Cruciata laevipes
Encyclopedia
Cruciata laevipes Opiz 1852, the Crosswort or in Gaelic Luc na croise, is an indigenous member of the madder
and bedstraw
group of plants. It is also known as Smooth Bedstraw.
, England and Wales, but not to Ireland. In Europe it grows as far East as Siberia
.
s.
The term laevipes refers to the smooth stalk (not hairless).
This perennial sprawling plant can grow to a height of 15-70cm, spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. It is arbuscular mycorrhizal
in which the fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots.
Of the whorls of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being stipules
.
recommended crosswort as a cure for headaches.
Rubiá
aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....
and bedstraw
Galium
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...
group of plants. It is also known as Smooth Bedstraw.
Distribution
Crosswort is native to ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, England and Wales, but not to Ireland. In Europe it grows as far East as Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Habitat
C. laevipes is found in meadows, road verges, riverbanks, scrub and open woodland, generally on well-drained calcareous soilAlkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
s.
Species characteristics
This perennial sprawling plant can grow to a height of 15-70cm, spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. It is arbuscular mycorrhizal
Mycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant....
in which the fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots.
Of the whorls of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being stipules
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
.
Traditional uses
C. laevipes is little used today, however it was once recommended as a remedy for rupture, rheumatism and dropsy. Bald's LeechbookBald's Leechbook
The Leechbook of Bald is an Old English medical text probably compiled in the ninth-century, possibly under the influence of Alfred the Great's educational reforms....
recommended crosswort as a cure for headaches.