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Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Scarce parasite on Wild Thyme Flower c 15-20 mm long Skye ID: The only Broomrape to grow on Skye. Flowers and stems purplish-red when fresh, soon turning brown and dry-looking, like a dead plant. No green parts. Has scales instead of leaves. Flower tubular, upper lip shallowly notched, lower lip divided into 3 equal lobes. Only similar plant on Skye is Birdsnest Orchid which has lower lip divided into 2 widely-spreading lobes. Other features: Calyx has one tooth on each side of the flower (visible in side-on flower in LH pic, long red tooth from lowest visible part of calyx). In many Broomrapes the calyx lobe on each side of the flower is divided into two or more teeth. |
