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Succisa pratensis
Species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Succisa pratensis, the devil's-bit scabious or devil's-bit, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, formerly usually included in the family Dipsacaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas Scabiosa columbaria (small scabious) and Knautia arvensis (field scabious) have five lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate genus in the same family.[2] It also grows on damper ground.[3]
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Name
Species of scabious were used to treat scabies, and other afflictions of the skin including sores caused by the bubonic plague.[4] The word scabies comes from the Latin word for "scratch" (scabere). In folk tales, the short black root was bitten off by the devil, for various reasons: anger at the plant's ability to cure these ailments,[5] anger against the Virgin Mary,[6] or as part of some 'devilish plot'.[7] The Latin specific epithet pratensis literally means "of the meadow".[8]
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Description
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Devil's-bit scabious is an herbaceous perennial, sometimes growing to 1 m or more tall but often much smaller, for example in heathland or Scottish machair. The stem is erect to ascending, often somewhat arched, roughly hairy and unbranched. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, the basal ones being about 15 cm (exceptionally up to 30 cm) long, lanceolate and sometimes slightly toothed; the stem leaves being smaller and narrower, connate, and shortly sheathing around the stem. All the leaves have winged petioles up to 2 cm long and are also roughly hairy.[9] A curious feature of this plant is the taproot, which grows to about 5 mm thickness in its first year and then becomes woody and dies away at the tip, leaving a premorse stump that produces fibrous lateral roots in the second year.[10][11]
The often branched inflorescence consists of one, three or more compound flower heads or capitula, each of which contain 30-50 bluish to violet (occasionally pink) flowers in a tightly-packed, almost hemispherical dome 15-25 mm across. Below the flowerhead there are two rows of green involucral bracts up to 10 mm long. The receptacle is up to 10 mm across and slightly elongated. Within the flowerhead there are numerous ciliate scales and as many flowers, which are made up of an epicalyx or "involucel" which is formed from 4 fused bracteoles, a calyx tube with 4 lobes terminated by 4-5 black bristles, and a corolla up to 7 mm long, also with 4 lobes. All the flowers are similar as they are not divided into ray and disc florets.[11]
The flowers are all bisexual (hermaphroditic), but on a proportion of flowerheads a majority of anthers may be abortive, thus creating the impression of gynodioecy. They are also protandrous, which means the male parts mature first, followed by the female. This adds to the appearance of dioecy. In fact the flowers all produce 4 stamens with very long filaments and purple anthers, and one style with a cream-coloured stigma. The fruit is a small achene, about 0.5 mm long.[11]
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Identification
Its unlobed leaves distinguish it from Knautia arvensis (field scabious).[12] The plant may be distinguished from Centaurea scabiosa (greater knapweed) by having its leaves in opposite pairs, not alternate as in knapweed.
Distribution
Succisa pratensis is common throughout most of the British Isles,[9] western and central Europe, extending eastwards into central Asia. In Britain, it occurs from sea level up to 1,080 m altitude,[13] and up to 2,400 m in the Alps.[14] It is absent from eastern Asia.[15] It has been introduced to eastern North America.[16]
Ecology
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It grows in wet or dry grassland and heath on acid or basic soils[9] and is found in hedgerows, marshes, meadows and pastures.[17]
The flowers are visited by various types of insects, but especially frequently by hoverflies of the genus Eristalis.[18] It is a good source of nectar, and is the larval food plant of the marsh fritillary,[19] the eggs of which are laid in groups on the underside of the plant, and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth (Hemaris tityus). As both invertebrates are rare,[20][21] their survival relies on careful management of sites containing these plant and butterfly species.
Animal galls
The flowers are galled by the gall midge Contarinia dipsacearum, the leaves by the triozid bug Trioza munda, and the roots by the nematode Meloidogyne hapla.[22]
Fungal and oomycetous pathogens
The leaves are parasitized by the chytrid fungus Synchytrium succisae,[23] the powdery mildew Erysiphe knautiae, the rust fungus Aecidium succisae, and the leaf spot fungi Fusicladium consors, Ramularia succisae, Septoria succisicola, and Septoria scabiosicola.[22] The flowers are parasitised by the smut fungi Microbotryum succisae and Microbotryum flosculorum, and the downy mildew Peronospora violacea.[22]
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Management
Devil's-bit scabious declined significantly due to increased intensification in agriculture in the late 20th century, with the destruction of natural grasslands and heaths.[13] Its conservation is best promoted by an uneven patchwork of short and long vegetation by the end of the grazing period, between 8 and 25 cm (3.1 and 9.8 in). This can be achieved through low intensity grazing (also known as extensive grazing) using cattle. Sheep are not so good as they are more efficient at removing wild plants.[24]
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Gallery
Flowerhead
Succisa pratensis on the German island Hiddensee
White-flowered form with the honey bee
Foliage in situ showing leaf arrangement
Closeup
Underside
Flowerhead at bud stage
Flowerhead in full bloom
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References
External links
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