[spottymint]

Hi

Can anyone identify this plant ?

It was about 12" high, house leek/succulent leaves with this flower spike.



Many thanks, Spotty.

[mumofstig]

Maybe a Spider's Houseleek - Sempervivum arachnoideum   
Halfway down the page here

http://dangergarden.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/bloomday-june-2011.html

[spottymint]

Good guess, but it the pic's on goog look too small.

I didn't notice any rosettes at the base and the stem, was about 12" tall and as thick as a cucumber. It was very large, not shown by the picture.

[mumofstig]

How about a pic of the plant, rather than just the flower stalk, then 

[spottymint]

Not possible, taken in Bedfordshire, I'm in Hampshire !

It was just a plant I saw when visiting Old Warden air show on Sunday, the bottom of the plant was surrounded by long grass, hence just the big stalk. 

[sunshineband]

It is definitely a sempervivum of some sort: their flower heads are very distinctive in style.

[New shoot]

It is definitely a sempervivum of some sort: their flower heads are very distinctive in style.

Yes very much so 

The mother rosette tends to wither and die away as the flower stalk grows, so there may not have been much of the base of the plant to look at. 

I have sempervivums growing in a couple of pots and end up with holes whenever one decides to flower.  Luckily they transplant well, so I just move a baby from the edge into the gap 

[spottymint]

Many thanks, just wondered what it was really.

Just seemed to be a strange plant just ambling along wild on an old airfield.

I got some strange looks when I photographed some Flanders and opium poppies on some old soil, they had dumped at the side.

A woman taking flower photo's at an airshow  ! When all the men are walking around with the Hubble telescope taking pictures of Planes !