What the heck have I dug up?

[Karen]

I moved to ED recently. I'm having a lovely time with my first ever garden. I'm even getting used to finding monstrous sized stag beetles (apparently ED is a hot spot for these endangered beasties)

I have recently dug up a tuber or mutant bulb . It's about 10 inches long and heavy. White and no sign of eyes or flowering but with healthy roots. I've not been able to identify it on the interwebs. Any keen gardeners like to have a guess? 

[malumbu]

Thought you were going to say a second world war bomb, old air rade shelter (we had remnants) or an indigenous American burial ground 

Looks like a spud.

[Moovart]

Put it in a pot of soil and wait for it to reveal itself.

[snowy]

Its a Jerusalem artichoke?

[Ruskin]

I thought it was the head of a femur and was preparing to urge you to call register human remains with the police. 

[Sue]

14 hours ago, malumbu said:

Thought you were going to say a second world war bomb, old air rade shelter (we had remnants) or an indigenous American burial ground 

Looks like a spud.

I agree it looks like a huge potato!

The bits that look like roots are strange though!

[malumbu]

22 hours ago, snowy said:

Its a Jerusalem artichoke?

Nibble it, spud and artichoke are pretty obvious tastes, if it is sweet it could be a mangleworzle.  Not sure of spelling.

Added a link. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worzel_Gummidge

[fishboy]

On 26/05/2025 at 17:22, Karen said:

I moved to ED recently. I'm having a lovely time with my first ever garden. I'm even getting used to finding monstrous sized stag beetles (apparently ED is a hot spot for these endangered beasties)

If you're finding Stag Beetles then please be really cautious if you have any piles of dead wood, as the larvae live & feed in them for around 7 years before emerging as beetles. Hence why they are endangered, as many people get rid of this kind of stuff when clearing overgrown gardens & land. 

We regularly used to see them walking across the path in the park near Colyton Road, but not a single one since that area was cleared & mulched by the park staff a few years back...

[Earl Aelfheah]

Have you managed to identify the mystery root? 

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

That looks like a dahlia tuber.

 

The clumpy, swollen shape with sprouting white roots is typical of dahlia tubers that have overwintered in the ground. They often look a bit mutant or alien, especially when several tubers fuse together or grow in odd directions.

 

If you dug it up from your garden and it’s not slimy or rotten, it’s probably still viable. You can pot it up or plant it directly in the ground once the risk of frost is gone. Keep the knobbly end (where the stem was) just at or slightly below the surface and water it in.

 

If you’re unsure, you can leave it somewhere warm and bright for a bit and see if shoots appear. That’ll confirm it’s a living dahlia and not some rogue tuber trying to cause confusion.

[ponderwoman]

Could be Black Bryony. The tubers grow up to 60cm. It grows and looks like bindweed with shiny leaves, so if it the growth was removed as a 'weed', it would start to grow again. Important wildlife plant lacing hedgerows with cascades of red berries. I personally, love it!

[ianr]

Then someone must take multiple cuttings from the tuber and make arrangements for their possible growth into an identifiable plant.  I'll even take one or two myself if any spare and try to create an experimental area in the front wilderness for them.

[Brian up the hill]

If it is, it’s highly poisonous according to the Wildlife Trusts.

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/black-bryony