Opposite saxifrage

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Opposite saxifrage
Opposite saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)

Opposite saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia )

Systematics
Eudicotyledons
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Order : Saxifragales (Saxifragales)
Family : Saxifragaceae (Saxifragaceae)
Genre : Saxifrage ( Saxifraga )
Type : Opposite saxifrage
Scientific name
Saxifraga oppositifolia
L.
Blossoms and blossom visitors
Saxifraga oppositifolia

The Gegenblättrige saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia ) belongs to the kind Steinbrech ( Saxifraga ) and the family of the Saxifragaceae (Saxifragaceae).

Description and ecology

The opposed saxifrage grows as a perennial herbaceous plant , reaches heights of 1 to 5 cm and forms loose lawns or loose, less often firm pads. The opposite leaves in small, basal rosettes are obovate to oblong and lanceolate and 2.5 to 5 mm long. They are ciliated at the edge and have a (rarely three) lime-secreting dimple at the tip.

The flower stalks are mostly without leaves and have only one flower. The radial symmetry , hermaphrodite, five-fold flowers are pink to purple and have a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. The five sepals are ciliate and often red. The five purple-pink to wine-red, fading petals are broadly lanceolate to obovate and two to three times as long as the sepals.

The flowering period extends from May to August.

The species has chromosome numbers 2n = 26 or 52, but also 39 or 56.

Occurrence

In the temperate latitudes, the opposed saxifrage prefers open, stony lawns and moraines at altitudes between 1,600 and 4,500 meters. In Switzerland, beneath the summit of the cathedral in Valais, lush cushions of this plant were discovered at an altitude of 4505 m, making it the highest flowering plant in Europe, and probably also the world's coldest location where a flowering plant was found. In the north of its distribution area it grows at lower altitudes. It grows in Central Europe in societies of the associations Thlaspion rotundifolii, Androsacion alpinae or Epilobion fleischeri, and in societies of the class Seslerietea when found above 2000 meters above sea level.

With its subspecies, it inhabits areas from the Spanish Sierra Nevada in the south to Greenland in the north. There it still grows at 83 ° 40'N on the Kaffeklubben Island , which is generally considered the most northerly solid land on earth, and is thus - together with the Arctic poppy ( Papaver radicatum ) that also occurs there - the most northerly growing higher plant species. It grows eastwards to Siberia and Kashmir and belongs to the nival flora .

Subspecies

There are at least six subspecies of the Opposite Saxifrage in Europe:

  • Lake Constance saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. Amphibia (Sünd.) Br.-Bl. ); he was endemic to Lake Constance and grew up there in the association Deschampsietum rhenanae. and has been considered lost since 1978. He had chromosome number 2n = 26.
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. blepharophylla (A. Kerner ex Hayek) Vollmann ; this subspecies occurs only in the Eastern Alps in Austria. Some authors also regard it as a separate species ( Saxifraga blepharophylla Kern. ).
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. murithiana (Tissières) Br.-Bl. , occurs only in southwestern Europe and the Alps, in Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. oppositifolia , occurs in Europe in the mountains, western, central and southern Europe as well as in northern Europe. In the Allgäu Alps, it rises in the Tyrolean part of the Hohe Licht up to 2600 m above sea level.
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. paradoxa D.A. Webb , occurs only in the Pyrenees (Spain and France)
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. speciosa (Dörfler & Hayek) Engler & Irmscher , only occurs in the mountains in central Italy.

The Rudolph saxifrage ( Saxifraga rudolphiana W.DJ Koch ) is also referred to by some authors as a subspecies Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. rudolphiana (Hornsch.) Nyman posed to the Opposite Saxifrage.

There is another subspecies in Asia:

  • Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. asiatica (Hayek) Engl. & Irmscher ; it occurs in East Asia, Central Asia, East Siberia, the Tiber and Kashmir.

ecology

The evergreen leaves can withstand temperatures down to –40 ° C without damage. The flowers are created in late summer to autumn of the previous year. The flowers are also very cold-resistant and can withstand temperatures down to -15 ° C. The more sensitive leaves shoot again later, when the danger of freezing has passed. The seeds weigh only 0.0001 g and spread with the wind.

The few pollinators in the high mountains are attracted by disproportionately large flowers. The upholstery leads to an accumulation of flowers and thus a greater signaling effect.

photos

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jaakko Jalas, Juha Suominen, Raino Lampinen, Arto Kurtto: Atlas florae europaeae . Volume 12 (Resedaceae to Platanaceae). Page 157, Helsinki 1999. ISBN 951-9108-12-2
  2. ↑ University of Basel, May 24, 2011 ( Memento of the original from September 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.unibas.ch
  3. ↑ a b c d Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Page 489.
  4. ↑ Sagax Groenland 2007 Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sagaxexpeditions.com
  5. ↑ Jaakko Jalas, Juha Suominen, Raino Lampinen, Arto Kurtto: Atlas florae europaeae . Volume 12 (Resedaceae to Platanaceae). Pages 156-159, Helsinki 1999. ISBN 951-9108-12-2
  6. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 656.
  7. ^ Herbert Huber in Gustav Hegi : Illustrated Flora of Central Europe . 2nd edition Volume IV.2, page 181. Carl Hanser, Munich 1961–1966

Web links

Commons : Saxifraga oppositifolia  - album with pictures, videos and audio files