Forest lice herb

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Forest lice herb
Forest lice herb (Pedicularis sylvatica)

Forest lice herb ( Pedicularis sylvatica )

Systematics
Asterids
Euasterids I
Order : Mint family (Lamiales)
Family : Summer root family (Orobanchaceae)
Genre : Lice herbs ( Pedicularis )
Type : Forest lice herb
Scientific name
Pedicularis sylvatica
L.

The wood lice herb ( Pedicularis sylvatica ) is a species of the genus lice herbs ( Pedicularis ) within the family of the summer root plants (Orobanchaceae). It is poisonous due to its aucubin content and was previously used against lice, hence the German name.

description

illustration
Zygomorphic flowers
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Vegetative characteristics

The forest louse herb grows as a biennial herbaceous plant and rarely exceeds 20 centimeters in height. It has several, mostly simple stems , the lateral ones often lying down, while the middle one rises and bears flowers almost from the base.

Generative characteristics

The clearly stalked flowers stand together in an inflorescence . The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The properly formed calyx has serrated sections. The pink petals are fused. The two-lipped corolla protrudes with its corolla tube over the calyx. The upper lip is usually provided with a relatively short beak and its front part, which is known as the helmet, is steeply sloping and has two downwardly directed teeth. The lower lip is bald.

The capsule fruit contains only two seeds. The seed is light brown.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16.

ecology

The wood louse herb is a hemicryptophyte . The forest lice herb is a semi-parasite .

The homogamous flowers are crooked, which requires a high level of learning from the pollinating insects. In order to get to the nectar secreted by the discus, the insects have to push apart an opening in the corolla tube that is only about 0.5 millimeters in size. Some bumblebees can only get the nectar by biting the side sections of the corolla tube, as their proboscis are too short. That is why many flowers appear pitted.

The diaspores , they are the seeds, are spread out by the wind.

Occurrence and endangerment

The forest lice herb occurs in the submeridional to north temperate climate zones from the flat to the hill country. In Germany its distribution is scattered to rare.

The forest lice herb can also be found on wet meadows in forests, but it is more common in flat and spring moors and at the edges of ditches. It is a Juncion-squarrosi-association in Central Europe characteristic species , but also comes in plant communities of the associations Caricion fuscae or Ericion tetralicis ago.

The forest lice herb stocks are falling sharply, which is mainly due to the fact that extensively used fresh and wet meadows lie fallow, wet meadows are drained and such areas are increasingly intensively grazed. That is why the forest lice herb is also on the red list of Germany's vascular plants and is currently classified there as endangered (class 3). In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg this plant species is even threatened with extinction (class 1).

In the Allgäu Alps, near the Riedberg Pass in Bavaria , it rises to an altitude of 1350 meters.

Systematics and distribution

It is common in Europe.

From Pedicularis sylvatica there are about three subspecies:

  • Pedicularis sylvatica L. subsp. sylvatica : It is distributed from the Iberian Peninsula across Central and Northern to Southern Europe and in Romania .
  • Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. hibernica D. A. Webb : It occurs in Ireland , Great Britain, France, Belgium , the Netherlands , Germany , Denmark and Norway .
  • Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. lusitanica (Hoffmanns. & Link) Cout. (Syn .: Pedicularis lusitanica Hoffmanns. & Link ): It occurs in Portugal , Spain and Morocco .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Pedicularis sylvatica L., wood lice herb. In: FloraWeb.de.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas. 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Page 861.
  3. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW, Eching 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 , p. 476.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Karol Marhold, 2011: Scrophulariaceae : Datasheet Pedicularis sylvatica In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.

Web links

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