"Jacob's Ladder" probably.

[Paul mabbott]

A couple of questions - I think this is a white form of Polemonium caeruleum. There was quite a lot of it in a patch by the Monsal Trail but all white. Could it be a related species?

If it is P. caeruleum why does it like growing alongside the Monsal Trail (former railway) so much - it's also (in blue form) common at the former Miller's Dale station. The books suggest that it likes calcareous, moist, open sites. There is a lot of conservation management to preserve the population in Lathkill Dale (growing on north-facing limestone cliff bottom) yet it seems to be growing elsewhere without any assistance from humans?

[AlanS]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

A couple of questions - I think this is a white form of Polemonium caeruleum. There was quite a lot of it in a patch by the Monsal Trail but all white. Could it be a related species?

If it is P. caeruleum why does it like growing alongside the Monsal Trail (former railway) so much - it's also (in blue form) common at the former Miller's Dale station. The books suggest that it likes calcareous, moist, open sites. There is a lot of conservation management to preserve the population in Lathkill Dale (growing on north-facing limestone cliff bottom) yet it seems to be growing elsewhere without any assistance from humans?

Hi Paul,

I don't see an image but I am picturing a garden form of P. caeruleum.

There has been past cogitation on whether the plant grown in gardens is really the same species as our native plant. Flowers are usually paler (if not white) and there are differences in leaf-shape. I did grow a few for a while but decided there didn't seem to be much mileage in taking it further.

However, I think we can assume that the garden forms originated outside the UK and have also been selected for easier growth. So yes, it is a quite frequent garden escape, growing any-old-where, even though the native plant appears to be quite demanding.

On the other hand, very restricted native distributions may not show a plant's full potential. The White Rock-rose (Helianthemum appeninum) is a very rare species of limestone in the South-west. A very long time ago, someone I know introduced native stock (by seed, I am sure) to his rockery in Essex and it promptly became quite a pest.

Alan

[Paul mabbott]

Thanks. I'm sure you're great at telepathy but let's try it with the real thing ():


Any further comments welcome - I'll be oing back along the Monsal Trail this weak, hopefully.

Originally Posted by AlanS

Hi Paul,

I don't see an image but I am picturing a garden form of P. caeruleum.

There has been past cogitation on whether the plant grown in gardens is really the same species as our native plant. Flowers are usually paler (if not white) and there are differences in leaf-shape. I did grow a few for a while but decided there didn't seem to be much mileage in taking it further.

However, I think we can assume that the garden forms originated outside the UK and have also been selected for easier growth. So yes, it is a quite frequent garden escape, growing any-old-where, even though the native plant appears to be quite demanding.

On the other hand, very restricted native distributions may not show a plant's full potential. The White Rock-rose (Helianthemum appeninum) is a very rare species of limestone in the South-west. A very long time ago, someone I know introduced native stock (by seed, I am sure) to his rockery in Essex and it promptly became quite a pest.

Alan

[AlanS]

Definitely Polemonium caeuleum.

Alan