My best guess would be some form of mutation brought on by insect damage but as to species, have no idea. What looks like two dried up leaves prevent further ID.

sounds like its gone by now ... if i had it in hand.. i would have pulled it all apart.. to find out if there was something inside.. like a bug ...

ken

No bug inside. I still have two dried up specimens. I can pull one of them apart and show better photos. The leaves almost look like kale up close. I'll post a few more photos. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the entire plant.

Here is a close up.

And one final one for now. I'll ask my grandma if she could snap some photos of the entire plant. Katy

I'm pretty sure this is a gall caused by an insect and not a normal growth. Rosette galls cause similar abnormalities. To identify the plant we need to see normal foliage. Could you soak those two dried out leaves in water and 'reconstitute' them?

Here is a link that might be useful: Rosette gall