Real bedstraw

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Real bedstraw
Real bedstraw (Galium verum)

Real bedstraw ( Galium verum )

Systematics
Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales)
Family : Red family (Rubiaceae)
Subfamily : Rubioideae
Tribe : Rubieae
Genre : Bedstraws ( Galium )
Type : Real bedstraw
Scientific name
Galium verum
L.

The Real bedstraw ( Galium verum ), also Yellow forest straw , Lady bed straw , Lieb herb , member herb , yellow bedstraw called, is a plant of the genus Galium ( Galium ) within the family of Rubiaceae (Rubiaceae). It is common in Eurasia .

description

illustration
Habitus

Vegetative characteristics

The real bedstraw grows as a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches stature heights of mostly 20 to 70 centimeters, rarely up to 1 meter. Above and below ground runners are formed. The upright or ascending to prostrate , rounded stems are short haired protruding and have four raised ridges above.

The leaves are arranged in a whorl of six to twelve . With a length of 15 to 25 millimeters and a width of about 1 millimeter, the leaf blades are narrowly linear, needle-shaped, furrowed, rolled back at the edge and one-nerved or indistinctly annoying and soft-haired underneath.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from May to September. The flowers are arranged in paniculate inflorescences . The relatively small flowers have an intense smell of honey . The golden to lemon yellow crown is wheel-shaped; the corolla lobes are short pointed, not awn-pointed.

The fruit is smooth.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22 or 44.

ecology

The real bedstraw is a hemicryptophyte (stem plant). It is also a splaying climber due to the branches pointing backwards . The needle-shaped leaves are to be understood as an adaptation to drought; they usually turn black as they dry.

The flowers smell of honey ; there is a bee forage plant. The flowers are self-sterile , but neighboring pollination is possible.

The smooth, black fruits are spread out by ants ; but there is also digestive dissemination. Fruit ripening is from August to October.

The True bedstraw is the food plant of the caterpillars , for example, the little wine enthusiast , a crepuscular and nocturnal kind from the family of enthusiasts , and the Taubenschwänzchens .

The real bedstraw is attacked by the rust fungi Puccinia punctata and Thekopsora guttata .

Occurrence

The real bedstraw is common in Eurasian . The real bedstraw occurs only rarely in Central Europe in the lowlands west of the Weser, east of it it is scattered; in areas with sandy soils it is locally absent or rarely there; it is common in the other areas. In the Alps it rises to the limit of arable farming .

The real bedstraw thrives best on calcareous, nutrient-poor, dry or alternately moist loam or loess soils . It predominantly populates grasslands and pastures, meadows , semi- arid grasslands , warm fringes of bushes and path margins, but also bog meadows . Its locations are sunny and warm and often exposed to the south; but it is also possible in fens . In Central Europe it is a weak character species of the Festuco-Brometea class, but also occurs in societies of the Molinion or Erico-Pinion associations or of the Origanetalia order.

Galium verum subsp. asiaticum
Galium verum subsp. wirtgenii

Systematics

The first publication of Galium verum was in 1753 by Carl von Linné . Synonyms for Galium verum L. are: Galium floridum Salisb. nom. superfl., Galium verum var. typicum Rouy nom. inval., Galium verum subsp. euverum hyl . nom. inval., Asterophyllum galium chimp. & Spenn. , Rubia vera (L.) Baill.

Of Galium verum there are four subspecies:

  • Galium verum subsp. asiaticum (Nakai) T. Yamaz. (Syn .: Galium verum var. Lacteum Maxim. , Galium verum var. Nikkoense Nakai , Galium lacteum (Maxim.) Pobed. ): It occurs from Russia, the Far East, to China , Korea and Japan .
  • Galium verum subsp. glabrescens Honoring. (Syn .: Galium bassitense J.Thiébaut ): It occurs from Turkey to western Syria and western Iran .
  • Galium verum L. subsp. verum : It occurs in the temperate zones of Eurasia and in North Africa. In the Allgäu Alps, it rises in the Tyrolean part on Bernhardseck near Elbigenalp up to an altitude of 1850 meters.
  • Galium verum subsp. wirtgenii (FWSchultz) Oborny (Syn .: Galium wirtgenii F.W.Schultz , Galium vernum var. wirtgenii (FWSchultz) Nyman , Galium verum var. praecox Láng ex Hagenb. , Galium hypanicum Klokov ): It occurs in Central and Eastern Europe .

A distinction is also made:

  • Galium verum var. Hallaense K.S.Jeong & K.Choi : It occurs in Korea in Jeju-do .
  • Galium verum subsp. meridionale F.M.Vázquez & Crystal : This subspecies, newly described in 2018, occurs in west-southwestern Spain.

use

Like other Galium species, the real bedstraw contains the rennet that is used in cheese production . Today, however, there are other sources for the rennet. However , the herb is still used today for the production of English Chester cheese . The coloring agents of the flowers give the Chester cheese its yellowish-orange color and are responsible for the special taste.

In Scotland, bedstraw is still used today as a dye; the roots turn red, the flowers yellow. The flowering plant is also suitable for flavoring and yellowing drinks.

The real bedstraw is used as an ornamental plant and in wild plant gardens. It can be for Culture also vegetatively by "root suckers" multiply.

Use as a remedy

The dried herb, collected at the time of flowering, is used as a pharmaceutical drug .

Active ingredients are: flavonoids , iridoid - glycosides , such as asperuloside and monotropein ; furthermore, chlorogenic acid , traces of anthraquinone derivatives; in the fresh herb also is the rennet -like protein , milk leads to clotting.

Applications: The real bedstraw is mainly used in folk medicine. The main focus is on the diuretic properties of the herb, which is given as a tea for swollen ankles and catarrh of the urinary tract; it is also occasionally used externally for poorly healing wounds. It must be emphasized here, however, that there is so far no evidence of effectiveness for these indications.

Preclinical extracts for cancer therapy are being researched at the University of Würzburg .

swell

  • Galium verum L. s. st., real bedstraw. In: FloraWeb.de. (Sections Description and Ecology)
  • Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe . 2nd Edition. tape 3 : Evening primrose plants to reddish plants . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08048-X .
  • Oskar Sebald, Siegmund Seybold, Georg Philippi, Arno Wörz (eds.): The fern and flowering plants of Baden-Württemberg . tape 5 : Special part (Spermatophyta, subclass Asteridae): Buddlejaceae to Caprifoliaceae . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1996, ISBN 3-8001-3342-3 .
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait . 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
  • Ingrid and Peter Schönfelder : The New Handbook of Medicinal Plants , Botany Medicinal Drugs, Active Ingredients Applications, Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12932-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany. A botanical-ecological excursion companion to the most important species . 6th, completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7 .
  2. a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp. 766 .
  3. Günter Ebert: The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 4, Moths II (Bombycidae, Endromidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae, Notodontidae, Dilobidae, Lymantriidae, Ctenuchidae, Nolidae), Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3474 8 .
  4. Peter Zwetko: The rust mushrooms Austria. Supplement and host-parasite directory to the 2nd edition of the Catalogus Florae Austriae, III. Part, Book 1, Uredinales. (PDF; 1.8 MB).
  5. a b c d e f g h Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Galium verum. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW, Eching 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 , p. 510.
  7. Marianne Schmidt et al .: Effect of Galium verum aqueous extract on growth, motility and gene expression in drug-sensitive and -resistant laryngeal carcinoma cell lines. In: International Journal of Oncology , Volume 44, 2014, pp. 745-760.
  8. Marianne Schmidt et al .: Galium verum aqueous extract strongly inhibits the motility of head and neck cancer cell lines and protects mucosal keratinocytes against toxic DNA damage. In: Oncology Reports , Volume 32, 2014, pp. 1296-1302.

Web links

Commons : Echtes Bedkraut ( Galium verum )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files