i've been searching the internet for a week trying to find out what this is
i thought it was winter heliotrope and when i search it through good ol' google images it gets linked to coltsfoot? found that odd?
anyway if this helps- it was growing in a garden of a home i was working in last week (had some funny looks stooping between trees taking pics lol)
the home overlooks the beach and there were nasty lords and ladies plants growing in the same place
here it is

Is it possibly mallow of some kind - know the leaves and flowers can come in a variety of shapes and colours.
Kim

It looks very much like a violet species to me. Well that was my first thought without the aid of a book, so I checked anyway and I still think that could well be what it is.
Also when looking in the book, many of the plants are drawn with something looking like this, which it refers to as sea bindweed...but when I looked up sea bindweed the photos looked nothing like the drawings . ( The book I was using is Readers Digest Nature Lovers Library....Field Guide To The Wild Flowers Of Britain).

Hmmmmm, been having a surf round the old tinternet.... here's some possibles...

I think strong possibility it's this one?
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.u ... winter.htm

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/celandine.htm

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/coltsfoot.htm

Actually this is a really good site and I use it all the time. The web site is: http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/weedlf.htm

The further you delve, the more plants we find with similar shaped leaves, most confusing. I think we may have to wait until it flowers to identify with any certainty. When walking to work this morning I noticed all the celandine growing ( a member of the buttercup family) and it occurred to me that the shape of the leaves are very similar. I am assuming from the photo that the leaves are small , is this correct

EDIT: Sorry Dawn, just noticed that one of your links refers to celandine .
A great site you have recommended there Dawn, very useful, thank you .

Hi,

I posted pictures of a very similar looking plant on the tortoise table site at the weekend and was told it was Winter Heliotrope and totally unsuitable for tortoise food.

Here's the link, there are some pictures:

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site ... p?tID=1599

Yes, I agree very similar indeed.
Well you definitely started something here wilsonathome. Today I was out on my forage and because of your initial post, I couldn't stop finding plants that looked very like yours. I think I found 5 different types, I even photographed them all
I hope people continue to post similar questions as even if we cannot find the answers, it does help to make one more aware when out and about and for me it certainly made todays weed pick much more interesting than normal.

thank you all and Ruth glad i made your day interesting
here it is today
i'm watching it

....and we're all sitting here watching it with you......

I asked the Plant Manager this morning at work (garden centre).
She is a horticulturist and instantly told me what is was.
It's Winter Heliotrope - Petasites fragrans, I don't think you can feed it though