Unusual Saxifraga found 2015.

[Oron Peri]

On my recent trip to Mt. Falakro [N. Greece], i have found this compact, Red colored Saxifraga. It was a solitary plant.

About 800m from its location there is a colony of S. sempervivum but as you can see they are very different, any idea, is it only a color form?

 

[adrian young]

Oron
This is incredible, there is no such plant in any Flora.
The only possible explanation that I can think of is hybridization,
between S. ferdinandi coburgi and sempervivum, this cross has never
been recorded, usually sempervivum flowers before ferdinandi coburgi
so the chances of them crossing is remote.
It is not just an unusual sempervivum because the flower structure is different,
it has a more open corolla and larger petals.

Please tell me you have some cuttings of this plant.

Do you mind if I show your pics to other people?

Regards Adrian

[Maggi Young]

Very interested to see what  other information turns up about this extraordinary plant.

( I think it deserved its own page! )

[Oron Peri]

Adrian,

Thanks for your replay,
I have figured it is something unusual only two days later but i was already in Turkey...

Sorry i haven't taken any cuttings [as it doesn't have a bulb...] luckily this particular plant is very easy to trace!

I might be there again next year but if you think it is of great value for cultivation and you can think of the right person to go there  i can explain how to find it.

Send me your private email address and I'll send you high resolution photos of it.

[Corrado & Rina]

A researcher from my group is currently working in forests in N.Greece. I could ask him to go, geotag and take cuttings, if he has time (and possibly give some to the local germoplasm bank). Would that be interesting?

Corrado

[melager]

Gosh Oron the pictures of the saxifraga are fantastic, the colours and structure of the plants breathtaking

Mel

[Great Moravian]

Vít Grulich photographed a Saxifraga population in European habitat.
Identification wanted.
Locality is known but it might influence the identification.
Plants in habitat
Plants are covered with whitish hairs, ends of leaves are reddish
Corolla is strongly reduced

[adrian young]

This is quite difficult, why has the location been withheld?
It always helps narrow down the possibilities.
Looking at the inflorescence I would say S.porophllya,
which is endemic to central Italy, Appenines, Abruzzi.
The pic below shows S.porophylla on Monte Calvo - 1800m
pic from Marinella Miglio

[Great Moravian]

Thank you,
My guess was also Saxifraga porophylla. The problem is that it was not
photographed in Abruzzi.

[horakd]

According to my knowledge of cultivated clones I would say it is S. sempervivum.

David

[Great Moravian]

According to my knowledge of cultivated clones I would say it is S. sempervivum.

David

You are right. It is Saxifraga sempervivum from Kopaonik in Serbia.
We compared exsiccated material a few weeks ago.
The inflorescences are slightly more hairy than in other
provenances and their colouring is paler,
but no substantial morphological differences
could be revealed.