(Digitalis purpurea comes in four shades: purple, pink, white, and albino. [Which isn't white, though it's white.] That last is in the photo.
Here on the North Coast we often see entire hillsides covered in this species at this time of year, and typically presenting all four phenotypes. What the casual onlooker may not notice, however, is that it's not just the blossom that displays the variation. If you look closely, you'll see that the purple plants also have deep purple leaf and stem veins, the pink ones faded purple, the white ones dark green (with purple spots inside the blossom), and the albinos very pale green – nearly white – with yellow spots inside the blossom.
Thus, though the flower spikes are of course most showy, the phenotype is actually expressed in the entire plant, not just the blossoms.)
Appearing also on My Corner of the World.
Here on the North Coast we often see entire hillsides covered in this species at this time of year, and typically presenting all four phenotypes. What the casual onlooker may not notice, however, is that it's not just the blossom that displays the variation. If you look closely, you'll see that the purple plants also have deep purple leaf and stem veins, the pink ones faded purple, the white ones dark green (with purple spots inside the blossom), and the albinos very pale green – nearly white – with yellow spots inside the blossom.
Thus, though the flower spikes are of course most showy, the phenotype is actually expressed in the entire plant, not just the blossoms.)
Appearing also on My Corner of the World.
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