Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Plant Identification => Plant Identification Questions and Answers => Topic started by: zephirine on April 20, 2013, 01:58:10 PM

Title: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: zephirine on April 20, 2013, 01:58:10 PM

Hello everyone,
A friend of mine offered me recently a low-growing boraginaceae, under the name "Nonea lutea". He described it as a grouncover...
Some research on the net brought a lot of confusion...
I found it described as annual, or sometimes biennial. Some say it is another name for Alkanna lutea, others say it's a different plant.
I also found a message here from Fermides, describibg Nonea lutea as a weed whose offspring still pop up in his garden three years after he tried to eradicate it!!!
Befor it starts invading my garden, would someone please help me sort this out?
Does anyone recognize the plant and know it for certain?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Zeph

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: zephirine on April 20, 2013, 02:04:05 PM

(Ctnd) Sorry, I seem to have a problem with attachments. Here they are...

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: fermi de Sousa on April 20, 2013, 02:20:33 PM

Zephirine,
That's the thug!
It's likely to be a weed in my conditions which is why I tried to eradicate it!
In your conditions it may not behave the same way. It has lovely flowers and looks like a primrose coloured pulmonaria which is why I first wanted to grow it.
cheers
fermi

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: zephirine on April 20, 2013, 02:52:51 PM

 :o Thank you for the warning, though, Fermides!
Was it a perennial, for you?
Do you know anygthing about the other name "Alkanna lutea"? Is it a different plant?

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: Palustris on April 20, 2013, 05:35:45 PM

Here it was an overwintering annual. IE It seeded itself (everywhere, taken years to get rid and the leaves are unpleasant to the touch) survived over winter and flowered from early Spring onwards.

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: Menai on April 20, 2013, 05:37:32 PM

Hello Zepherine
I grew this for a number of years in North Wales and found it a useful winter growing ground cover. It flowered usually in March and then I tore it out and waited for selfsown seedlings the following autumn, moving them to where they were needed. Sadly it seems to have vanished after our two rather harder winters.

Erle
Anglesey, beginning to look spring-like in the sunshine.

Title: Re: Nonea? Alkanna? Annual? Biennial? Perennial???
Post by: zephirine on April 21, 2013, 08:12:16 AM

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Fermides, palustis and Menai!
I think I have enough work with dandelions, Cardamine, oxalis and creping cinquefoil... >:(
I'll have to pull it out fast, before it invades my beds. What a shame, though!!!