Pulsatilla pratensis
| Pulsatilla pratensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Plant of subsp. bohemica in flower | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Pulsatilla |
| Species: | P. pratensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pulsatilla pratensis (L.) Mill. | |
Pulsatilla pratensis (small pasque flower) is a species of the genus Pulsatilla, native to central and eastern Europe, from southeast Norway and western Denmark south and east to Bulgaria. It grows from near sea level in the north of the range, up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in the south of its range.[1][2]
Description
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 8–30 cm (3–12 in) tall. The leaves are finely divided and thread-like, and densely covered with silvery hairs. The flowers are 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long, pendulous, bell-like, the tepals with reflexed tips; flower colour varies from purple in the north of the species' range to greenish-violet in the south. The flowers are hermaphrodite, and are pollinated by bees; flowering is from early to mid spring.[2][3]
Subspecies
There are four subspecies:[1][4]
- Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. pratensis
- Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. bohemica Skalický
- Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. hungarica Soó
- Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. nigricans (Störck) Zämelis
Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. hungarica grows in E Slovakia,[5] NE Hungary and NW Romania.[6] In Slovakia and Romania it is categorized as critically endangered CR. In Hungary it is protected by law.[7] It occurs on open sand-plains and avoids limestone. In Hungary it can be found in two regions, the Nyírség and Bodrogköz.[8]
Cultivation and uses
This plant is toxic, but can be dissipated through heat or drying.
| This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. |