Securigera varia

Colorful Kronwicke ( Securigera varia)

The Colorful Kronwicke ( Securigera varia) is a species of the subfamily of the Fabaceae ( Faboideae ). It is also called Colorful Beilwicke and was assigned to the genus Coronilla earlier. To better illustrate the scientific relationship, some species of monophyletic genus Securigera have now been assigned.

Description

The perennial herbaceous plant with prostrate to ascending stems edged reaches stature heights between 30 to 60 cm. The leaves are pinnate and shortly stalked with four to twelve pairs of oval leaflets.

Bloom time is from May to September. The flowers are up to 20 in an umbel. The flag is pink, the boat white with violet tip. The wings are white. The legume is 25 to 50 mm long and is square with curved hooked beak and three to six constrictions.

Ecology

The Colorful Kronwicke is a perennial Hemikryptophyt and a stem plant. It is flowering size only from the second year. The leaves show a nyctinasty that is, they are folded up at night. The plant is a deep-rooting and forms root nodules with symbiotic nitrogen -fixing bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium.

The flowers are " pollen Butterfly Flowers" with pumping means. Unlike other Fabaceae with a free stamen no nectar is secreted in bloom, but probably because of the fleshy outer side of the cup. Pollinators are honeybees and other Hymenoptera. The flowers are self-sterile. Bloom time is from May to September.

The fruits are perpendicular fracture fruits when ripe. They are constricted between the seeds by secondary partitions and break down into 4-10 seeded, nut -like, 4-5 mg of heavy elements, so it is broken pods. The low specific gravity part fruit can fall off and cause a gravity spreading or they are carried away by strong winds. Also spread as water Hafter is possible.

Vegetative propagation is done by wurzelbürtige rung, ie by root suckers.

Occurrence

As the site preferably the lime-loving plant dry meadows, forest and Gebüschsäume, Raine, quarries and railway embankments. It is widespread in central and southern Europe, with a tendency in the northeastern Mediterranean and Balkans. In Western and Northern Europe it is cultivated to some extent as a forage crop and is naturalized.

In Austria it is in all the provinces of the hill and montane zone often.

Toxicity

The whole plant, including particularly the seeds, is toxic. Main ingredients are Coronilla glycosides with digitalis lasting effects and psoralen.