smallish blue wildflower with tall stems and glossy leaves in meadow
-
Posts
-
Hi , I have a smallish wildflower meadow/wild garden and whilst I regard myself as being fairly knowledgeble as to wildflower types I have a plant that has just started to flower that I cannot identify , i’m pretty sure it’s a Mullein as I had both great and dark Mulleins in the area about 6 years ago , now both of these are Yellow flowered but I have one with Blue flowers that stands about 2.4 metres high has semi glossy leaves rather than the hairy leaves of many other Mulleins and I cannot find any reference to it when searching online for Mulleins (verbascums) , i’m including a not too great pic in the hope that someone can identify it please ?
Flower looks like chicory when you let it go to seed. Are the leaves lower down a bit “toothy” like those of dandelion ?
To confirm I ran the photo through the plantnet app, it confirmed my thoughts – Cichorium intybus L., or common chicory!
@arrinoD are you sure ? wild chicory in my mind doesn’t ever grow that tall. 2.4 meters is seven feet, mine would only ever reach knee or hip height.
Hi Leila , yes i’m sure and it has puzzled me as well so I did a lot of googling on Chicory and found that there’s another similar plant called Sow Thistle but that has leaves that are more Dandelion shaped and it’s flowers to my eyes are more Mauve than Blue but i’ve looked at pics of both plants and found that even seemingly knowledgable people get the 2 plants mixed up , this does not explain it’s height and i’m at a loss to explain that .
Hi guys, I saw the notification so I couldn’t wait to answer… I know Chicory does have 2 types of leaves: the lance-shaped ones that are clearly shown on your photo, these are on the stems higher up. The second type is the dandelion-like ones, those form a clump lower down. I think flower color is really hard to compare with since even the same plant occasionally has different colors…. Do you have a pic of the base of the flower?
Hi arrinoD , I was out in the garden earlier this morning before I noticed your reply and I took some more pics but obviously I was’nt then aware of your request for a pic of a flower base but i’ll get one tomorrow if you still need it ? , I also used a tape measure to get an accurate reading of the plants actual height and from ther base of the stem to the topmost flower it is exactly 2.5 Metres , i’m including this mornings pics I hope they help .
It really looks like chicory, confirmed with the dandelion-like leaves at the bottom! Particularly vigorous, I’d say! Now that you know it, you could probably force it to harvest endives over the winter.
Love the lushness in that garden bed! Sitting in that bench must be so pleasant… What are the covered drums there?
Yes i’m pretty sure it’s chicory and it’s size amazes me as that whole area except for the immediate surrounds of a small wildlife pond which is out of shot is very poor soil with masses of building rubble mostly along the line of the fence behind the bench which as it faces South is a real suntrap even in Winter .The drums are water butts for topping up the pond if it gets low during dryspells which are a fact of life in South East Essex they are connected to a water butt behind my neighbours pent roof shed and when it is full it overflows into my water butts and if they overflow( rare) then they overflow directly ( through a buried pipe) into my pond .I messed up withe pics as I only intended to show the Chicory as best as I could but i’m happy that I did as if you look on the 3rd show right by the bench is one of my prized Deptford Pinks that grow very well just there .I’ve heard of Endives but must admit that I don’t have a clue at what they are ?.
- You must log in to post and answer topics. Sign up / Sign in
 |
Log in or Join |