Hi, Dr. Hill,
On February 6, I photographed this plant growing in a moist, open area of woods in the Fall Line region. The underside of the leaf is purple. I’m hoping you can tell me what it is, whether or not it is a native plant, and if it will flower.
Diane
Hi Diane,
this looks like a young rosette stage of one of the ragworts, Senecio, probably Senecio anonymus – now called Packera anonyma. The youngest rosette leaves have this purplish color beneath, but the later leaves do not. Packera obovata also has these purple rosette leaves, and likely other species as well. It is native, and later, this spring, it will send up a stalk with golden yellow flowers.
Sincerely,
Steve Hill, Botanist, SCNPS