Reminds me of bugleweed, Ajuga reptans. ajuga

Certainly reminiscent of Ajuga but I don’t think that’s it. I’m thinking something in Asteraceae which I don’t know.

for sure no Ajuga

the reddish tint is IMO a sign of stress,

could be starvation, too little water, cold...

any chance to see a pic of the roots?

I wonder whether it is a bunch of volunteers of some annual weed or

a carpet of ciss crossing rhizomes underneath

the first pic points towards something like Sonchus or some Lactuca perhaps, some thistle- or lettuce-like Asteraceae

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do you know what happend in that spot in the last season, like

was it cultivated or left alone?

that would narrow down candidates

It's a place near the house that is always left alone, usually just a patch of weeds that we have to use the weedwacker on a couple times of the year. This is the first year I've notices this big patch of leafy stuff there. It has got below freezing once so far this winter, maybe 30f for a few hours.

The rugose leaf surfaces, purple highlights, and trident-shaped veins remind me of Salvia lyrata. Its leaves develop more lobing as the plants mature.

I'm not sure I'd dismiss the possibility of Ajuga quite that readily. It would be helpfull to see the detail of single plant to confirm, but the preference for a shady area and the ability to spread rather dramatically in a single season certainly supports that hypothesis. As does the reddish/purplish tint - that is a common ajuga response to cold weather (as it is with a number of evergreen plants - groundcovers, perennials and shrubs).

Ajuga foliage in winter.

I'll go back over there this weekend and try to get better pics, and maybe pull up aq root or two.

GG, the leaf bases are not right at all for Ajuga. Look at those lobes. And the texture and veination don’t match imo. I’m pretty certain it isn’t that.

I went back over there for more pictures. It looks like when the leaf gets bigger they turn red. Younder leaves underneath are green. It may be that when exposed to cold they turn red. Here's the pics...

And here's the backside....

Other parts of the yard are covered with these...

If S. lyrata, it's indigenous to the location where found.

If it is S. lyrata, by this time you'll be seeing lots of spent bloom spike, they are quite persistent even after plants dried/dead, which we didn't see. So, I guess this would be spring/early summer blooming plant.

Also the venation of the Lateral vein is too inward-curving, which seems off from S lyrata.

Flower will be needed for the ID. would be interesting to see next spring,

However I think it is an asteraceae (with cold stress). Leaning to some type of Crepis sp. or something related

Is this spot mowed? I've only had the pleasure of observing S. lyrata specimens in mowed areas.

It's never mowed, but we do use the weed eater over this area a couple times in the summer, just to keep it all under control - this area is next to the house. It's such a thick patch of all kinds of things in the summer. Maybe I have a summer/spring pic of the area -- I'll see if I can find one.

I plan to go over there tomorrow to water my dads citrus tree's. Maybe I can dig up a root or two of these purple leaf plants. I'm really curious to know what they are.

Anything else I can look for, or take a closer picture of?

Find a big (biggest) specimen, cut a leaf/stem/tap-root and see if there is (few) white sap exuded.

Pinch a leaf, sniff if there is distinct smell

Watch for any remains of seed head/spent floral scape etc

I'm thinking now these may be some kind of round leaf dandelion. Went back over today and took a longer look at them. In less dense areas these leaves have a rosette pattern like dandelion. I just don't recall seeing dandelion leaves with such round leaves before, but I'm not a dandelion expert. Could these purple leaves be dandelions?

Not dandelion in terms of Taraxacum officinale or erythrospermum, I don’t think so, no. But very likely Asteraceae. (Which I suggested, ahem, a month ago.)

Take a look at Youngia japonica. What do you think?

Agree, looks like Youngia (Crepis) japonica, another weed that rarely mentioned as edible weed, unlike dandelion which often get the edible fame. again cut some stem and look for sap. Youngia/crepis can exude few milky sap.

Yep, sure looks like that's it! youngia japonica. That's a new one for me,

Thank you all so much. What a wonderful & helpful forum here.

Calamondindave, Youngia japonica is a reasonable suggestion, based on current information. However, the ID will not be locked down until you add flowering photos to the thread. We will be interested to see your spring update.

Yes. I've never seen the Youngia myself. I just worked from the leaves and a reference to its being an invasive weed in NC.