Coastal plant ID, please.

[Ida]

Does anyone know what this is? It was growing on shingle in the RSPB reserve at Dungeness, Kent.

I took these photos on 02/05/2008, and I know they're not that good for ID purposes as all the leaves are out of focus - didn't think of that at the time!

I can remember that the plant was about 4-6" tall, if that's any help.

Cheers

[Bub-les]

Looks like bladder campion
Barbara

[Tiggrx]

It is Sea Campion (Silene maritima) - it looks rather abnormal as it has been infected by the fungus Ustilago violacea

[Ida]

I thought it was some kind of campion, and now I know why I couldn't find it in any of my plant books - because of the fungus.

Thanks very much for your helpful info - it's been annoying me for ages.

[Bub-les]

oops silly me should have said sea campion!
Barbara

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by Ida

Does anyone know what this is? It was growing on shingle in the RSPB reserve at Dungeness, Kent.

I took these photos on 02/05/2008, and I know they're not that good for ID purposes as all the leaves are out of focus - didn't think of that at the time!

I can remember that the plant was about 4-6" tall, if that's any help.

Cheers

Hi Ida,

This is Silene maritima (Sea Campion) which is very common in coastal habitat - however, the interesting thing about your photo's is that the flowers which are normally white are (as you can see) a dirty purplish colour which is due to the plants being infected with a parasitic fungus that invades the anthers, and replaces the pollen grains with its spores (which are dull purple) which then colour the petals when they (the spores) are shed.


Its a smut fungus in the genus Microbotryum and is probably M. violaceum. It's common in various species of Silene but probably unseen most of the time since it's not very obvious !

Might be worth uploading this image into the fungus section of WAB so it can be viewed by all ??

Nice photo !

Nick

[Ida]

Cheers, Nick

The flowers caught my eye because of their colour. I'd not seen anything like them growing anywhere else in the area, but I had no idea the reason behind their unusual appearance would be so interesting. I'm glad I took a photo now, and, yes, I'll defintely upload it to the Fungus section.

Thanks for the info!