Gämsheide

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Gämsheide
Gämsheide (Loiseleuria procumbens)

Gämsheide ( Loiseleuria procumbens )

Systematics
Order : Heather-like (Ericales)
Family : Heather family (Ericaceae)
Subfamily : Ericoideae
Tribe : Phyllodoceae
Genre : Loiseleuria
Type : Gämsheide
Scientific name of the  genus
Loiseleuria
Desv.
Scientific name of the  species
Loiseleuria procumbens
( L. ) Desv.

The chamois , chamois or Kalmia procumbens ( Loiseleuria procumbens , Syn. : Kalmia procumbens ), also Alpenazalee , Alpine Heath , Hirsch Heide Rich or rock florets called, is the only type of plant genus Loiseleuria within the family of heather plants . It was named after the French botanist Jean Louis Auguste Loiseleur-Deslongchamps (1774-1849). The species probably originated in the Tertiary .

Another common German-language name for the plant species is Gamshadach for the regions of Tyrol and Carinthia and Gamssennach for Bavaria and Tyrol.

description

Illustration from Atlas of Alpine Flora
Branch with leaves and flowers
Fruits arise from the flowers of the previous year

Vegetative characteristics

The Gämsheide forms an evergreen, low, carpet-like, branched trellis bush with densely leafy branches. The Gämsheide can get very old, a 56-year-old trunk with a diameter of only 7.6 millimeters has an annual ring width of only 0.07 millimeters. It also forms humus layers itself, which can be 35 cm to 1 m thick. It can reach heights of about 40 centimeters, but it usually stays lower. The alternate leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is 1 to 2.5 millimeters long. The simple, leathery leaf blade is 4 to 8 millimeters long and 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide. Due to their needle-like resemblance, the leaves are well adapted. The leaf margin is rolled down and shows a clear middle nerve.

Generative characteristics

The short-stalked flowers are solitary or in little flowered, umbrella-cluster inflorescences at the branch ends. The hermaphroditic flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The relatively small flowers have a diameter of about 6 millimeters. The five 2 to 2.5 mm long sepals are only fused at their base. The pink to dark red, 6 to 9 millimeters long petals are fused. There is only one circle with five fertile stamens ; in this it differs from the other types of the family. The anthers are reddish at first and later turn yellow. Three to five carpels have become a top permanent ovary grown.

The flowers are created in the previous year. The flowering period extends from May to July. The fruits only ripen in the year after flowering.

The 3.5 to 4 millimeters long and 2.5 to 3 millimeters wide, black or brown capsule fruit opens up with five teeth. The brown or yellow seeds are 0.4 to 0.6 millimeters long with a smooth surface.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.

ecology

The Gämsheide is extremely resistant to wind drought and frost. It can withstand winds of 40 m / s and temperatures from –30 ° C to +50 ° C without being damaged. The plant counteracts increased solar radiation (e.g. on cultivars blown free of snow in winter) with increased production of anthocyanins as sun protection, which causes the leaves to turn rusty red.

The leaves can also absorb water. On the underside there is a flat channel along the central rib, in which, in addition to the stomata, there is also a large number of hairs that run out into a capillary tip. Such water absorption is important in summer, for example, from dew precipitation, and in winter also when the snow or the uppermost soil layers temporarily thaw.

Abundant fat storage (11% of the dry matter) serves to compensate for breathing losses (energy reserve). The leaves serve as energy-rich food for chamois , alpine ibex , ptarmigan and mountain hare in winter .

The Gämsheide forms a symbiosis of roots with nitrogen- collecting mushrooms .

ingredients

The Gämsheide is poisonous.

sociology

It is the eponymous type of character of a group of alpine plant communities , the Loiseleurieten (Windheiden). Different Loiseleuria societies are described depending on the altitude . For example the Loiseleurio-Cetrarietum, in which many lichens such as the Icelandic moss ( Cetraria islandica ) or the windbeard lichen ( Alectoria ochroleuca ) are represented. In the Allgäu the Gämsheide is a character species of the Arctostaphylo alpinae-Loiseleurietum, in the central Alps of the Cetrario-Loiseleurietum; both associations from the Loiseleurio-Vaccinion association.

In addition to the Gämsheide itself, the following species are typical in Windheide societies: bogberry ( Vaccinium gaultherioides ), crowberry ( Empetrum hermaphroditum ), lingonberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ), three-column rush ( Juncus trifidus ).

Occurrence

The distribution area extends from the Alps , the mountains of Central Europe over the Arctic Eurasia to America , so in the northern hemisphere circumpolar.

Fossils show that this species probably only migrated from America via Greenland and Scotland to the Alps and from the Arctic to East Asia in the last Ice Age .

The Gämsheide grows on mountain slopes far above the tree line (from around 1,600 m) in so-called dwarf shrub heaths up to 3,000  m above sea level. NN . It often spreads over a large area there, especially in locations with acidic soils. Exposed areas such as ridges and wind corners are preferred as locations.

literature

  • Herbert Reisigl, Richard Keller: Alpine Plants in Habitat , 1994, ISBN 3-437-20516-1 .
  • Xaver Finkenzeller: Alpine flowers , ISBN 3-576-11482-3 .
  • Manfred A. Fischer , Wolfgang Adler, Karl Oswald: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2005, ISBN 3-85474-140-5 .
  • SG Aiken, MJ Dallwitz, LL Consaul, CL McJannet, LJ Gillespie, RL Boles, GW Argus, JM Gillett, PJ Scott, R. Elven, MC LeBlanc, AK Brysting, H. Solstad: Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago : Loiseleuria procumbens (L.) Desv. - online at DELTA.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 54, online.
  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.  731 .

Web links

Commons : Gämsheide ( Loiseleuria procumbens )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files