Linaria alpina

Alpine toadflax ( Linaria alpina)

The Alpine toadflax ( Linaria alpina ) is a plant of the genus Leinkräuter ( Linaria ). In Carinthia, this type is also called Stanklitter (rock climbers ), Tyrol and Salzburg, she is also known as Grießspeik ( powder = boulders, Speik = fragrant plant ). The name " Toadflax " refers to the similarity of the leaves to those of the commons flax ( Linum usitatissimum ).

Description

The Alpine toadflax grows as a bald, one-, two-year or perennial, herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth 3-15 centimeters. " Überkriecht " With the numerous prostrate or ascending, leafy stems, the deep-rooted plant fine detritus, it is therefore classed as " rubble - Überkriechern ".

The about three or four whorls arranged leaves are fleshy, blue-green frosted, narrowly lanceolate and 5 to 15 millimeters long.

In a terminal, short racemose inflorescence standing together three to ten flowers, sometimes found there up to 15 flowers. The flower stalks are 2 to 5 millimeters long. The often intense violet colored crown is up to 25 millimeters long. She usually has a yellow orange Unterlippenwulst, which forms a strong color contrast. This can be interpreted as Saftmal. In the form of Unterlippenwulst concolor is rather orange yellow blue purple or whitish. This " modification" without orange palate stain comes in Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein in common. In the form rosea the otherwise blue violet colored part of the flower is pink colored. The crown has a container filled with nectar, cylindrical to flattened spur that is between eight and ten millimeters long and thus is almost as long as the rest of the flower.

The flowering period extends from June to September.

System

As a synonym is found alpinum the scientific name Antirrhinum.

Linaria alpina is divided into several sub- types:

• Ordinary Alpine toadflax ( Linaria alpina alpina subsp. ): The low -lying plant is highly three to four inches. Your corolla lobes are wrong - ovate-lanceolate, the Kronoberlippe is one to two times as long as wide, and the spur at hand flattened.
• Upright Alpine toadflax ( Linaria alpina subsp petraea. ): The arched ascending grow to a height of ten to 20 centimeters. Your corolla lobes are halblanzettlich, the tip of the Kronoberlippe two to three times as long as wide, and the spur cylindrical.
• Linaria alpina subsp. filicaulis is endemic to the Cantabrian Mountains.

Occurrence

The Alpine toadflax is found in the mountains of southern and central Europe. Part of it is swept into valleys and then moved on to gravel banks. So it penetrates as Alpenschwemmling for example, in the Rhine sediment prior to Lake Constance. Specifically, it is of mountains of the Iberian Peninsula over the Alps and the Jura mountains up to the Apennines, widespread in western mountainous regions of the Balkan Peninsula and the High Tatras. It comes from valleys up in layers of 4200 m above sea level before.

As location gravel, rubble and debris, preferably on calcareous soils, but occasionally also preferred to acid soils.

Ecology

It is in this species is a typical plant of the rubble stone rubble and scree communities ( class character species of Thlaspietea rotundifolii ) that nowhere penetrates lawn stocks. From an underground rhizome go up to 60 unrooted runners that the fine debris lie loose in the rule and move up the ends of arching.

Flowers Ecology

Pollination can be done only by heavy insects which have the necessary strength to open the masked flowers. As is the nectar in the long spur, this need also a long trunk, so that only langrüsslige bumblebees, especially bumblebees, come as pollinators in question.

Use

The species is sometimes used in rock gardens.

Trivial names

Also the names Our women's hair (dog stone in Saalfelden ), Blue Johannesblüh ( Fusch im Pinzgau ) Kalbernase (Graubünden) and Golden Verschreikraut (throw, Pongau, Lungau ) For the alpine toadflax or were, sometimes only regionally common.