Homogyne alpina, the Alpine coltsfoot or purple colt's-foot,[1] is a rhizomatous herb in the family Asteraceae, which is often used as an ornamental plant. The plant has purple-red flowers, and it is usually associated with the gall flies Ensina sonchi and Acidia cognata.
| Homogyne alpina | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Homogyne |
| Species: | H. alpina
|
| Binomial name | |
| Homogyne alpina | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Tussilago alpina L. | |
Homogyne alpina is a perennial plant that reaches a height of 10 to 40 centimeters. The rhizome is creeping woolly and scaly. The stem is erect, reddish brown and often single head. It is hairy silvery-woolly, bare later and usually has 2 leaves on small scales. The leaves are all basal, long-stalked, leathery, coarse and glossy dark green, the underside is lighter. The leaf blade is heart-kidney-shaped.
The flower heads have a diameter up to 15 mm. The bracts are in a single row, crowded and hairy brown-red woolly at the base. The flowers are purple.
Distribution
editHomogyne alpina grows in the mountains of South Central Europe at altitudes from 500 to 3 000 meters. The species grows on moist, humus-rich, mossy soil in coniferous forests, bushes and dwarf-shrub heath. In the U.K., it is known from a single location in Angus, Scotland.[2]: 811 It is uncertain whether the plant is native or introduced.[3]
Similar species
editThe felt-like Homogyne discolor is characterized by the under side white, felty leaves.
References
edit- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
- ^ "Homogyne alpina". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. 6 April 2021.
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
- Xavier Finkenzeller, Jürke Gray: Alpine Flowers (Steinbach nature guide). Mosaic Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-576-10558-1.
External links
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Media related to Homogyne alpina at Wikimedia Commons