Alpine pointed keel

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Alpine pointed keel
Alpine pointed keel (Oxytropis campestris)

Alpine pointed keel ( Oxytropis campestris )

Systematics
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Butterflies (Faboideae)
Tribe : Galegeae
Genre : Pointed keels ( Oxytropis )
Type : Alpine pointed keel
Scientific name
Oxytropis campestris
( L. ) DC.

The Oxytropis campestris ( Oxytropis campestris ) even field Spitzkiel or Usually Spitzkiel called, is a plant from the genus oxytropis ( Oxytropis ) in the subfamily of Schmetterlingsblütler (Faboideae).

description

Vegetative characteristics

Illustration from Anton Hartinger: Atlas of the Alpine flora , 1882
Habit, leaves and inflorescences
Inflorescence with zygomorphic flowers of Oxytropis campestris subsp. campestris , Austria, Niedere Tauern

The Alpine keel grows as a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches heights of 10 to 15 centimeters.

A basal leaf rosette is formed. The leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The pinnate leaf blades have 10 to 15 pairs of leaflets. The scattered hairy to almost completely bare leaflets are elliptical (or lanceolate). The lanceolate stipules are twice to three times as long as the lowest leaflets and are fairly far connected to the petiole.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from late June to August. On hairy, 5 to 15 centimeters long inflorescence shafts were head-shaped inflorescences .

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The length of the five triangular calyx teeth varies depending on the subspecies. The pale yellow flower crowns have the typical shape of the butterfly flowers and are 1.5 to 2 centimeters long. The boat has a noticeable spur on the keel.

The hairy legumes are short-rolled with a length of 14 to 18 millimeters and a width of 6 to 8 millimeters.

Chromosome set

The chromosome number is 2n = 32 or 36, 48. The lowest chromosome set for the Euro-Asian representatives of the so-called Oxytropis campestris "super aggregate" never falls below 2n = 48, while for the relationship in the Asian Far East and North America there are also 2n = 16 or 32 .

ecology

The Alpen-Spitzkiel is a hemicryptophyte . The alpine pointed keel is the host plant for the larvae of the alpine blues Polyommatus eros and Polyommatus icarus .

As is generally the case for all pointed keels, the seeds of the pointed keel are chestnut brown and kidney-shaped. They are distinguished by their hard shell. The hard shell shields them from both gas exchange and water. Pointed keels thus have a physical seed dormancy. The seeds usually only germinate when they are mechanically damaged, i.e. perforated. This takes place in the periglacial climatic zones through frequent changes in frost . If the shell does not break open, the germination rate is less than 10%. In culture, therefore, a scarification of the seeds is carried out for successful germination. The hard shell is roughened with fine sandpaper. However, acid treatment and hot water are also possible. This allows Oxytropis seeds to swell in the water within a short time. Subsequent germination takes place at suitable temperatures usually in a few days.

The hard-shelled seeds of the pointed keels have a uniform structure: the embryonic cavity of the cotyledons is enclosed by an outer cuticle and a thick macrosklereid . The surface of the seed cuticle is characteristic of the pointed quills: when viewed under the electron microscope, seed coat patterns can be seen. However, under the light microscope, the seed coats appear smooth. The seed cuticle of the Alpine keel shows a so-called "multi-reticulate" as well as an irregular "lophate" structure. Since the seed coat patterns of the genus Oxytropis generally differ from Astragalus , they are another feature of the genus separation.

Occurrence

The alpine keel is an arctic-alpine floral element . It occurs in the entire Alpine arc from Styria to the Maritime Alps, and is also found in circumpolar and other European mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees , the Apennines , the Pirin , Rila and Balkan Mountains and the Carpathians . There are only four known locations in the British Isles , one of which is on the coast. All locations here are on limestone and in dry rock. In the Scottish Grampians , the locations are at East Perth and Angus . There are populations of several thousand plants each. At Coire Fee , Glen Clova it is found on limestone slate, at Loch Loch on limestone, and in Dun Ban on limestone and limestone slate. In the mountains it is associated with other arctic-alpine representatives: Alchemilla alpina , Carex capillaris , Dryas octopetala , Galium boreale , Persicaria vivipara , Polystichum lonchitis , Saxifraga aizoides , S. oppositifolia , Sedum rosea , Silene acaulis and Veronica fruticans . At its coastal location in Kintyre, it inhabits limestone cliffs 25 to 180 m above sea level. Here it is southern and western aspects. Inland it is found between 500 and 650 m.

In North America, Oxytropis campestris colonizes a large area from North Dakota and South Dakota and from northern Colorado to Alaska , Yukon and the west of the Northwest Territories . The population of the Dinarides is generally set to the Dinaric pointed keel ; it is also sometimes classified as a subspecies of the Alpine pointed keel ( Oxytropis campestris ssp. dinarica ). Sympatric occurrences of pointed keel in the Dinaric keel are known in the Korab and Koritnik mountains . A new as yet unknown occurrence in the Bulgarian Balkan Mountains was confirmed in 2015.

The Alpen-Spitzkiel thrives in the Alps in the high montane to alpine altitudes . In the Allgäu Alps it is found at altitudes of 1000 to 2390 meters (summit of the Rothornspitze in Tyrol). It is not known to occur in the Bavarian Alps as is generally the case in Germany.

The Alpen-Spitzkiel thrives best on alkaline-rich grasslands and periglacial debris fields . It is a character species of the Elynetum and still occurs in the Seslerion and Ononido-Pinion.

The alpine keel is originally a steppe plant . It is a heat- loving (thermophilic), drought-tolerant ( xerophxtic ) species that regularly descends in the Alps in low-lying areas on dry grassland . He only immigrated to the Alps after the Ice Age. A previously assumed survival on nunata cores can be rejected on the basis of phylogenetic studies. In the Quaternary, it was more likely to be found in the pre-alpine lowland steppes within the Pleistocene tundra vegetation of Europe, which had spread south to 47 ° N in the glacials (cold periods of the Ice Age ) on the vast periglacial landscapes characterized by permafrost . With the retreat of the glaciers, it migrated from its ice age low-lying locations to the high altitudes of the Alps.

Systematics and botanical history

It was first published in 1753 under the name ( Basionym ) Astragalus campestris by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum 2, page 761. The specific epithet campestris means "growing in fields". The new combination to Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. was published in Astragalogia 74 by Augustin Pyrame de Candolle in 1802 . Other synonyms for Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. are: Aragallus alpicola Rydb. , Oxytropis cusickii Greenm. , Oxytropis paysoniana A.Nelson .

Oxytropis campestris belongs within the genus Oxytropis in the section Orobia , which is mainly distributed in America and Central Asia, the European representatives are limited to mountains and the subarctic. The number of species and species delimitation within this section are considered problematic, as there are obviously numerous young endemic clans that only emerged after the most recent Ice Age, these are understood as forms, subspecies or even species depending on the author.

Inflorescence of Oxytropis campestris subsp. sordida
Fruits of Oxytropis campestris subsp. sordida

In Europe, Merxmüller distinguished three subspecies in 1966:

  • Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. subsp. campestris : The calyx teeth are about 2 mm long. The flower color is yellow. Distribution: South Sweden, Scotland, Pyrenees, Alps, western Balkan countries to Macedonia, Carpathians.
  • Oxytropis campestris subsp. tiroliensis (Fritsch) Leins & Merxm. Tyrolean alpine keel . The most striking feature is the whitish to light purple flower color. The calyx teeth are shorter than in the nominate form, about 1.5 mm long. This subspecies is endemic in an area that extends from Carinthia via Tyrol to Graubünden and South Tyrol . In a contribution from 2004, however, some botanists dispute the status of the subspecies on the basis of genetic and morphological investigations, which for them is only a meaningless local form of the nominate form .
  • Oxytropis campestris subsp. sordida (Willd.) Hartman fil. : Distribution: Norwegian Finnmark, Finland, Arctic Europe. The flower color is yellow or light purple. The calyx teeth are about 3 mm long. The cylindrical fruit is slightly curved.

A number of other subspecies or varieties were found in North America in the last century. These are traditionally viewed as geographical forms of a polymorphic, circumboreal species. In a study from 1979, the botanists WJ Elisens and JG Packer distinguished between seven taxa , earlier editors usually distinguished five varieties. Following the American tradition, forms are understood as varieties , which in their taxonomic position would roughly correspond to the subspecies of the European processors. However, these have recently also been raised to species rank. If one follows this view, the species Oxytropis campestris ( s.str. ) Does not occur in North America.

According to Elisens et al., The Oxytropis campestris species complex in North America. 1980:

  • Oxytropis varians (Rydb.) K.Schum.
  • Oxytropis monticola Gray subsp. monticola (Syn. Oxytropis campestris subsp. gracilis (A.Nels.) Hultén , Oxytropis campestris var. cervinus (Greene) Boivin )
  • Oxytropis monticola subsp. dispar (A.Nels.) Elisens & Packer
  • Oxytropis cusickii Greenm.
  • Oxytropis columbiana H.St.John
  • Oxytropis jordalii A.E.Porsild subsp. jordalii (Syn .: Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. var. jordalii (Porsild) Welsh , Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC . subsp.jordalii (AEPorsild) Hultén )
  • Oxytropis jordalii A.E.Porsild subsp. davisii (SLWelsh) Elisens & Packer (Syn. Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. var. davisii S.L.Welsh )

According to more recent studies, also using molecular markers, both the genetic and the morphological similarity are very high in the Oxytropis campestris and the closely related Oxytropis arctica species complex. Neither flower color nor flower size are useful features for differentiation. The measured genetic clusters often do not correlate with the conventional species or varieties.

literature

  • Manfred A. Fischer, Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .
  • D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, DM Moser, J.-P. Theurillat: Flora alpina 1 . Bern 2004, ISBN 3-258-06600-0 .
  • TG Tutin, VH Heywood, NA Burges, DM Moore, DH Valentine, SM Walters, DA Webb: Flora Europaea Volume 2 Rosaceae to Umbelliferae . Cambridge 1968, ISBN 978-0-521-15367-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC., Feld-Spitzkiel. In: FloraWeb.de.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas. 8th edition, Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 .
  3. ↑ Ekaterina Kozuharova, A. John Richards, Marie Hale, Kirsten Wolff: Two rare Oxytropis species (Fabaceae) endemic to the Pirin Mts, Bulgaria. In: PHYTOLOGIA BALCANICA , Volume 13, No. 3, Sofia, 2007, pp. 335-346. (PDF)
  4. ↑ Natural History Museum - Hostplants of Lepidoptera HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
  5. ↑ Seed anatomy in Alaskan Oxytropis
  6. ^ Online Atlas of the British Flora - Oxytropis campestris
  7. ↑ Jindřich Chrtek, Anna Chrtková 1982: Comments on some Balkan Oxytropis species. In: Folia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica , Volume 18, No. 3, 1983, p. 311 JSTOR 4180441
  8. ↑ Y. Marinov and S. Soyanow 2017: Reports 98-102. Pp. 422-423. In: V. Vladimirov, M. Aybeke, V. Matevski, and K. Tan 2017 (eds.): New floristic records in the Balkans: 34. Phytologia Balcanica 23/3: 413–444.
  9. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW, Eching 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 .
  10. ↑ a b P. Schönswetter, A. Tribsch, H. Niklfeld: Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) reveals no genetic divergence of the Eastern Alpine endemic Oxytropis campestris subsp. tiroliensis (Fabaceae) from widespread subsp. campestris. In: Plant Systematics and Evolution , Volume 244, Issue 3-4, 2004, pp. 245-255. doi : 10.1007 / s00606-003-0096-9
  11. ↑ a b Oxytropis campestris at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed July 8, 2019.
  12. ↑ Oxytropis campestris in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  13. ^ Hermann Merxmüller, Peter Leins, 1966: On the structure of the Oxytropis campestris group. In: Mitteilungen der Botanische Staatssammlung München , Volume 6, pp. 19–31. Download PDF.
  14. ^ Wayne J. Elisens, John G. Packer: A contribution to the taxonomy of the Oxytropis campestris complex in northwestern North America. In: Canadian Journal of Botany , Volume 58, 1980, pp. 1820-1831.
  15. ↑ Janet L. Jorgensen, Ivana Stehlik, Christian Brochmann, Elena Conti: Implications of ITS sequences and RAPD markers for the taxonomy and biogeography of the Oxytropis campestris and O. arctica (Fabaceae) complexes in Alaska. In: American Journal of Botany , Volume 90, Issue 10, 2003, pp. 1470-1480. doi : 10.3732 / ajb.90.10.1470

Web links

Commons : Alpen-Spitzkiel ( Oxytropis campestris )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files