Ordinary liver balm
| Ordinary liver balm | ||||||||||||
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Common Liver Balm ( Ageratum houstonianum ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ageratum houstonianum | ||||||||||||
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The Ordinary ageratum ( Ageratum houstonianum ) is a plant from the family of the daisy family (Asteraceae).
features
The common liver balm is a perennial , herbaceous plant or a dwarf or subshrub . It reaches heights of growth of 15 to 60 centimeters. The leaves are heart-shaped, pitted, reticulate and downy-haired. The leaf margin is notched or wavy. The narrowly lanceolate bracts are pointed, only serrated and hairy at the tip. The flower heads are short stalked. Without the long scars, their diameter is 8 to 14 millimeters. The corolla tube is white-green and the coronet is light blue.
The flowering period extends from May to November.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 20, less often 40.
Occurrence
The species occurs in southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize . It was also naturalized in large parts of the tropics and in the southern United States. Their habitat are pastures, moist forest clearings and bushes up to altitudes of 1000 meters.
use
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The common liver balm is widely used as an ornamental plant for summer borders and window boxes, tall varieties also as cut flowers. The species is cultivated as an annual. There are numerous varieties, the crowns of which can be dark blue, purple, pink and white. Tall varieties reach heights of up to 60 centimeters.
literature
- Eckehart J. Jäger, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd K. Müller (eds.): Rothmaler - excursion flora from Germany. Volume 5: Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants . Spectrum Academic Publishing House, Berlin Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8 , p. 553 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ageratum houstonianum at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
