Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Plant Identification => Plant Identification Questions and Answers => Topic started by: alpines on November 03, 2011, 01:39:46 AM

Title: What on earth?
Post by: alpines on November 03, 2011, 01:39:46 AM
Does anyone have any idea what on earth this is?
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Lori S. on November 03, 2011, 01:43:36 AM
Limonium suworowii?
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: alpines on November 03, 2011, 01:52:23 AM
I thought it was more of a succulent type Lori but it's not something I've ever seen before. A friend sent me this photo asking if I could ID it. Obviously I couldn't. Thanks for your input.
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Maggi Young on November 03, 2011, 10:53:15 AM
No idea, but suggest visit to Doctor as soon as possible......... :o
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Pascal B on November 03, 2011, 10:58:26 AM
Some Sanguisorba species?
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: ThomasB on November 03, 2011, 11:53:03 AM
This reminds me of Celosia argentea spicata (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/140826/). Maybe a somewhat weird growing plant?
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: alpines on November 03, 2011, 12:39:43 PM
Well thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm trying to get more details or a better photo but it's certainly got me mystified.
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Lori S. on November 03, 2011, 06:41:16 PM
Photos of Limonium suworowii:
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.silene.be/assets/catalogue/20091212165753.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.silene.be/en/catalogue/details/psylliostachys-suworowii&usg=__gbIgcHBx7mSAsnbOLbp2wsLgilI=&h=500&w=500&sz=88&hl=en&start=13&zoom=1&tbnid=Y8ElTu_PemrSKM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&ei=Et-yTv2mC4TbiALm-cVK&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlimonium%2Bsuworowii%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1

http://www.gardenworldimages.com/Details.aspx?ID=47424&TypeID=1&searchtype=&contributor=0&licenses=1,2&sort=REL&cdonly=False&mronly=False

http://www.google.ca/search?q=limonium%20suworowii&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&oe=&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
The photo in question looks like a bouquet made up of the flowerheads.
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Maggi Young on November 03, 2011, 08:49:05 PM
Shorter link for Lori's first example : http://www.silene.be/en/catalogue/details/psylliostachys-suworowii ....
but I think the spelling should be Limonium suwarowii  :-\ ( according to Kew plantlist!)
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: alpines on November 03, 2011, 09:27:41 PM
That first photo definitely looks like the one I posted. Thank you and well done Lori. Very much appreciated. I can sleep at night now !!!!
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Oron Peri on November 10, 2011, 11:38:17 AM
It is a Celosia cultivar by the name  'Celosia caracas'.
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Great Moravian on November 11, 2011, 03:42:13 PM
It is a Celosia cultivar by the name  'Celosia caracas'.
Congratulations.
http://www.dumazahrada.cz/fotogalerie/uzivatelske/2011/4/2/uzivatelske-galerie/rostliny-a-kvetiny/zobrazit/11348-celosia-caracas/?order=ctime
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Lori S. on November 11, 2011, 06:18:41 PM
Most photos claimed to Celosia 'Caracas' don't look remotely like the plant in question, which makes me wonder how variable this cultivar is.

Why not add some photos of the plant in question and its leaves to help resolve this?
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Lori S. on November 11, 2011, 06:43:03 PM
There's an interesting little teaser in this description of Celosia from the link attached below:
"The most famous needle type variety is “Venezuela”, which is also sold as “Caracas”. This one has to be reproduced by cuttings, unlike most other Celosia, which are sown. Actually this is not Celosia, according to the outcome of research, but it’s traded under that name."

http://www.celosia.eu/eng/?page_id=16

Wonder what it is, then?

Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: TheOnionMan on November 11, 2011, 07:16:18 PM
Lori, we were working on the same thing!  I love a good mystery... I too was intrigued by the "Caracas" name, and it seems to be applied only as an invented common name or varietal name (one sees Celosia Red Caracas and Celosia Dark Caracas, and Celosia Caracus), all combinations giving evidence that there is not such thing as Celosia caracas, even though the name is parroted all over the web.  I also ended up at the Venezuala connection ;)

Searching on IPNI.ORG, using search criteria * for the genus, and caracas for the species (using a wildcard on the genus then a species species name) should display a list of any plant genus with species name of "caracas", search results = 0.  Then I did a similar search on * for genus and carac* for species (with a partial wildcard) to find any genus with a species that starts with "carac...", and it comes up with lots of various genera with species names such as caracasana, caracasanus, caracam, caracu, cararu... but back to Celosia or other Amaranthaceae, nothing looks likely.

Also checked The Plant List and other sources, Celosia "caracas" does not exist, its a horticultural invention.  Photos listed as Celosia Caracas appear as diffirent species.

All that said, I have spome doubts whether the mystery plant is a Limonium... to me, the closed tube-shape flowers with feathery filaments protruding puts it in the camp of Celosia

But I agree Lori, if we could see more of the plant, that would help.
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: TheOnionMan on November 11, 2011, 07:25:28 PM
For comparison, a good Limonium photo page, scroll down to see L. suworowii (suwarowii):
http://itp.lucidcentral.org/id/cutflowers/key/Cut_Flower_Exports_of_Africa/Media/Html/Fact_sheets/Limonium.htm
Title: Re: What on earth?
Post by: Lori S. on November 11, 2011, 08:10:53 PM

All that said, I have spome doubts whether the mystery plant is a Limonium... to me, the closed tube-shape flowers with feathery filaments protruding puts it in the camp of Celosia


Yes, I've come around to that conclusion too.
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