FRINGE CUPS

Tellima grandiflora

Saxifrage Family [Saxifragaceae]  

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flower
flower8bicolour
flower
flower8red
inner
inner8green
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
type
typeZfringed
stem
stem8round

16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Grows in proliferation in damp shady places up to 80cm high.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The flowering stem often curved over at the top. A palmate leaf grows half-way up the flowering stalk, reminiscent of Water Avens.
24th May 2016, churchyard, Town Green, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Both red and white-petalled flowers on same plant with the white ones being on the upper part of the flowering stem.




19th May 2008, Old Clough Lane, Walkden, Manchester. Photo: © RWD
The leaves half-surround the stem in well-spaced tiers.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The five deeply fringed petals are green turning red.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Some petals are white.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The deeply cut or 'fringed' petals recurve backwards.


19th May 2008, Old Clough Lane, Walkden, Manchester. Photo: © RWD
The five petals turn from green to red, sometimes a brilliant blood-red. The single sepal is cupped and has ten ridges. Stems hairy.


11th May 2011, Holcombe Brook, Bury, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The single cupped sepal is necked near the opening, and has five curled triangular points at the end and between which the petals curve around.


19th May 2008, Old Clough Lane, Walkden, Manchester. Photo: © RWD
And are very reminiscent of those of Agrimony in that they are on short stalks and kept very close to the stem.


11th May 2011, Holcombe Brook, Bury, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The petals are light-green a first but turn white, then pink and later red. Thus they start white at the top of the spike whilst lower down they are first pink then red nearest the ground.


19th May 2008, Old Clough Lane, Walkden, Manchester. Photo: © RWD
The flowers have 10 stamens. The redness of the petals propagates from the outer to the inner producing a white stripe when the process is in-complete.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The stems are covered in rough hairs.


24th May 2016, churchyard, Town Green, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
On this flower the 5 pale-green sepals are curling through the gaps between the 5 petals. The stem has both short and long transparent white hairs, nominally 2 differing lengths.


24th May 2016, churchyard, Town Green, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Nominally 10 stamens with cream-coloured anthers are surrounding a stigma with single style.


24th May 2016, churchyard, Town Green, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Detail of deeply-cut petals.


16th May 2005, Newlands Valley, near Braithwaite, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
The leaves shaped similar to those of Cloudberry.


Some similarities to : Agrimony in the way that the flowers hang close from the single stem, and the flowers having 5 petals, albeit not yellow.

Slight resemblance to : Pick-a-Back Plant, another member of the Saxifrage Family. Also, from afar, the look of the plant resembles that of both Wood Avens and Water Avens.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics : Once recognised, this plant can not be mistaken for anything else; but therein lies the difficulty, for it appears in so few wildflower books, and if it does appear, then it is tucked away in some small corner as may take a year to find.

Distinguishing Feature : The five re-curved and extremely jagged petals with several deep cuts. The single sepal is cupped, the petals fringed, hence the name 'Fringe Cups'.

Inhabits damp shady places, such as deciduous woods, where it spreads readily. Never seems to be far from houses, where it is probably an escapee.

Fringe Cups are the only plant in the Tellima genus. Although it exhibits some characteristics of both Water Avens and Agrimony, which both belong to the Rose Family, Fringe Cups is said to belong to the Saxifrage Family.

An ELLAGITANNIN


Tellimagrandin II (aka Eugeniin) is an Ellagitannin which is found both in Fringe Cups (Tellima grandiflora - from which it obviously derives its name), and in Sweet Chestnut. At its heart is a glucose sugar surrounded by five galloyl units, the two on the upper right being joined by a bridging bond. It is present also in the non-native Clove plant (Syzygium aromaticum).

The dimer of Tellimagrandin II is Cornusiin E which is symmetrical and also found in Fringe Cups.

To clarify the dimeric nature of Cornusiin E, the two glucose units are shown in red, and the oxygen bridge between the two identical units of Tellimagrandin II are shown in red. When two molecules of Tellimagrandin II are fused, the resulting molecule, Cornusiin E, loses one molecule of water, H2O.

Cornusiin E parallels the dimer of Potentillin called Agrimoniin which is found in Agrimony, the two are almost identical, apart from two missing bridging bonds between adjacent galloyl groups at the bottom of the diagram.


  Tellima grandiflora  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Saxifragaceae  

Distribution
family8saxifrage family8Saxifragaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8tellima
Tellima
(Fringecups)

FRINGE CUPS

Tellima grandiflora

Saxifrage Family [Saxifragaceae]  

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