Question about a wild flower/plant from NC

[steam fire and ice]

I am coming again to you geeks because Im hoping maybe someone could help me figure out this plant. My sister was exploring my aunts place in Asheville, NC and came across this plant when she was getting us a Mountain Laurel to bring back. Im hoping someone will see this and know what it is, so we can figure out how to keep it going. Its such an interesting plant and would love to know what it is.

[kmarch]

It looks like a Cyclamen.

[NBAMA]

It looks like a hardy cyclamen. Beautiful plants!

[steam fire and ice]

Thanks so much guys!!! My sister did good then. She thought it was an unusual plant, and we brought it back off our vacation with us. I cant wait to see it flower.

[kip]

It looks more like an Asarum to me. (probably A. canadense, but it could also be A. virginicum)
Cyclamens would be very unusual to find growing wild in NC. Asarum canadense is found throughout most of the eastern US.

[lmartiny]

I was going to say a wild violet.

[NancyG]

Did she find it in the woods? I've seen something really similar in the woods in the Carolina's.

[steam fire and ice]

Yes she did find it in the woods, and It does have tubers like they describe on the cyclamen. I did find a couple of links to the cyclamen being a poisonious plant of NC, so I figured that the horticulture department from NCSU has seen it in the wild there.

lmartiny, NCSU listed another name for cyclamen as a persian violet, and sowbread, so I can see the resemblence to a violet too.

[kip]

the horticulture department of NCSU lists Cyclamen persicum as a poisonous house plant
it's unlikely that one would survive the cold winters around Asheville. If you search the web for images, you can compare the rhizome of Asarum with the corm of Cyclamen, and it should be easy to determine which you have.