How did this happen

I have always believed in saving seeds which usually works, however I saved some seeds from my sweet william flowers and got an unexpected result, A plant identification app told me I am growing Corn cockle, how can this be ?

 

Probably because the app is wrong. Technology is not always right.

Any pictures?

 

Thanks for your reply, I am including a picture, The plant is about a metre tall, Could the sweet william have been pollinated by another plant.

 

Well, I think in this case the app is probably right.

No, pollination would not turn a sweet william into that , you must have somehow got an odd seed in the mix, or are they all like that.

 

Yes, 90% came up like this, about a dozen, as far as I know none of my neighbours have this corn cockle in there garden, I have been saving seeds for several years nothing like this has happened before, Could it have reverted to species. ?

 

Corn Cockle and Sweet William are two different species. One species can not turn into another. You must have collected Corn Cockle seeds from somewhere without realizing what they were.

 

Thanks for taking time to reply, I understand your scepticism, (in fact if someone else told me this story I would come up with the same conclusion,) However, I only collect seeds from my own garden, I cut the heads into a paper bag, there are no corn cockle plants in my or neighbours gardens. So I find it hard to believe I did this. I guess its a mystery never to be resolved. I shall try the same thing next year.

 

It may have reverted to type. Sweet William is a member of the Caryophyllaceae family.

 

That's a picture of a Red Campion @Jocko, and although it belongs to the Caryophyllaceae it's a different species. One species can not turn into another. It is impossible.

If something reverts to the original type, it goes back to what the species originally looked like,
but plants of a different species can not turn into another species.

Sweet William, Corn Cockle, Red Campion, Pinks, Carnations all belong to the Caryophyllaceae family but they are different species and have different genetic makeups, therefore one can not turn into another.

Here's another example .... potatoes, tomatoes, Deadly Nightshade all belong to the Solanaceae family but they are different species, so a potato can never turn into a tomato.

 

Thank you.

 

You're welcome, I'm glad my explanation made sense

 

Seeds could also be blown in or dropped by birds.