Huge weed like some sort of wild rhubarb?

[No19]

Does anyone know what this is? Leaves are like huge canopies over a thick rhubarby stem with teeny weeny prickles. It's up at thigh height at the moment and I am torn between admiration and determination to exterminate.

Gunnera
www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/358.shtml

Oh... interesting.

So not actually a weed then.

hogweed?

I've seen this - it has a wierd and to my mind rather unpleasant smell, but it is spectacular.

It certainly looks like gunnera, the only thing confusing me is that on the BBC entry for it is has "Skill Level - Experienced" and this has sprung up in a patch left completely untended since last spring!

What a mystery! Is this a new house and garden? Or has it crept in from next door? Your garden obviously has perfect conditions for it!

The house is new to us since last spring, I don't think it's crept in because of its position, at the front, behind a tallish wall.

I have posted a slightly wobbly photo apols for quality, took it with phone.

That was weirdly weird.

I clicked on your link, was asked to log on, then got pictures of Tech!

The ran-away-to-US-and-left-us-Tech .

So I came back to the thread and clicked again and saw a picture of your plant.

All very strange.

Anyhoo...

...difficult to get an idea of proper scale, but looks too small to be gunnera to me.

oooh me too, very weird

It looks a bit like hogweed and if it is for gods sake don't touch it or let the children near it.
Have you a neighbour with a garden who could come and do an ident? Failing that, your nearest Tech college will have a horticultural dept and someone could do an ident for you.

GentleOtter I have my marmee who will identify for me next time I see her, she is my gardening guru.

Bloody bloody bloody have googled bloody hogweed and its bloody phototoxicity. Also wikipedia says near rivers (we have one on other side of road). Is what boris said at start of thread but I got all excited about winning prizes at horticultural shows.

What is exTech doing hiding in my hogweed????

that doesn't look like the gunnera I've seen. Afraid I think it could be hogweed too.

btw I had the tech thing too, most odd.

giant hogweed

Message withdrawn

and here

Buggery.

It's like some sort of evil alien which sprays innocent-looking sap at earthlings.

Effects on one person of getting sap on arm:

A few hours later, Barton broke out in deep, burning blisters that required intravenous antibiotics and cortisone shots and took a month to heal. ?I still have purple scars all over my arms that look like cigarette burns,? she says.

If it had been previously unknown wild rhubard I could have been making jam by now, instead of googling these in maternity sizes.

Message withdrawn

I thought Gunera.

I know. Imagine how my poisonjam Christmas presents would have gone down, in their innocent little gingham caps.

I like to ensure I ain't forgotten, innit.

'ello Tech

How is the US of A treating you then?

OOOoH I got tech too!

How odd

If you want to avoid seeting my picture, you can use this link instead.

Hello SaintG, I'm fine. I have family visiting this week, so we are down in Florida picking shells and sitting on the beach. I can't complain....