Circaea x intermedia

Photo © Carl Farmer
12 Jul 2003 Suardal
From top leaf to tip of stem c 6 cm

Fairly frequent in shaded upland areas, usually woods or scrub, sometimes rock crevices as in pic on left.

Flowers c 6-9 mm long including calyx and stamens. Leaves 3-8 cm. Height 15-40 cm.

Skye ID: Unmistakable in flower, apart from possible confusion with Enchanter's Nightshade. Most reliable differences are:

Leaves inverted heart-shaped, deeply notched at base
Leaves narrow abruptly to the pointed tip
Leaf stalks much more hairy on upper surface than lower
Fruit consists of 2 unequal cells, not usually setting seed
Calyx with sparse glands or none
Topmost open flowers often rather clustered together
A smaller plant and possibly a more enchanted one

Other features: This plant is the hybrid between Enchanter's Nightshade and Alpine Enchanter's Nightshade, the latter being very rare in Britain and not known from Skye. It's astonishing how the hybrid manages to exist in so many places where one parent is absent. On the few occasions when it sets viable seed, presumably both parents are the hybrid, as back-crosses are apparently unknown, so possibly it has spread very slowly across the country via seed rather than each population arising afresh as a hybrid.

Skye Flora