Comments | bunn: What are you, little weird purple flowers?

bunn

What are you, little weird purple flowers?

Apr 16, 2018 14:48

( Read more... )

we don't really know, tamar valley, wildflowers

Comments 12

heartofoshun April 16 2018, 13:53:13 UTC

I have no idea! Very pretty though.

bunn April 16 2018, 20:12:28 UTC

It's really lovely - a good strong purple.

pixel39 April 16 2018, 14:43:48 UTC

Hmmm. Not violets. Not purple loosestrife. Not phlox. Not hyacinth.

So far I've found a whole lot of things that it isn't.

They're a lovely shade of purple, whatever they are.

bunn April 16 2018, 20:11:53 UTC

Apparently it's the parasitical Purple Toothwort, which has no leaves! I had assumed the leaves must come in at a different time of year. It's certainly well established along the river.

pixel39 April 17 2018, 14:47:26 UTC

It's lovely! And also intriguing, and quite a curious-looking flower to boot!

puddleshark April 16 2018, 14:53:23 UTC

Ooh, lovely!

It looks a little like Lousewort, though that usually has frilly leaves... Maybe something in the same family?

bunn April 16 2018, 20:10:49 UTC

Ladyofastolat has pinned it down - it's purple toothwort! What a weird plant.

puddleshark April 17 2018, 06:18:40 UTC

Oh, wow! Purple and parasitic! I wonder if it grows round here...

ladyofastolat April 16 2018, 17:04:08 UTC

Purple toothwort?

http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:662042-1

bunn April 16 2018, 20:09:59 UTC

YES! That is it! What a very weird little plant. The parasitism thing would explain why I've never noticed it before, too - presumably most of the year it's underground, and perhaps I havent' walked past that way just as it was flowering before - or maybe I did, and just didn't look close enough to see that it wasn't crocuses...

timetiger April 16 2018, 20:52:37 UTC

They're a wonderful, thirst-quenching color.