Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Plant Identification => Plant Identification Questions and Answers => Topic started by: ChrisB on August 19, 2015, 09:45:47 AM
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Saw this growing on cliffs at Portpatrick yesterday. Does anyone know what it is please?
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Devil's Bit Scabious, Succisa pratensis, I think Chris. A beautiful plant and very popular with various insects.
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I think it is Jasione montana.
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I agree with Hoy. Succisa pratensis have much broader leaves.
Jasione montana is an annual (bisannual ?).
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Yes you're right. I couldn't make out the leaves.
Sorry for the wrong steer Chris :-[
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So sheep's bit rather than devil's bit.
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In that area it might be either plant - but I think, with the little leaves,the Jasione is the bet.
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...a 'bit' of this...a 'bit' of that...
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...a 'bit' of this...a 'bit' of that...
;D ;D :)
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Sheeps bit and not all that common either.
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just to change the topic thread.
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Thank you folks it had tiny leaves and at first I couldn't figure out which were the leaves, but following the flower stem back to the plant it had a lot of little leaves. I confused it with an Armeria growing in the same place. but it was a lovely plant. Don't have my ID books here with me.... And I've never encountered it before. Could not see any more of it around their either which was odd. On the other side of the path there were loads of crocosmia! Was on the path leading up to the hotel that overlooks the bay.
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There are also significant differences in the flowers - those of devil's bit are more rounded - both the individual petals and the flower head as a whole, which is rather button-like, if you imagine a padded upholstery button.
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There are also significant differences in the flowers - those of devil's bit are more rounded - both the individual petals and the flower head as a whole, which is rather button-like, if you imagine a padded upholstery button.
Yes, well put, Matt - hard to tell that from Christine's photo though.
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I am not in doubt - Jasione montana is common around our summerhouse and Succisia pratensis is common around where I live.
Jasione also prefer rather dry sites while Succisia prefer moister sites.
Here are a few pictures of Jasione. You can also find white flowered specimens of both species.
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Nice white form - we seldom see those.
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Lots of Succisa pratensis in my ponies' fields. No white ones but there are a few pinks. They are not easy to photograph in focus with their long stems but here is a dwarf one in my garden.
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Hoy, the plant I photographed looked just like the photos you put up. And the plant was growing on a rocky outcrop facing the sea about 100metres above sea level. Very dry conditions, practically no soil. Roma, the foliage in your photos don't look anything like The very small leaves I saw.
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I wonder if there is some slight mis-understanding. As Roma says, her plants are Succisa pratensis, Devils Bit Scabious and the photo by Chris is Jasione montana, Sheeps Bit Scabious. There is also another scabious found in limestone areas, namely Scabiosa columbaria, small scabious. As already said, sheeps bit likes bare sandy areas,it is sometimes grazed by rabbits, making the whole plant no more than two or three inches in height when in flower. When in this state sheeps bit looks like a choice alpine.