Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Plant Identification => Plant Identification Questions and Answers => Topic started by: FrazerHenderson on August 26, 2007, 01:31:39 PM

Title: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: FrazerHenderson on August 26, 2007, 01:31:39 PM: Can anyone identify this small blue flowered alpine? Photographed in Socotra but also seen in Yemen mainland on the Kawkaban Plateau, near Sana'a.
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: mark smyth on August 26, 2007, 01:48:15 PM: hello Fraser welcome to the SRGC forums

Can you crop the original photo to show a tighter photo of the flowers?
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: FrazerHenderson on August 26, 2007, 02:00:10 PM: Mark, hopefully a tighter picture
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: mark smyth on August 26, 2007, 06:30:24 PM: much better for ID purposes
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 27, 2007, 01:52:29 AM: I've no idea what it is, but what a little honey!
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: fermi de Sousa on August 27, 2007, 09:12:56 AM: It looks exquisite! I wonder if it's available on the seedlists?
It seems reminescent of "Bluets" - Houstonia caerulea - but with Silene acaulis foliage!
cheers
fermi
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 27, 2007, 10:53:39 PM: The Houstonia occurred to me too Fermi, but NOT from the Yemen or thereabouts and it looks more substantial than that, as well as the different foliage.

[attachthumb=1]
Houstonia caerulea `Millard's Variety,' an American.
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Anthony Darby on August 28, 2007, 12:52:24 PM: Lucky chappy to be able to go to Soqotra. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has connections there and I have two of their posters in my classroom. Doesn't have this little gem though.
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Afloden on August 28, 2007, 01:11:46 PM: Hello,

If you can find a flora to key it out I would go to Rubiaceae. It has the corolla and four petals common to many Rubiaceae. Also, it does look like the US native Houstonia.

Aaron Floden
Knoxville, TN
USA
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 28, 2007, 09:49:40 PM: Given the location of Socotra/Soquotra (former spelling in my atlas) could the plant reasonably be called an alpine? And Fermi, we need to know what it is before we can look for it on the seedlists :D
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: FrazerHenderson on August 28, 2007, 10:56:34 PM: Aaron, thanks for the tip about Rubiaceae - I had wondered about a mat forming Oldenlandia (however O. ocellata, O.aretoides are endemic to Socotra and unlikely to be in the highlands of Yemen). It is a beauty - I was stopped in my tracks.
Title: Re: Blue flowers - confused
Post by: Maggi Young on August 29, 2007, 12:02:11 PM: Quote
Given the location of Socotra/Soquotra (former spelling in my atlas) could the plant reasonably be called an alpine?

Lesley, have you seen this page? Look at the mountains!
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=755.new;topicseen#new