Hello gardeners!
I've searched the web quite a bit tonight trying to ID this plant, and many roads lead to rec.gardens as a good source. I've also looked for a FAQ here, and unable to find one specific to this group, I'm going to go ahead and describe the plant I'm wondering about, and see where this leads me.
I'm in Northeast Ohio, and this plant is growing in a sparsely wooded area, near some sunlight. It's about a foot tall, and the stem is thick, maybe 3/8", and green. At the top of the stem there's a cluster of medium green ... they're not berries, I don't think, because they don't look separate from one another ... pods of some type (or a multi-part pod?)? There are 15 large 'lobes' and about
10-15 smaller ones all stuck together, like a cluster of grapes defying gravity. (total size approx. 4") They look solid. There's one 'branch' coming out of the stem, a couple of inches below the cluster, and it has three large green leaves on it, about 6-7" long, and 3-4" wide.My daughter and I found this plant while outside playing, and at first I thought it was a mutant tree of some kind, because I've had many baby trees growing in this area, and it still may be a mutant, but I did find another exactly like it soon after this 'discovery'.
I'm mainly concerned to find out whether it's dangerous for the kids to be playing around it/them, and/or if there's something going on in this patch of woods that I have to control (a parasite or something). I did notice several small brown pod/seed-type growths on Oak leaves nearby, similar in size to the 'pods' on the plant, but I don't know if it's related at all.
I do have pictures, but wasn't sure how to post them on alt.binaries.pictures.gardens (If that is in fact the group to which binary-related questions are best posted), and if this post doesn't generate any information, I can try to do that again [Should I post there then post a pointer? Post the question there with the picture? I didn't find a FAQ there either].
I am grateful for any help you can give me!
Tina.