Smut

Smut

No, its not what you think. This is a kind of botanical cuckoo.
A smut is a kind of microscopic fungi.

Bird's-eye Primrose smut ( Urocystis primulicola). was regarded as extinct in Britain until it was rediscovered in 2010.

It lives inside its pink flowered host only attracting attention when it replaces the plant's seeds with masses of black smut spores. In the photo above you can see that it has done this in one seed case. On the left is a healthy seed case in which a seed is visible.

We have been monitoring it for Natural England in the Bird's-eye Primrose in our area for the past 3 years and in the Extra you can see a recent example in Flower. Note that the unopened buds have a kind of white flour on them. This is why the Latin name is Primula farinosa.

This morning Mrs.K. went to look at our local plants which are now in seed. As in past years about half of them are infected with the smut. What you see above is a small sample which she brought back for further examination.

The smut is still very rare and probably qualifies for Critically Endangered Status which gives rise to the kind of dilemma often faced by conservationists.