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Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Very rare in limestone grassland. Please report any findings. Plants c 5-30 cm tall. Flower c 12-20 mm long including calyx. Skye ID: Like Field Gentian it has a circle of long hairs in the centre of the corolla, but unlike that species the calyx lobes are well separated, not overlapping. Other features: Annual. Can have 4 or 5 petals and sepals per flower. Skye plants probably belong to the distinctive northern subspecies septentrionalis which is endemic to the UK and almost confined to the far north of Scotland. The flowers are white, or faintly purple, on the inside, and reddish-purple on the outside. The first 4 pictures here are of that subspecies and the bottom picture is of the southern subspecies amarella. |
