What are you, little weird purple flowers?

[bunn]

I found a lot of these in the woods down near the Tamar Bridge on the Devon side of the river, and I've never seen them before. They had a slight scent. I thought they were crocusses at first from a distance, but they have weird hooks on the flowers, and the growth habit wasn't quite crocussy when you look at them close up either.

Comments

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I have no idea! Very pretty though.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It's really lovely - a good strong purple.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Not violets. Not purple loosestrife. Not phlox. Not hyacinth.

So far I've found a whole lot of things that it isn't.

They're a lovely shade of purple, whatever they are.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Apparently it's the parasitical Purple Toothwort, which has no leaves! I had assumed the leaves must come in at a different time of year. It's certainly well established along the river.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

It's lovely! And also intriguing, and quite a curious-looking flower to boot!

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Ooh, lovely!

It looks a little like Lousewort, though that usually has frilly leaves... Maybe something in the same family?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Ladyofastolat has pinned it down - it's purple toothwort! What a weird plant.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! Purple and parasitic! I wonder if it grows round here...

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Purple toothwort?

http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:662042-1

[bunn.livejournal.com]

YES! That is it! What a very weird little plant. The parasitism thing would explain why I've never noticed it before, too - presumably most of the year it's underground, and perhaps I havent' walked past that way just as it was flowering before - or maybe I did, and just didn't look close enough to see that it wasn't crocuses...

[timetiger.livejournal.com]

They're a wonderful, thirst-quenching color.

[wosny.livejournal.com]

I saw some of this today!