Unusual flower

Question

We have a flower in our garden which I grew from seed in a mixed pack. The plant is tall with large green leaves speckled in black dots. The flower itself is black when closed and blue when opened and really pretty but we have looked for it on the net and in books but can’t see it anywhere, so we are hoping you can tell us what it is.. I have since noticed that all the stems on this plant are also black and its very tall.

Answer 1

The closest I can find on a brief examination of identification sites is Nicandra physalodes, or apple-of-Peru. Although it doesn’t seem exactly the same. The black speckles on the leaves might be a disease rather than natural leaf markings, although not necessarily. If you call the nearest botanical garden, you should be able to get identification, or at least find out how to get that information.

Answer 2

Thank you for your reply and I will try and find a botanical garden near our location although we live in the country. I did wonder if the speckled leaves might be disease but the leave all look very healthy and as the stems are also completely pitch black I think possible the leaves tie in with the rest of the plant.