Nigella sp. - ID help needed

[davidbr]

This plant/group of plants were photographed on November 1st, in rough grassland near a railway line, an area with plenty of unusual naturalised aliens.





They struck me as a bit unusual at the time but I didn't think it could be anything other than a white form of Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena) - someone else I've shown them to, though, reckons it's Black-cumin (N. sativa, a plant I'd never even heard of!

It certainly looks possible, the single petals would seem to match the pictures I've managed to dig out online of N.sativa, but I just can't make up my mind. What do people think?

[Jez]

It does look like N.Sativa to me!

[JennyS]

Its just a different-coloured form of Nigella damascena - the leaves aren't right for N sativa........

[Tiggrx]

Definately N. damascena. As Jenny says the leaves are not right for N. sativa. Interestingly I just searched Google Images for N. sativa and most of the images that appeared were actually N. damascena.

N. sativa has broader leaflets and does not have a ruff of leaves immediately below the flowers.

The is a useful comparison picture at this link Image:Koeh-227.jpg - Wikimedia Commons - N. sativa being on the left and N. damascena on the right

[davidbr]

Thanks for the advice, Jenny & Tiggrx - and thanks for linking to the image, when you see the two side-to-side like that there really isn't as much scope for confusion as I'd imagined

So, Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena) it is, then - looking at the BSBI distribution map it looks as if N.sativa is quite a rarity in this country, maybe it isn't fully frost-hardy, so it would have been a very unexpected find!

[tcvarlh]

It sure looks like sativa. You can have some from my hothouse if you like. I started growing them three years ago when I found I would have the devils' own job of getting the seeds fresh for Schwarzkuemmelbrot, you can't use dried seed the damned things break your teeth. The stuff you buy at your local asian store is very likely to be Bunium persicum which is great in cooking but lousy in bread. All you have to do is save a few seeds and lightly fry them in a little oil, then wait for the aroma. They taste a little like oregano and are mustard seed-bitter. Simply try a seed, give it a bite if it's not oregena flavour then just spit it out. I know it's from the buttercup family but it will not harm you. Damascena gives no scent, a stink yes but no scent.
A problem with all the nigella's is they crossbreed happily (I'm never likely to get invited to a certain ladiy's cooking program now, am I?) and there are at least 300 cultivars, most of which are not sterile. The reason for me growing them in a hothouse.