Unknown plant growing in lawn

pteverett001

I have attached a photo of a plant that is appearing in various parts of my lawn. It usually starts by showing as a lump in the lawn then shoots appear which develop into what is seen in the photo. They are tough fibrous stems and the root appears to be a thick tap root. Can anyone help firstly identify the plant and then how to deal with it?
Many thanks
Paul

Fairygirl

It could be a root from a nearby tree - are there any cherries/plums nearby? It happens quite often. 
I can't ID it from that photo, but someone else probably can. 

pteverett001

Thanks Fairygirl, we do have a cherry tree and a recently cut down cherry. These shoots seem to be some way away from them though. 

Fairygirl

It's surprising how far they can travel. 
If the tree's been cut down though, you may find that mowing regularly will eventually kill them off. 
Not sure if they could be from the one that's still alive. It sometimes happen when there's trauma to a tree, which could explain it if the one that's been cut down was dying/damaged. 
Not my area of expertise though. @BobTheGardener might see this and be able to help 

pteverett001

Great thanks again, I think its likely they are suckers. We only had the tree cut and not removed or killed the stump so that maybe what's going on. Will have to see how I can kill the stump and roots off I think. 

BobTheGardener

Yep, heavy pruning (and it doesn't come much heavier!) is a trigger for causing suckers to appear like this.  Cherries have long horizontal feeding roots just below the surface which can go a surprisingly long way, particularly under lawns it seems.  Using a stump killer will eventually work, and it's recommended to physically tear particularly troublesome suckers off the main root rather than cutting them below the surface (which can make it grow more strongly.)

pteverett001

Thanks Bob, much appreciated. I am glad I have a plan now. 
Paul