Circaea

Alps witchweeds ( Circaea alpina)

The witches herbs ( Circaea ) are a genus of the family Onagraceae ( Onagraceae ).

Features

The witches herbs are herbaceous plants with a creeping rhizome. Usually they form numerous offshoots. The leaves are opposite, ovate to ovate-lanceolate shape is, the leaf margin is often perforated.

The flowers are in clusters. You are radial symmetry, small and bidentate. The axis cup protrudes beyond the ovary in a narrow tube, or it is not renewed. Anyway, he is crowned by a discus ( nectar disc ). The perianth is double. The are two columns, the color is white or reddish. Sepals and petals fall off after flowering. The two stamens stand in front of the sepals. The scar is club-shaped or in two columns. Functionally, there are disk flowers, which are mainly pollinated by Diptera, especially hoverflies (Flying flowers).

The fruits are indehiscent fruits with nutty hook bristles. A fruit has one or two compartments with just one or two seeds without hair.

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Species

In the genus Circaea there are a total of seven to ten species:

• Alpine witchweeds ( Circaea alpina L.), comes in Eurasia and North America before in six subspecies.
• Circaea cordata Royle, arrives in India, China and Korea prior to Japan and Taiwan.
• Circaea erubescens Franch. & Sav. , Occurs in Japan.
• Circaea glabrescens ( Pamp. ) Hand. - Mazz.
• Large witchweeds ( Circaea lutetiana L.), comes in Eurasia and North Africa into three subspecies: Circaea lutetiana subsp. canadensis (L.) Asch. & Magnus ( Syn: Circaea canadensis (L.) Hill ), is found in North America.
• Circaea lutetiana subsp. lutetiana
• Circaea lutetiana subsp. quadrisulcata ( Maxim. ) Asch. & Magnus ( Syn: .. . Circaea quadrisulcata ( Maxim. ) Franch & Sav, C. canadensis subsp quadrisulcata ( Maxim. ) Boufford ), found in Asia and in some places in Europe (Carinthia, East Tyrol).

The Circaea species may also form natural hybrids, including:

• Middle witchweeds ( Circaea × intermedia Ehrh. )