Knautia arvensis

Field Scabious ( Knautia arvensis)

Called The Field Scabious ( Knautia arvensis), also meadows scabious, Nähkisselchen or Wiesenskabiose, a species of the subfamily of the teasel family is ( Dipsacoideae ).

Description

The Field Scabious is a deciduous, perennial herbaceous plant that reaches the plant height of 30 to 80 centimeters. It is a rhizome available as Überdauerungsorgan. Its stalk is backward provided with stiff hairs. The opposite leaves are usually pinnate permanent and appear dull gray-green. There are no stipules present.

In rough-haired, little head -shaped, slightly arched inflorescences surrounded by a common envelope, but no chaff leaves, many flowers. The flower heads contain up to 50 flowers. In addition to plants with hermaphrodite flowers copies there are also purely female specimens; it is thus present Gynodiözie. The flowers are four - or fünfzählig. Your cup is provided with eight to 16 bristles. The petals are fused into a up to 9 mm long corolla tube, which ends in four or five corolla lobes. There are two to four free stamens present. The pollen is reddish. The style ends in two scars. The flowers are always vormännlich. The under constant, unicompartmental ovary contains only one ovule.

The achenes have a constant chalice.

Ecology

The Field Scabious is a semi- rosette plant.

Biologically flowers is the inflorescence to the "basket flower - type". Vormännliche, fragrant flowers have one. The nectar is protected by a juice pack, but still also kurzrüsseligen insects accessible. First, open and stretch in succession the stamens, then the stylus. As pollinators act bees and various butterflies ( for example, the burnet ). Even self-pollination occurs.

The achenes have a long hairy outer cup that is photosynthetically active until after the replacement, and white, bristle-like sepals and with a formed from the base of the Vorblatts oil body ( Elaiosom ) for the spread by ants. The basket bottom is hairy stiff and favors the spread of achenes as animal shakers. Even people spread occurs. The diasporas are up over 35 years of germinable. Fruit ripening is in September.

Use

Leaf extracts were formerly used in skin diseases and eczema. The medicine does not use the plant in the above-mentioned indications, since no activity could be detected. Homeopathy sees inflammation of the airways and digestive weakness as applications.

Occurrence

The distribution of field scabious includes all of Europe and much of Asia. Focus is in the western areas at altitudes of 1500 meters.

The Field Scabious is found everywhere in Central Europe, on rich meadows, along roadsides, on semi-arid grassland or extensively managed fields. It is base hold.

System

In Austria, two subspecies of knautia arvensis occur:

• Ordinary field scabious ( Knautia arvensis arvensis subsp. ) Leaves glabrous or hairy, Stem hairs coarse, often reddish at the base; tetraploid; Occurrence in all provinces
• Pannonian field scabious (. Knautia arvensis subsp pannonica ) leaves graufilzig hairy, Stem hairs fine, greenish at the base; diploid; Occurrence in Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Vienna and Burgenland.