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Double flower mystery
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#2
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower. I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower, the moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around. David @ a sunny side of Swansea Bay most of the day. |
#3
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David |
#4
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 17:15, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower. I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower, the moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around. David @ a sunny side of Swansea Bay most of the day. That was quick, David! That explanation certainly accounts for it, thank you. Yes, that's a lovely description! I've never heard it before, but I won't forget it. So apt. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#5
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes (chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower (to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed everywhere. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#6
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Double flower mystery
"David Hill" wrote
Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower. I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower, the moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around. Stars are not what I call them when they are blowing onto our plot from neighbours. :-( -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
#7
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote: On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote: On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes (chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower (to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed everywhere. But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum Interesting plant but it it a hybrid form from 2 different varieties of Taraxacum neither of which grow in this part of the world. As for most having their heads whiped off whilst still in bud, that is only for a very small number, round here there are literaly acres of them growing on roadside verges etc. David |
#8
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David There are plenty of different forms - 232 (micro)species in the UK alone. There is a white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum albidum and it grows in eastern Asia. There is a second white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum coreanum. There is a pink dandelion. It's called Taraxacum porphyranthum. But, yes, Cichorieae is strikingly conservative in flower colour, with nearly all species having dandelion yellow flowers. Other exceptions include pink (Crepis rubra, Crepis incana), orange (Pilosella aurantiaca), purple (Tragopogon porrifolius), blue (Cichorium intybus, Cicerbita sp., Catananche caerulea, Lactuca biennis, Lactuca perennis, Lactuca tatarica) and pale yellow (some Sonchus oleraceus). Taraxacum maculatum probably counts as a variegated dandelion. More research finds a dandelion with pink and yellow flowers (Taraxacum pseudoroseum), one with yellow-green variegation on the leaves (Taraxacum 'White Flash') (and other evidence of variegated sports), and one with purple foliage (Taraxacum "rubrifolium"). -- SRH |
#9
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote: On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote: On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes (chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower (to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed everywhere. But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum That's quite pretty. It appears slightly more sophisticated than our yellow native, somehow. It shows that there is a white gene waiting in the wings, though. Thanks for that link, Chris. Most interesting. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#10
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Double flower mystery
On 17/01/2015 20:05, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote: On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote: On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote: On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes (chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower (to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed everywhere. But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum Interesting plant but it it a hybrid form from 2 different varieties of Taraxacum neither of which grow in this part of the world. As for most having their heads whiped off whilst still in bud, that is only for a very small number, round here there are literaly acres of them growing on roadside verges etc. David There are oodles of them in the fields and countryside up and down the country, but noone *really* looks at them because a)there are so many, and b)we're not really interested. The only time we gardeners might look at a flower close up is in our gardens or, perhaps a nursery. My deadheading point was intended to explain why we don't see any white petals in dandelions. We're not looking for them and we're certainly not trying to breed them white/er, so we miss what may very well be there. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#11
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Double flower mystery
In article ,
says... On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote: On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote: Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature. Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for this apparent anomoly? What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion or a variegated form. You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around the world by now we would have some different forms. David There are plenty of different forms - 232 (micro)species in the UK alone. There is a white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum albidum and it grows in eastern Asia. There is a second white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum coreanum. There is a pink dandelion. It's called Taraxacum porphyranthum. But, yes, Cichorieae is strikingly conservative in flower colour, with nearly all species having dandelion yellow flowers. Other exceptions include pink (Crepis rubra, Crepis incana), orange (Pilosella aurantiaca), purple (Tragopogon porrifolius), blue (Cichorium intybus, Cicerbita sp., Catananche caerulea, Lactuca biennis, Lactuca perennis, Lactuca tatarica) and pale yellow (some Sonchus oleraceus). Taraxacum maculatum probably counts as a variegated dandelion. More research finds a dandelion with pink and yellow flowers (Taraxacum pseudoroseum), one with yellow-green variegation on the leaves (Taraxacum 'White Flash') (and other evidence of variegated sports), and one with purple foliage (Taraxacum "rubrifolium"). and see gardeners who grow other dandelions discussing; http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5916.0 Janet |
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