The one you find here is Dracunculus vulgaris. And people elsewhere have asked about it many times on the internet.

Thanks, bboy. Would they not have emerged yet from the ground?

We're going to plant some of them (there were about a dozen in the bed) in pots & see what they do.

Here in Zone 8 dragon arum is in the process of unfolding leaves, so yes it has been up for awhile. There are certainly lots of other plants in the same family.

Thanks, bboy. My co-worker took them home to pot up. I'll post an update once the leaves have unfurled. This is a strange one, given that the bed appears to have abandoned for quite some time.

Why not just plant them back?
Something you don't want?
I received a small rhizome in the fall and planted it in the garden but last Sat. I checked and there was nothing poking out of the ground in the area I remember I planted it...

Calinromania - we re-planted the weedy bed with roses. The bulbs a co-worker took home & planted in pots so we know what they are when they emerge. The leaves have not yet unfurled. We don't know what they are, so we don't know if they are something we want.

I'm wondering if you don't have A. pinelia but instead A. draconitum. I've grown Green Dragon in my mini Hosta bed for at least 5 years and it always stayed very petite, last year several of the bulbs decided to throw leaves up to my hips and the tallest flower grew to almost 5 feet.

I ended up moving them to the creekside bed, they just emerged last week and are about 3 inches tall right now in zone 6.

It could be anything... hardy and that thrives on neglect. As soon as the leaves unfurl, I'll get my co-worker to take a photo & I'll post.

Here's what it looked like yesterday. My co-worker took them home & potted them up. Apparently, the squirrels got all of them except for this one. This is the only photo I have (so far.) It JUST unfurled in the last couple of days, here on the border of zones 6 & 7.

{{gwi:191986}}

It looks like Zantedeschia. calla lily.

Carol - a friend of mine just suggested that. It never occurred to me that a Calla could survive the conditions in this bed, but, I suppose, it it was a naturally damp bed (no irrigation, nowhere where anyone would have been watering it) maybe it's possible. Wow.