Unidentified plant in the lawn.

Welcome to the forum @KeefyD

Thyme Broomrape?Ten of Britain's rarest wild flowers – in pictures

Not clear enough to see if it's hairy though.

 

Hmm!

This mystery plant is Orobanche.
As id by CarolineL several days ago.
Orobanche....Broomrape are very very different from other orchids.
They do not have leaves.
The LEAVES are merely triangular scales.
As they have no chlorophyll, they are totally dependent on other plants for nutrients.
They are parasitic on other plants ..each sp has a host plant.

it is not uncommon for some sp to have glandular hairs.

This link show the 10 that can be found in UK.
The HOST is an important clue to help id exactly which sp is which.
The main hosts are.........Thyme, Clover, Gorse, Wild Carrot, Oxtongue, Bedstaw, Bean, Knapweed, ivy, Yarrow,Thistle etc etc.


Plant Finder | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora

By reading this link several can be eliminated as they will not be found where KeefyD lives.
......eg Orobanche elatior......Knapweed broomrape is mainly found in chalk and limestone grassland..if KeefyD has acidic soil then he will not have this.

Has that link been read ????

HEIGHT matters...
eg Orobanche alba.....................Thyme broomrape is tiny 25cm.
eg Orobanche rapium genistae....Greater broomrape is 90cm tall
eg Orobanche minor...................Common broomrape is only 60cm tall.

When the flowers open more it maybe possible to say exactly which one it is.
An expert would be able to id it accurately now.
Sadly I am not one of those.
Treat it as a detective hunt...check the FACTS...eliminate ones that are wrong...check height, ground type, host plant, colour...details.

ELIMINATED.
a. Orobanche reticulata ......thistle broomrape ...can be eliminated...flowers are purple.
b. Orocbanche purpurea ......yarrow broomrape can be eliminated flowers are bluish purple.

 

Hi All - if hairy, then I guess Mike and Silver surfer have confirmed that it is broomrape - not what I had hoped which was one of the less well-known orchidacae. But all these plants are fascinating anyway! And the broomrape and hemi-parasites like rattle will keep the vigour of the grass down, helping other plants to do well. For example the orchid anacamptis pyramidalis likes sparse conditions.

 

I would say it is a broomrape: orobanche amythystea
If you put this into Google images it shows pics from a website A French Garden with a plant almost identical to yours.
Sorry - not able to add a link to this post.

 

Sorry LizPond......Unlikely to be found in UK.

Orobanche amethystea, Amethyst Broomrape: identification, distribution, habitat

Quote link above....


"This robust member of the Broomrape family occurs throughout the southern Mediterranean region, Western Europe, and into parts of Central Europe. One of 150 broomrape species that occur mainly in the Mediterranean region,it has also been found in Southern Germany. The plant is mainly parasitic on Eryngium campestre (Field Eryngo), and the presence of its host is by far the easiest way of identifying this species. Broomrapes are notoriously difficult to identify accurately, an endeavour not helped by the fact that they can occur several metres away from the host with many plants growing in between them!"


Its partner plant is Eryngium campestre. Never seen this in a UK wild flower meadow.

Eryngium campestre - Google Search

Not included in list of those found in UK.

Plant Finder | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora


Treat it as a detective hunt...check the FACTS...eliminate ones that are wrong...check height, ground type, host plant, colour...details...such as where it is found.
Then go back and check again!

To repeat myself......So many look almost identical accurate id of Broomrape is hard.

 

Oh well - close (ish), but no cigar.
The money seems to be on broomrape - we will wait with baited breath for it to flower.

 

Very nice comments Silver Surfer. Thank you.

 

I've just noticed all these replies, I hadn't realised there were so many, thank you all!

It's certainly looking like the consensus is some kind of Broomrape.

As for which type:
It's definitely hairy.
Current height is 22cm.
Colours: Purple, lilac and brown.
Our soil here is heavy clay;

From the pictures in the link, it looks to me most like Common, or Ivy.

Host identification is going to be tricky.
Should I dig it up and see what it's attached to?


I'm kidding! :D

I've added a photo here. Hopefully it clearly shows the hairs. It also shows the inside of one of the flowers. It's a shame the photos get compressed.




Here's a cropped close up of the flower.


PS, I'm currently suffering from a frozen shoulder, so getting down there to photograph it is more difficult than I'd like, age is catching up!

 

Excellent picture @KeefyD - your suffering produced a good result! It would be interesting to see a general photo (from a standing position) to see what adjacent plants might be acting as a host. Are you suggesting ivy?

 

Haha, your wish is my command and at least these pictures didn't hurt to take!



I don't know if those are any help.

Im not sure what a lot of it is (some would say "weeds, lots of weeds" but nope, it's a meadow, innit? ) and there's not a lot in flower at the moment to help identification.

As for ivy, there is some two or three metres away, so it's possible but probably a bit of a stretch. There's also plenty of Clover that might not be visible, which I believe was also a contender.

If you or anyone wants a close up of anything there, let me know.

 

Thanks @KeefyD - it's looking a lovely mix of plants! I suspect clover then... Have you tried seeding in some poppies, corn cockle etc - legitimate tenants!

 

Thanks CarolineL.
I'm really happy with progress so far, it's early days yet as this is only its second year and all that's there is whatever was dormant or has blown in.
It's amazing what happens when you stop mowing. It was a problem area of the lawn, with moss and ivy slowly winning the battle against the grass.

My absolute favourite so far that is spreading really well is Pilosella aurantiaca (Orange hawkbit). Gorgeous colours.

This year I have grown from seed a native 'cornfield mix', and have just planted the first of those as plug plants and I also have some Wild Carrot grown from seed ready to go in soon.
(I tried scattering seeds last year to no avail.)

Corn cockle, that looks lovely, I'll have to look into that, great tip.