Heavenly Herald

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Heavenly Herald
Heavenly Herald (Eritrichium nanum)

Heavenly Herald ( Eritrichium nanum )

Systematics
Family : Boraginaceae (Boraginaceae)
Subfamily : Boraginoideae
Tribe : Eritrichieae
Sub tribus : Eritrichiinae
Genre : Eritrichium
Type : Heavenly Herald
Scientific name
Eritrichium nanum
( L. ) Schrad. ex Gaudin

The sky Herold ( Eritrichium nanum ) is a plant of the genus Eritichium that the family Boraginaceae part (Boraginaceae).

description

Illustration from Atlas of Alpine Flora

Vegetative characteristics

The Himmelsherold is a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches heights of 2 to 5 centimeters. It grows like a cushion . Plant specimens can live up to 30 years. Many of the numerous leaf rosettes are sterile. The glossy, silky to woolly shaggy leaves are lanceolate with a length of 5 to 10 millimeters.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends mainly from June to August. A few (three to six) short-stalked flowers are located in an inflorescence in the form of a coil .

The flowers resemble the forget-me-nots . The hermaphroditic flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five sepals are only fused at their base. The five sky-blue petals are fused to form a short, whitish corolla tube. The crown has a diameter of 5 to 9 millimeters and ends in spread, rounded cornices. The five golden-yellow gullet scales are striking.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 44 or 46.

Occurrence

The distribution area includes the Alps to the Carpathian Mountains .

The Himmelsherold can be found on acidic and lime-poor rock in crevices, ridges and crests. With its hairy leaves, the Himmelsherold is very well adapted to extreme conditions. The Himmelsherold occurs at altitudes from 2500 to 3400. It is a character species of Androsacetum vandellii from the Androsacion vandellii association.

The Himmelsherold is a high alpine nival plant . The patchy occurrence in the Alps suggests that the species colonized the area before the last ice ages and that it survived on the ice-free peaks as a nunatakker plant .

This protected plant species is very rare and is considered to be potentially endangered.

Taxonomy

It was first published in 1779 under the name ( Basionym ) Myosotis nana Vill. by Domínique Villars in Prospectus de l'Histoire des Plantes de Dauphiné , page 21. The new combination to Eritrichium nanum (Vill.) Schrad. ex Gaudin was published in 1828 by Heinrich Adolph Schrader in Jean François Gottlieb Philippe Gaudin : Flora Helvetica , 2, page 57. The botanical genus name Eritrichium is derived from the words erion "wool" and trichos "hair" and refers to the thick hair.

Similar plant species

The Himmelsherold is often confused with the alpine forget-me-not , which blooms around the same time. Difference: The alpine forget-me-not occurs down to 1300 meters and has basal leaves that are arranged in rosettes from ovoid to lanceolate, while the Himmelsherold has numerous very small leaf rosettes that give a cushion-shaped impression.

photos

literature

  • Xaver Finkenzeller, Jürke Grau: Alpine flowers. Recognize and determine (=  Steinbach's natural guide ). Mosaik, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-576-11482-3 .
  • Wolfgang Adler, Karl Oswald, Raimund Fischer: Excursion flora of Austria . Ed .: Manfred A. Fischer. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart / Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-8001-3461-6 .
  • Reisigl, Keller: Alpine plants in their habitat. Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8274-0745-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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.  778 .
  2. ↑ Himmelsherold at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Retrieved August 25, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Himmelsherold ( Eritrichium nanum )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files