Erinus alpinus

Alps balm ( Erinus alpinus )

The Alpine Balsam ( Erinus alpinus ) belongs to the family of the plantain family ( Plantaginaceae ). Other common names are stone balm, Alps Ageratum Ageratum or misleading, because that is usually the most blue-flowering bedding plant Ageratum is called houstonianum.

Description

The Alpine balm grows as a perennial herbaceous plant lockerrasig and reaches stature heights between 5 and 20 cm. The arranged in basal rosettes leaves are stalked, but the stem distributed alternate arranged leaves are sessile and up to 2 inches long. These are spatulate, hairy coarse scattered kerbrandig.

The flowers are umbel -like in the upper leaf axils. The calyx is deeply five-piece. The red lilac ( rarely white ) crown is up to 10 mm long, 5 mm long tube and funnel-shaped flat, zweilippigem coronet with five lobes. The chromosome number is 2n = 14

The flowering period extends from June to July.

Occurrence

The Alpine Balm comes from the Pyrenees through the Alps to the Apennines before. This lime-loving species prefers rocky turf as the location and slopes, boulders and rocks. It is a type of dressing Potentillion caulescentis. It is distributed in the Western and Central Alps. Occasionally, the plant is naturalized also in damp masonry.

In Austria, this species is extinct indigenous. Former distribution area was Vorarlberg and North Tyrol.