Moss eye

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Moss eye
Moss eye (Moneses uniflora)

Moss eye ( Moneses uniflora )

Systematics
Asterids
Order : Heather-like (Ericales)
Family : Heather family (Ericaceae)
Subfamily : Monotropoideae
Genre : Moneses
Type : Moss eye
Scientific name of the  genus
Moneses
Salisb. ex Gray
Scientific name of the  species
Moneses uniflora
( L. ) A. Gray

The moss eye ( Moneses uniflora ), also called single-flowered wintergreen , is the only species of the monotypical plant genus Moneses in the subfamily of the Monotropoideae within the family of the heather plants (Ericaceae). It can be found mainly in coniferous forests.

description

illustration
Detail view of a flower
Ripe capsule fruit

Vegetative characteristics

The moss eye is a perennial herbaceous plant . As an organ of expansion, it has an underground, branched, slender rhizome . Clonal growth can often be observed. With their evergreen leaves, the plants survive the winter above ground in a vegetative state.

The leaves appear on the rhizome in a basal rosette , which are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is as long or slightly shorter than the diameter of the leaf blade. The simple, shiny leaf blades are round with a diameter of 1 to 2 centimeters. The leaf margin is covered with small teeth.

Generative characteristics

The flowering period extends from May to October. Only one flower appears per leaf rosette ; this grows terminally on a 5 to 15 centimeter high flower stalk. The upper part of the flower stalk is bent like a lantern and the flower is nodding; after blooming it stretches upwards. About 1 centimeter below the flower are one or two small, lanceolate bracts .

The flower has a lovely scent that is reminiscent of that of lilies of the valley. The hermaphroditic flowers are radial symmetry and four to five-fold with a double flower envelope . The sepals are oval and whitish to whitish-greenish. The corolla has a diameter of 1.5 to 2 centimeters. The white petals are spread out like a wheel and often look a little wrinkled. There are two circles with four or five stamens . The stamens are bent into an S-shape. The stylus is straight and not thickened below the scar.

The fruit, which has only very narrow longitudinal slits, points upwards, although the flower was previously directed diagonally downwards ("nodding").

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24 or 26.

ecology

The moss eye is a Chamaephyte or geophyte . The dust-fine, “filet-shaped” seeds are only scattered over the course of a few months, because the post-florally lengthening stalk and the ripening fruit, which is directed upwards before drying, act as winter stalks .

Distribution and location requirements

The moss eye is widespread in the northern hemisphere . In Eurasia it occurs from the Pyrenees and Central Europe east to Japan and Kamchatka , also in North America. It prefers cooler and temperate areas. In warmer regions it is limited to mountains, for example in North America from the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico .

It grows mainly in spruce and fir forests in shady, mossy places, but also in oak and pine forests with acidic soil. It is a musty raw humus plant. Apparently together with the spruce culture it has been widely carried over, especially in Europe , but is still one of the rare, endangered species in many regions today. In two places, for example, in the southern Black Forest, near Bärental train station and near Döggingen , deposits have now been extinguished. The species thrives in societies of the associations Piceion, Dicrano-Pinion and Cytiso-Pinion. In Central Europe it is a species of the order Piceetalia.

Systematics

The moss eye was originally placed as Pyrola uniflora L. in the larger genus of the wintergreen ( Pyrola ). This synonym is still used from time to time today. In the meantime, however, this species usually becomes its own genus Moneses Salisb. assigned to ex Gray . The genus is considered to be monotypic, all other species described have been synonymous with Moneses uniflora . Sister group within the tribe Pyroleae is the genus Winterlieb ( Chimaphila ).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d 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.  726-727 .
  2. ↑ Zhen-wen Liu, Ze-huan Wang, Jing Zhou, Hua Peng: Phylogeny of Pyroleae (Ericaceae): implications for character evolution. In: Journal of Plant Research , Volume 124, 2011, pp. 325-337. doi : 10.1007 / s10265-010-0376-8

Web links

Commons : Moosauge ( Moneses uniflora )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files