This is a gunnera plant---but NOT in my yard. I took these photos in a neighborhood in a small town about 20 minutes from my house. I had one once but it didn't survive one winter. they are an amazing almost prehistoric plant. A fellow at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wa. renamed it 'Dinosaur Food'. And it could have been.
Gunnera manicata, is an ornamental plant in the Gunneraceae family, and is native to Brazil.
The underside of the leaf and the whole stalk have spikes on them. The leaves of Gunnera grow to an impressive size. Leaves with diameters well in excess of four feet are commonplace, with a spread of 10 feet by 10 feet on a mature plant. This plant grows best in damp conditions eg by the side of garden ponds, but dislikes winter cold and wet.
If you would like to see flowers from all over the world or to participate just click on the yellow Sunflower to you right. Thank you~
