Phyteuma orbiculare
Encyclopedia
Phyteuma orbiculare, common name Round-headed Rampion, is a herbaceous
perennial plant of the genus Phyteuma
belonging to the family Campanulaceae
.
of about 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 ) of diameter, with usually 15 to 30 flowers. The petals are blue or violet-blue and form small tubes with an opening at the top. The outer bracts are lanceolate and usually two to four times longer than wide. The flowering period extends from May to August. The fruit
is a capsule
containing numerous small seed
s.
from the Pyrenees
to the Balkans
.
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial plant of the genus Phyteuma
Phyteuma
Phyteuma is a genus of about 40-45 species of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe and western Asia. The common name is Rampion. Rampion features prominently in some versions of the fairy tale Rapunzel...
belonging to the family Campanulaceae
Campanulaceae
The family Campanulaceae , of the order Asterales, contains about 2000 species in 70 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky non-toxic sap...
.
Description
Phyteuma orbiculare reaches on average 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 ) of height. The stem is erect, simple, glabrous and striated, the leaves vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader, ovate to lanceolate, serrated, petiolated leaves at the base of the stem and smaller, narrower, lanceolate to linear cauline leaves. The head-shaped inflorescence is a dense erect paniclePanicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of about 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 ) of diameter, with usually 15 to 30 flowers. The petals are blue or violet-blue and form small tubes with an opening at the top. The outer bracts are lanceolate and usually two to four times longer than wide. The flowering period extends from May to August. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
containing numerous small seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Distribution
This plant is widespread in most of EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
from the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
to the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
Habitat
This species grows mainly in grasslands, meadows, pasturelands and pine forests. It prefers full sun exposure on calcareous soils, at an altitude of 600–2400 m (1,968.5–7,874 ) above sea level.Subspecies
- Phyteuma orbiculare subsp. flexuosum R. Schulz
- Phyteuma orbiculare subsp. montanum R. Schultz
- Phyteuma orbiculare subsp. orbiculare