Seed Identification - an error corrected

[Karaba]

Vitaliana primuliflora
(Attachment Link)

I know tha it's not the place to comment but seeds on this picture are not from Vitaliana primuliflora. It doesn't seem to be seeds of a primulaceae but instead of a brassicaceae (Draba ?)
Seeds of Vitaliana look much more than others Douglasia seeds (see in this thread) and there are also pictures on the Web : http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-4684-illustrations or http://www.alpine-plants-jp.com/himitunohanazono_4/vitaliana_primuliflora_himitu_1.htm
I have a few seeds of Vitaliana (=Androsace) primuliflora and will try to post a picture

[David Pilling]

Hi. Interesting and I'm glad you commented. I got the seed from the 2008/2009 AGS seed ex. I also donated it a few times from the resulting plants. It seemed close enough to me, looking at photos on the web - but mostly they seem to show little yellow flowers which could be anything once you start being serious. One warning sign is that I commented to someone how my plants produced seed and one of the articles describes seed production as being problematical.

I will see if I can find photos of the plants. I may have a plant outside I can photo the leaves of. More later...

This reinforces my doubts about how this area of interest (hobby if you like) works. Since I don't have a comprehensive library and sources on the web are limited, I really should not contribute any seed.

I have taken great pleasure in having been able to grow this relatively rare plant and donate seeds. More fool me.

[Maggi Young]

Thank you for chipping in, David.  I do believe that if we can generate discussion and so come to new conclusions this project is doing its job in helping us learn more about the plants we grow.

[Karaba]

David, I'm really not a specialist neither. I just came back from 2 weeks on holidays in Queyras, French Alps where Androsace primuliflora is quite common and I harvested some fruits.
It seems that other have already misidentify this species : http://macgardens.org/?p=3759
Here is the few seeds that I have collected. The fruits were still green and the seeds may be a little bit flat.

[David Pilling]

Hi,

I found a plant, photos below. I could not find any photos of the flowers. Pity.

The seeds photographed above belong to this plant. For others to decide what it actually is.

Maybe Maggi can remove all this stuff to a new thread for reference.

Sorry for the trouble. I read the warning at the start of this thread about being really really sure about id. I was.

If there was a key for each seed ex species - including photos of seeds etc things would be much better.

[Diane Clement]

David your plant is definitely not Vitaliana, it looks like a Draba, which goes along with what Karaba said.  Your plant is possibly D arabisans, which masquerades as all sorts in seed lists.  Here's a picture of Vitaliana primuliflora (=Androsace primuliflora) for comparison.  The leaves are narrow and short.  Please don't let this experience stop you donating seed to the exchanges as everyone makes mistakes at times.  By contributing to these threads we all learn a bit more.     

[Maggi Young]

Well said, Diane!
Yes, that looks like a Draba.

I have split off this discussion to its own space.

[David Pilling]

Maggi thanks for the new thread, and Diane, thanks for the id.

At its best this plant does look a bit like the photos of Vitaliana, my photo does not show it at its best, not making excuses.
(actually it never looks anything like Diane's photo, just like some of the ones on the web. hmm...)

Over at the PBS wiki, we've decided that the best thing is to photo seeds in the splitting seed pod attached to the plant. Not always possible, but that is the aim.

Maybe you could encourage people to post photos of the plants with their seed photos to the seed id thread.

[Maggi Young]

Over at the PBS wiki, we've decided that the best thing is to photo seeds in the splitting seed pod attached to the plant. Not always possible, but that is the aim.

Maybe you could encourage people to post photos of the plants with their seed photos to the seed id thread.

   Rather a counsel of perfection - it's hard enough getting folks to contribute the seed photos - I'm not going to push my luck!