It's Lords and Ladies, or wild arum. It's a British native (which might make it a weed, if you don't like it!) That shoot going straight up is the flower stem; there will be a spike of greenish-white flowers inside a "hood" thingy (which is called a spathe, in case you like words...). This is followed by bright red berries up the stem, which hang around even once the leaves have vanished. Beware, they are poisonous.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Unless you want your garden overrun with these I'd get it out asap.
I had one in my garden 6-7 yrs ago which I let set seed - big mistake!
Even now every year I get many hundreds of little uns coming up each spring all over the garden. Weedkiller just runs off them so I have to hoe several times a week just to keep them down - beware!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I believe the whole plant is toxic, though the berries are the worst bit. The most common cause of accidental poisoning seen in A&E in Britain, apparently... though it seems that because they make your mouth sore and tingly, and taste awful, few people eat enough to die as a result...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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It's Lords and Ladies, or wild arum. It's a British native (which might make it a weed, if you don't like it!) That shoot going straight up is the flower stem; there will be a spike of greenish-white flowers inside a "hood" thingy (which is called a spathe, in case you like words...). This is followed by bright red berries up the stem, which hang around even once the leaves have vanished. Beware, they are poisonous.
Thank you. I didn't connect the one with the berries to this plant. Is the whole plant poisonous or just the berries?
Unless you want your garden overrun with these I'd get it out asap.
I had one in my garden 6-7 yrs ago which I let set seed - big mistake!
Even now every year I get many hundreds of little uns coming up each spring all over the garden. Weedkiller just runs off them so I have to hoe several times a week just to keep them down - beware!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I believe the whole plant is toxic, though the berries are the worst bit. The most common cause of accidental poisoning seen in A&E in Britain, apparently... though it seems that because they make your mouth sore and tingly, and taste awful, few people eat enough to die as a result...
They are relatively easy to dig out as the bulbs are surprising shallow and small compared to many Spring bulbs.
Agreed with the above comments. They are toxic plants that ideally belong in the wild.