Circaea alpina explained

Circaea alpina, commonly called alpine enchanter's nightshade, small enchanter's nightshade, or dwarf enchanter's nightshade is a 10–30 cm tall perennial herb found in cool forests of the Northern Hemisphere.[1] [2] [3]

Description

The leaves are opposite, ovate, 2–6 cm and coarsely dentate. The 1.5- petioles have a wing beneath. The flowers and fruits are clustered near the top of the fruiting raceme; each raceme bears 15 or less white or pink flowers in mid-May through early September.[4] [5] [6] Each flower has two white to light pink petals 1- long with two lobes. The two white sepals are 1- long.[4] The fruit is a small bur with one seed. C. alpina can reproduce vegetatively and via stolons.

Distribution

In North America, Circaea alpina is distributed throughout all of Canada and North Carolina through Maine and New Mexico through Washington.[7] [8] In Eurasia, the range of C. alpina includes Northern Europe south to Albania and Bulgaria and east to Korea and Japan.[1] C. alpina prefers a moist, upland habitat. It is generally found in forests or near streams from sea level to 3000m (10,000feet).[7]

Hybrids

Circaea alpina will hybridize with Circaea lutetiana producing sterile offspring that persists in vegetative colonies.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Species details : Circaea alpina . ITIS: Catalogue of Life. 2016-08-02. 2016-08-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20160814073127/http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/58dd3fa0afa855c81898905c8a485202. dead.
  2. Web site: Alpine Enchanter's Nightshade. Naturegate. 2016-08-02. 2023-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315132718/https://luontoportti.com/en/t/1569/alpine-enchanters-nightshade. live.
  3. Web site: Circaea alpina (Alpine Enchanter's Nightshade) . www.minnesotawildflowers.info . Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund . 2024-08-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240415070331/https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/alpine-enchanters-nightshade . 2024-04-15 . Minnesota . 2024-07-20 . live.
  4. Web site: Circaea alpina . Klinkenberg . Brian . 2014 . E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. . Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver . 2016-08-02.
  5. Web site: Circaea alpina . Giblin . David . 2015 . WTU Herbarium Image Collection . Burke Museum, University of Washington . 2016-08-02.
  6. Web site: Circaea alpina . 2015 . Jepson eFlora: Taxon page . Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley . 2016-08-02.
  7. Web site: Circaea alpina . Sullivan . Steven. K. . 2015 . Wildflower Search . 2016-08-02 .
  8. Web site: Circaea alpina . 2015 . PLANTS Database . United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service . 2016-08-02.
  9. Book: Rhoads, Block. The Plants of Pennsylvania. 978-0-8122-4003-0. 2. 2007-09-05.

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