The MGS Forum

Plant identification => Plant identification => Topic started by: gertrude on August 30, 2018, 09:45:09 AM

Title: Sibillini mountain flower self-ID'd by "Gertrude" as Melampyrum nemorosum
Post by: gertrude on August 30, 2018, 09:45:09 AM
Seen yesterday in Sibillini mountains, on the roadside,  unable to ID from all our books.
Title: Re: Sibillini mountains
Post by: gertrude on August 30, 2018, 08:26:32 PM
Having  had no reply I posted this photo on Plant Idents (a FB page) and hey presto back came the answer - Melampyrum nemorosum
 

Apparently,  Its an herbaceous flowering plant in the broomrape family, Orobanchaceae.  The new leaves are blue, turning green as they mature.
How unusual is that?
Title: Re: Sibillini mountains
Post by: JTh on August 31, 2018, 10:11:32 AM
Very unusual, I didn't know that there were hemiparasitic plants producing green leaves in the broomrape family, so thank you for teaching me something new. today.
It looks lovely, I see that has been found a few times even here in Norway, probably accidentally imported with lumber etc. In some places it's placed on the 'Black list' , in other places it's described as a potentially  attractive garden plant  with low risk of spreading to the woods where we already have other Melampyrum species, a couple of them are very common, but they haven't got the conspicuous blue colour.