Scopolia Carniolica

This delightful looking woodland plant was a pleasant surprise for us recently. I do not remember buying or being given it, so sadly I'm not 100% sure where it came from.

Scopolia carniolica

However it returned near to the middle patio area with the spring-like weather and rewarded us with the most exquisite maroon flowers. As we did not remember buying it we also were unsure of the name, however a request for an ID on our Facebook page gave us the answer pretty quickly (thanks Andrew, Don and others for confirming the name).

Scopolia carniolica

So now we have an ID, I thought I better find out a little more about Scopolia carniolica. It is a European native, with its natural habitat in the damp conditions of beech forests in southeastern Europe, covering quite a range of habitats from lowlands to more mountainous conditions. Although our plant is fairly small these can reach up to 60cm (2 feet) tall, I'll be quite interested to see how it looks as a bigger plant in future years.

It is a member of the Solanaceae family, and is reportedly poisonous, as it contains fairly high quantities of tropane alkaloids (also found in deadly nightshade), with the highest concentration found within the roots. Personally I tend not to worry too much about poisonous plants, many plants are poisonous, and as long as you are sensible and aware then you shouldn't have any problems. If we all only garden with plants listed as safe the world would be a very boring place. It can also be hallucinogenic properties and it was regarded as magical in medieval Europe with an association with witchcraft. 

On Facebook it was mentioned that there is a yellow flowering form (var. brevifolia), so that is something I will have to look out for, although I love the color of these flowers.

Gaz