Seasonal Wild Flowers

White Rock-Rose

Helianthemum apenninum

Cistaceae

April to July

Confined to one area in Devon and another in Somerset.

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland

It grows in open, dry, rocky, south-facing, limestone

grassland and cliffs.

White Rock-Rose is a native, clump-forming, perennial herb

growing up to 25cm.

The flowers are in clusteres, 5-merous and up to 3cm

across.

Petals are white, yellow at the base and slightly crinkly.

Stamens are numerous and yellow.

The stigma is capitate and the style noticably bent.

There are 3 striped and downy outer sepals and 2 smaller

inner sepals.

Leaves are linear to lanceolate, thick, downy and curled

at the edges.

Stems are pink.

White Rock-Rose on Brean Down, Somerset

Part of a clump

Group of flowers

5 petals, yellow stamens, capitate stigma

Close-up of stamens and capitate stingma

Stigma with a bent style

3 lined outer sepals and 1 of 2 small inner

sepals - pink downy stems

Clump showing greyish leaves

Thick, slightly curled leaves - pink stems

Close-up of curled, downy leaves