Odontites corsicus
| Odontites corsicus | ||||||||||||
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| Odontites corsicus | ||||||||||||
| ( Loisel. ) G.Don |
Odontites corsicus is a semi-parasitic plant species from the genus of the tooth rust ( Odontites ). It is only on Corsica and Sardinia occurring endemic .
description
Vegetative characteristics
Odontites corsicus is a 5 to 10 (rarely up to 20) cm long, prostrate, herbaceous plant . The stems branch from the base and grow to 0.4 to 1.2 mm thick. The entire plant is covered with about 0.1 to 0.2 mm long, backward curved, whitish colored trichomes , which have a length of up to 0.4 mm at the stem base and are more or less protruding. The vegetative part of the plant consists of four to seven nodes , from which almost always sparse and almost at right angles protrude side branches that reach a length of 15 cm. The leaves fall off early, they are 6 to 10 cm long, 0.9 to 1.7 mm wide, narrow-elliptical to linear in shape and blunt at the tip. The leaf margin is entire.
Inflorescences and flowers
The inflorescences consist of six to 18 flowers, four to ten of which form an inhibition zone. The flowers are accompanied by foliage-like scaly bracts , which are linear-lanceolate to oval-lanceolate in shape and have entire margins. The lower bracts are about 4.5 to 5.5 mm long and 1.1 to 1.6 mm wide. The order of blooming within an inflorescence is from bottom to top. The self-fertilizing (autogamous) flowers reach a length of 5.5 to 7 mm. The calyx is covered with up to 0.3 mm long, tightly fitting non-glandular hairs and initially 3.5 to 5 mm long at the time of flowering, but it extends on the fruit to up to 6.5 mm. The sepals are free from each other for a maximum of half the length, the sepals are narrow-triangular and blunt. The crown is almost closed and includes the stamens and styles . It is dark yellow or pale sulfur yellow in color, often tinged with reddish or rarely whitish in color. With the exception of the lower half of the corolla tube, the crown is covered with up to 0.15 mm long trichomes with thick white hairs. The corolla tube has a length of 4.2 to 5 mm, which corresponds to about 60 to 70% of the total crown length. The helmet is 2 to 2.3 mm long and has three clear edges. At 2 to 2.5 mm, the lower lip is roughly the same length as the helmet; it is divided into three lobes up to a fifth of the length, with the middle tip being inversely heart-shaped and just as long as the clearly delineated side lobes. The four stamens have hairless, more or less equally long stamens about 1.5 mm long. The anthers are at an acute angle to the stamens, they are colored yellow. The counters tear open over the entire length, are spiky and have one to three tubular trichomes only 0.1 mm long, which are hidden under the point of attachment of the stamina. The pollen grains have a size of about 25.5 × 26.2 µm, their equatorial cross-section is almost circular, the pollen grain wall (exine) is somewhat thickened at the poles and has a regular, net-shaped sculpture. The counters still open in the bud before the flower has blossomed, so that the pollen directly on a 3 mm long stylus located scar achieved, which is located at this time between the anthers. The ovary contains two compartments in a total of 12 to 16 ovules .
Fruits and seeds
The fruits are ellipsoidal and capsules with a strongly heart-shaped front edge , which are 4 to 5 mm long and 1.8 to 3.4 mm wide. They contain 1.1 to 1.3 × 0.5 to 0.6 mm large seeds .
Distribution and locations
The species is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia , although only a few relic sites are known on Sardinia. It grows at altitudes between 1000 and 1600 m, it is rarely found in lower altitudes up to 500 m. It tolerates various substrates and can be found in stony mats and meadows in the mountains.
literature
- Markus Bolliger: Monograph of the genus Odontites (Scrophulariaceae) and the related genera Macrosyringion, Odontitella, Bornmuellerantha and Bartsiella . In: Willdenowia: Annals of the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem , Volume 26, 1996. pp. 37-168. (Online: Part 1 (PDF; 2.4 MB), Part 2 (PDF; 1.2 MB), Part 3 (PDF; 1.2 MB), Part 4 ; PDF; 2.1 MB)