Has Spring Sprung? Guess That NH Perennial

This edition of 'Guess That NH Perennial' has a sweet before and after pictorial, which is ironic, because this plant is very much the opposite in relation to flavor.

Rhubarb

It doesn't seem possible that in just six weeks, the little red chutes you see in the first image will look like the lush 'elephant ear' leaves of rhubarb in the bottom photo.

I know that for a fact because the latter photo was dated May 28th. I'd have guessed that it was from the Fourth of July and I was the one that took the picture.

When I was a kid, I'd often clip one of these stalks with a pair of safety scissors (ripping through most of it) and then bite into it after dipping it heavily in a bowl of sugar. Sort of a rural version of a pixie stick.

Now, I just rip into it with my bare hands and forgo the sugar altogether.

By the way, DO NOT eat the leaves. While they're nowhere near as lethal as the tall tales I heard as a kid, they do contain oxalic acid which is poisonous and causes kidney stones. Eat the stalks only!