

Petasites albus.

[ChrisB]

Thanks Luit and Maggi, much appreciated.  Knew it was something I had never seen before...