Kalmia procumbens

Gämsheide ( Loiseleuria procumbens )

The chamois, chamois, or Gämsheide ( Loiseleuria procumbens ), also called Alpenazalee, alpine heath, deer Heiderich or rock roses, is a perennial, evergreen alpine plant of low -lying growth. It belongs to the family of Ericaceae and is the only species of the genus Loiseleuria, after the French botanist Jean Louis Auguste Loiseleur - Deslongchamps (1774-1849) is named. The species is believed to have originated as early as the Tertiary.

Another for the plant species occupied German- trivial name is the name Gamshadach and for Bavaria and Tyrol Gamssennach for the regions of Tyrol and Carinthia.

Description

The Gämsheide forms an evergreen, low, carpet-like, branched shrub with dense leafy trellis branches. It can reach heights of growth of about 40 cm, but usually they remain lower. The change-constant leaves are simple. Leathery leaf blade is from 4 to 8 mm long and from 1 to 2.5 mm wide. Due to their similarity, the needle leaves are well adapted. The leaf margin is rolled over down and shows a distinct midrib. The petiole is 1 to 2.5 mm long.

The short- stalked flowers grow singly or in few-flowered, schirmtraubigen inflorescences at the ends of branches. The small, five petals have a diameter of about 6 mm. The five 2 to 2.5 mm long sepals are fused only at their base. The pink color to dark red, 6-9 mm long petals are fused. It's just a circle with five fertile stamens present; in this it differs from the other species of the family. The anthers are at first reddish and yellow later. Three to five carpels are fused into a superior ovaries.

The flowers are created in the previous year. The flowering period extends from May to July. The fruits ripen until the year after flowering.

The 3.5 to 4 mm long and 2.5 to 3 mm wide, black or brown capsule fruit opens up pentadentate. The brown or yellow seeds are 0.4 to 0.6 mm with a smooth surface.

The Gämsheide can be very old, a 56- year-old stems with a diameter of only 7.6 mm has an annual ring width of only 0.07 mm. Also, it forms itself humus, which can be up to 1 m thick 35 cm.

Ecology

The Gämsheide is extremely resistant to wind drought and frost. It bears wind speeds of 40 m / s and temperatures from -30 ° C to 50 ° C without being damaged. Increased sunlight (eg on snow in the winter blown growing sites ) replies the plant with increased production of anthocyanins as a sunscreen, so the leaves are rusty.

The water absorption is also possible through the leaves. The midrib is located on the underside of each along a shallow groove in which in addition to the stomata ( stomata ) is also a variety of hair, which terminate in a capillary tip. Such water intake is important for example in the summer from the dew condensation, in the winter of temporary thawing of the snow and the top soil layers.

An ample fat storage (11% of dry matter ) is used to compensate the respiration losses ( energy reserve ). The leaves are used in winter as a high-energy food for chamois, alpine ibex, ptarmigan and arctic hare.

The Gämsheide forms a root symbiosis with nitrogen -gathering mushrooms.

The Gämsheide is toxic.

Sociology

She is the eponymous character species of a group of alpine plant communities, the Loiseleurieten (wind Gentiles ). Depending on the altitude Loiseleuria different companies are described. About the Loiseleurio - Cetrarietum in which many lichens such as the Iceland moss ( Cetraria islandica ) or the Windbartflechte ( Alectoria ochroleuca ) are represented.

In addition to the Gämsheide even following species are typical in wind heath companies: Bilberry (Vaccinium gaultherioides ), crowberry ( Empetrum hermaphroditum ), cranberry (Vaccinium vitis- idaea ), Three-column rush ( Juncus trifidus ).

Occurrence

The distribution area extends from the Alps, the mountains of central Europe via the Arctic Eurasia to America, so the northern hemisphere circumpolar.

Fossils show that this species is probably moved only in the last Ice Age of America over Greenland and Scotland in the Alps and from the Arctic to East Asia.

The Gämsheide grows on mountain slopes far above the tree line (from about 1,600 m) in so-called dwarf shrub heaths up to 3,000 m above sea level. NN. They often spreads there, especially on sites with acidic soils, a large area of. The locations exposed areas such as ridges and wind corners are preferred.