Specimen · N°021 · Wetland
Paludis mergens
Sinking Flower
Once open, the flower sinks into the peat and vanishes within hours.
FOUND 58.4°N 4.5°W · Peat bog of northern Scotland · ✝ EX · Last seen 1975
Once open, the flower sinks into the peat and vanishes within hours.
A wetland plant 10–18 cm tall. It roots shallowly in spongy peat and spreads linear green leaves in a rosette. On a long slender stalk it bears a single pale-yellow cup-shaped flower, which opens at dawn and closes within hours.
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Once open, the flower sinks into the peat and vanishes within hours.
By the next day, no trace remains.
The peat bog of northern Scotland.
A land of water-laden, acidic mud.
At dawn, in the mist, a pale-yellow cup opens at the tip of a slender stem.
But within hours the flower closes, and soft peat covers it over.
