Early blue cohosh?

Blue Cohosh is the result I got from Google Lens. Twice. But when I looked it up I didn't think it looked like my plant. Maybe I should look again.

Yeah it looks like a dandelion to me or maybe tulip or Christmas cactus but my Seek app seemed confident, and it’s rarely that confident. Comparing to google images several looked like matches to me but of course it’s not in front lf me.

Sweet of your grandson to pick them for you!

Yes, it was extra sweet of him to take time away from his new bike. He's four.

I thought I had a plant ID app on my phone, but I don't see it.

There is a perfectly good (and a very fast and accurate) plant ID forum here on Houzz/GardenWeb - Name That Plant. It is far more accurate than any phone app I've ever encountered.

And yes, the plant is Caulophyllum giganteum, aka blue cohosh.

I;m not a tech person at all, but I have an app on my phone called SEEK and I do use it when out and about walking, to find the names of plants and flowers. It's really a good one, and free.

When you get an id do you verify that it is correct via other resources? I've seen several apps and although they can get it right they often don't. Sometimes the suggestions are miles out.

My observation has been that when the Seek app confidently spits out a clear answer, it’s reliable. When it repeatedly asks for more photos or just talks about the family, and especially when it has different ideas from photo to photo, then I'm less convinced.

My attempts at verification have been limited to comparing with the Name That Plant forum, where I’d say the same: When there’s a chorus of agreement I take it at face value. When people have different ideas, well then it's less certain.

I still don't get the Blue Cohosh connection, based on the photos I looked at last night. The dangly yellow flowers bear no resemblance to the flower I photographed. But I appreciate being reminded of Name That Plant. I came to GardenWeb as an avid gardener quite a few years ago, but my gardening days are behind me, along with the many wonderful forums I frequented before.

Yes, my daughter-in-law was with my grandson when he picked the flowers. I'll pass along the information about this plant. From Deadly Nightshade to rhubarb leaves, there's lots of things around here that should never go in mouths. But obviously, even after 40+ years here, I still don't know all of them.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

I'm not familiar with Blue Cohosh, but when I looked it up I saw blooms like yours.

How's this for comparison? Looks pretty dead-on to me!

It absolutely does, Gardengal. I didn't see anything like that. This is why I rely on the KT. :-)

FWIW, when I did a Google Image search, both yellow and dark flowered plants were in the results - way more dark flowers than yellow, and the USGS shows yellow.

^^^ Two different species but with almost identical common names. The one in question is referred to as early blue cohosh, northern blue cohosh or giant blue cohosh. The yellow flowered one is just called blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides. Confusing to be sure :-))

Funny I tried using SEEK on my phone from the photos here, and admittedly my photo skills are weak at best..........it kept saying it could not identify!

To help keep them from picking things, because I agree with floral, there can be risks! Just explain if you pick it, it dies, but when you leave it in the ground we can keep on enjoying it for many more days. A bouquet on the ground 🥰

A nice thought, Rob, and I can think of a number of scenarios where it might be useful. But I also think it's natural for a child to want to bring something beautiful home and give it to someone they love. My three children and four grandchildren have all brought me tiny bouquets from our woods and fields. Violets and dandelions were big favorites. None of the kids went picking flowers by themselves.

Here's my granddaughter in my front yard, 20 years ago.

I think it's a good idea to teach kids which flowers and leaves are OK to pick, and to just pick those.