Astrantia Minor
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''Astrantia minor'', the lesser masterwort, is a species of
herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...
belonging to the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...
. It is native within Europe, to the countries of France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. It is clump-forming herbaceous
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
.


Description

''Astrantia minor'' is a flowering plant that often reaches 15–30 cm in height, with simple '' stems'', rarely branched in the upper half, the basal ''
leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
'' are of two types, often on the same plant: one with narrow segments that are all pinnatisect, the other with broad segments, the central being pinnatisect and the lateral being deeply pinnatipartite; '' petioles'' 4–12 cm; the ''leaf blade'' with (5) 7 (8) segments of 1-3 (4.5) x 0.5 -1.3 cm, pale green, toothed in upper half or two thirds, the stem at the base of the ''
inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
'', from 2 to 3.2 x 0.2-0.5 cm reduced to 3-5 segments. ''Inflorescence'' with 1-3 '' peduncles'' unequal, the central, sometimes branched, and longer than the sides that have unique umbels; ''Umbels'' surrounded by (10) 12-14 '' bracts'', 4-10 x 1–3 mm, membranous, entire, the apex green with three ribs. The '' flowers'' are 30-40 per umbel, of the same length or slightly shorter than the bracts, generally hermaphroditic in the centre and male peripherally. '' Calices'' have teeth about 1 mm in size, ovate-oblong, subobtuse and slightly bearded (1.5-2 times longer than wide). '' Petals'' are similar in size to the '' sepals'' and white or cream. '' Stamens'' exserted. ''
Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
'' ovoid (1.5) 2–5 mm with scales in the form of a vesicle, sub-obtuse. Flowering occurs in summer, from July to August and fruiting between August and September. It differs from its congener Astrantia major, by its smaller size, and basal leaves of seven segments (instead of five) with calyx teeth that are obtuse and slightly mucronate.Tela Botánica: ''Astrantia minor''
Real Jardín Botánico
Proyecto Anthos - ''Astrantia minor''
/ref>


Habitat

Found in some clumps of large plants near streams and in clearings in the
scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
of mountain azalea (
Rhododendron ferrugineum ''Rhododendron ferrugineum'', the alpenrose, snow-rose, or rusty-leaved alpenrose is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura mountains, Jura and northern Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on acid soils. It ...
), on fresh alpine and subalpine soil. It prefers a pure salicaceous substrate, at elevations of (1850) 2100 - 2300 (2600) meters.


Distribution

It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to central and southern Europe (France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain). On the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, it is found only in the Pyrenees, the Catalan lands and Huesca where it is found in the extreme southwest Valle de Benasque.


Taxonomy

In the UK, it has the common name of ''small black masterwort''. It was first published and described by
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in his book ''
Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...
'' on page 235 in 1753. It was verified by
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...
's Agricultural Research Service on 5 January 2000.


References


Other sources

* Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) www.skud.info * Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource). URL: http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/BSBI/taxonsearch.php * Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia. * Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea. {{Taxonbar, from=Q268167 Apioideae Flora of Spain Flora of France Flora of Switzerland Flora of Italy Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus