What have I dug up here?

[MrsBertBibby]

I pulled this thinking it was a weed, but now I'm not sure, so have shoved it in a pot.

Bearing in mind I lovingly nurtured a very healthy willlow-herb last spring..... Oh the shame when it finally flowered and revealed itself!

Very long thready root, and quite hairy leaves. I'm sure I know it, but I can't think what it is.

Maybe comfrey?

Green alkanet?

Not green enough for green alkanet. I’d go with confrey. But there are a lot of things in the forgetmenot family with similar leaves, comfrey, green alkanet, borage …. Even foxglove which is in a different family

I'd say alkanet. Comfrey isn't quite that obviously hairy.

Comfrey or Borage?

@MereDintofPandiculation is green alkanet darker green usually or did you mean that more of the surfaces are green? Sorry just trying to improve my id skills and I know you are one of the experts on the board.

More green, without that greyish cast. A “jizz” (general impression) thing.

For something more definitive I’ve gone to my favourite id book Poland and Clement The Vegetative Key to the British Flora (excellent book but necessarily uses quite a-few technical terms) and derived this “key” to distinguish between the species mentioned so far:

Leaves with edges that are or appear toothed:
Edges are toothed - Foxglove is an option
Edges look toothed but are in fact just crimped. Leaves deeply wrinkled (rugose - like Rosa rugosa) - Borage

Leaf edges smooth:
Underside has hooked hairs “will stick to wooly clothing” - Comfrey
No hooked hairs. Hairs are stiffly bristly. Some hairs on upper surface have swollen white bases - Green Alkanet (not to be confused with Alkanet)

My money’s still on Comfrey.

Foxglove leaves are downy whereas alkanet, borage and comfrey are bristly. I love foxgloves and leave them to grow but if it's bristly, it gets pulled up in this garden. The other three are all great for nature / bees but they are so, so invasive.

Well I shall be pleased it it's comfrey . I bought some from a church plant sale that turned out to be Turkish sage. Very nice, but not what I expected!

Oooh! Could it be a centaurea? I had a poorly placed one in that kind of area, which I moved.

@MrsBertBibby

Oooh! Could it be a centaurea? I had a poorly placed one in that kind of area, which I moved.

No, not Centaurea nigra, and don’t the rest have compound leaves? Have you checked yet for hooked hairs on the underside?

Burdock.

I don't think they have hooked hairs, they are slightly fuzzy but didn't catch on my jumper.

I shall see how the new leaves develop, the old ones are a bit battered and torn to judge, but the young leaves are very smooth.

To me it looks like a type of primrose?

@Roselilly36

To me it looks like a type of primrose?

I see where you’re coming from, the way tge leaf blade runs down the stalk. Id assumed it was too big for primrose.

These are the suggestions my plant ID app came up with!

It won't let me upload the fourth which is Rocket! 😆

My other App says Rudbeckia 🤷🏼‍♀️

And the final app says Digitalis!

It's probably just a funky type of Primrose

I think primrose

Well, you can safely discard the first app, it’s way out on all four suggestions.

I've got loads of those in the garden they are a menace but the bees love the little blue flowers, so I keep a patch in a shady area

Pretty sure it isn't primrose, I have loads of those, wild and cultivated, and cowslips too. This isn't them.

I'd be very surprised by rudbeckia, since there's no sign of life in the ones the other side of the garden, and they get way more sun than the nook this baby was in.

Oh God it's going to torment me for months and then turn out to be completely noxious, isn't it?

And it is quite small btw. Will rephotograph with something for scale. Smaller than a primrose.

OK here she is, with a key for scale, and a weeder's eye view.

It looks a little bit like a variety of Sage