Cyclamen 2015

[ArnoldT]

Here's the image again

[Roma]

More Cyclamen pseudibericum pictures

[Roma]

Cyclamen pseudibericum roseum
Cyclamen libanoticum
Cyclamen rhodium ssp. peloponnesiacum - who needs flowers with leaves like this

[Maggi Young]

Now, Roma, you can tell me - no-one is listening - you REALLY like cyclamen, don't  you? 

[johnw]

Arnold  - Going through pix I see the local coum here shows this feature somewhat as does my kuznetzovii.

john

[ArnoldT]

John,

thanks I see it on yours as well.

[Anthony Darby]

Cyclamen graecum seedlings from Rodopou flowering for the first time.

[ian mcdonald]

I had so many C. hederifolium seedlings I took to throwing them into a neighbours garden which had a small empty "wild" place.

[ashley]

Guerrilla gardening - I love it

[Anthony Darby]

I did that sort of thing all over Dunblane. 

[Maggi Young]

I did that sort of thing all over Dunblane. 

 But someone releasing a butterfly is berated ......  I'm confused.

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Maggi, the foriegn butterflies were released into the wild. There was no conclusive proof that the local population had become extinct. It was done without the approval of NE who,s site it is. The person involved in this introduction breeds butterflies and decides where to release them. This means that any species that turns up in a habitat after an absence can no longer be regarded as the true species from that area. I hope you can appreciate the difference. If this action continues then all uncommon species will be regarded with superstition. This is why organisations such as RBGE should be in control of the Plantnetwork Target 8 Project, otherwise anyone will be introducing plants into the wild. Many years later, some plant species are regarded with suspicion and were perhaps introductions. We will never know if Alchemilla conjuncta is a result of introduction by George Don from Aberdeen, for instance. I myself have seen fairy foxglove at one site as a vigorous "weed." Then there are the introductions at Inchnadamph. Many aquatic plants such as new zealand pygmyweed and water fern are aggressive weeds in water courses. Mink are another case as well as foreign deer. Beavers will be a pest for hunting, instead of foxes. Perhaps this is the reason for their introduction. What will wolves eat? Deer which they cannot catch, or hikers? I don,t want to sound like a teacher preaching to a class but I think there is a difference, best wishes, ian.

[Maggi Young]

Thank you , Ian - I think it is worthwhile pointing out these things  otherwise there might be folks wondering what the  differences are..... 

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Maggi, I wasn,t sure whether you were pulling my leg or asking the question to clear things on the behalf of members who were not sure what I was talking about. I know through personal experience of the springwatch message board that it is easy to mis-understand what someone means in an email. On the springwatch board this often led to heated arguments and name-calling. I think this is why the BBC pulled the message board. Thank goodness the scottish rock members dis-agree in a civilised manner, if at all.

[Anthony Darby]

But someone releasing a butterfly is berated ......  I'm confused.

Straight forward really. Release a butterfly into a known habitat from another population and the race is compromised and may introduce genes that prevent the population from surviving. You would never introduce English speckled woods to Morayshire. They look different and have evolved in their own environment. Large heath butterflies, to which you were referring, have several very distinct populations. That in Perthshire northwards has virtually no spotting on its wings. Central Scotland southwards has moderate spotting, and the most southerly races just north of the midlands are very heavily spotted. Moving them about destroys subspecies integrity. Cyclamen is not native to Dunblane, and I do hope people travelling up and down the Hydro drive enjoy them, and the snowdrops I planted. They won't hybridise with any local populations and destroy their integrity.