Hello and Can Anybody help?

Hi Everybody,

Thanks for allowing me into your forum!

I have to confess I am not a great gardener but love flowers and all that is associated with them. Unfortunately I have very little knowledge of garden flowers and often find them hard to identify.

I have a particular flower (image attached) which is causing me major problems.

The flower was on a large shrub/tree in the Dartmoor Wildlife Park gardens in spring. The shrub is quite tall 15-20 feet.

The shrub leaves are similar to laurel, but toothed, and the flower has four very hairy edged petals and a shiny centre which looks more like a spore case than anything else.

There are three flower heads on each stalk.

Hopefully there is somebody out there who knows immediately what this is.

Thanks again,

Barryt

 

Hello Barry and welcome to GC.

I'm sorry I can't help you with your query but someone will come along shortly and tell you what your wonderful discovery is ... and I shall be interested to know also!

There's a lot of knowledge here ... and some fun things ... so enjoy the forum!

 

Hello and welcome Barry.

But I can't help you unfortunately.

 

Hi PeterS and Victória,

Thanks for the welcome - looks like a very active Forum.

If I get anywhere with the mystery flower I will post again.

Cheers,

Barryt

 

Hello again Barry. You may wish to re-post your query and photo in the Identification Section as you may have more success as people who look there may not necessarily look in New Members Introduction. :wink:

 

Hi Victória and Marley,

Thanks for the suggestion and for moving it Marley - you are right of course, I should have done that in the first place.

The nearest I have found to the flower is a Bay tree flower, but not in the deep purple of this one.

Cheers,

Barryt

 

Hi Barry,Welcome to GC

Off the top of my head I would say it is some sort of Daphne but at the moment not sure which one it is but will keep looking to see what I can come up with unless a more knowledgeable person identifies it first If it is a Daphne then the flowers on them especially Daphne Mezereum{spelling} is really good at this time of the year when there are not many pollinating insects about

 

Sorry Marley was going more on the look of the flower than the height of the shrub.:D

 

First thing that strikes me is that the flowers appear to be female, so its a plant that probably has male and female flowers on different plants.
Only four petals, difficult to gauge the size of the flowers, and it would be nice to see a pic of the leaves, evergreen or deciduous?

I've been thinking Dog Wood, but came up with nothing for the moment.The leaves dont look dog wood.
As it's growing on Dartmoor it suggests it's pretty hardy?

 

Hello Barry. Your ( very good) pic looks like the flower on Aucuba japonica. I have to confess to never having really noticed the flowers but the leaves in the background of your pic give it away. It's known as the spotted or Japanese laurel so you were nearly there in the first place.