When a North Carolina gardener when digging in her vegetable patch, this bizarrely-shaped root was the last thing she expected to unearth.

Christine Amaral, 47, was planting iris tubers in her back garden in Charlotte when she came across the oddly-shaped root.

Her snapshot of the discovery has become an internet sensation after she shared it on Instagram.

Strange find: A green-fingered North Carolina resident was stunned to find a bizarre foot-shaped root while digging in her back garden.

Root or foot?: Many internet users have identified the strange root as that of a mandrake (pictured)

'I dug some plants up from an overgrown area in my yard and was moving them to another area,' she said.

'I did not notice it at first, but when I dug the new hole and placed one of the tubers in it, that's when I saw the funny shape and thought 'wow, this is instaworthy'.

'I thought it was creepy and interesting.'

Despite gardening every day since she moved into the house in 2005, green-fingered Christine, originally from New Hampshire, was stunned by the discovery.

She has since enlisted the help of friend Piller Gregerson to spread the word online.

And the grim photo has since taken root with users claiming it looks like a baby's foot while many of the 1,500 commenters insist the root is from a mandrake.

Christine said: 'It has got a lot of attention online.

'I try to balance my work life and relieve the stress of so many responsibilities, like managing the school's budget.