''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

family

Caprifoliaceae The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species in 33 to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and easte ...

. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas '' Scabiosa columbaria'' (small scabious) and ''

Knautia arvensis ''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Description It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...

'' (field scabious) have five lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate genus in the same family. It also grows on damper ground.

Name

Species of scabious were used to treat

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

, and other afflictions of the skin including sores caused by the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

. The word scabies comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for "scratch" (scabere). In folk tales, the short black root was bitten off by the devil, for various reasons: anger at the plant's ability to cure these ailments, anger against the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, or as part of some 'devilish plot'. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''pratensis'' literally means "of the meadow".

Description

''Succisa pratensis'' is a

herbaceous 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 of ...

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 ...

up to 1m tall, growing from a basal rosette of simple or distantly-toothed,

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

leaves. Its unlobed leaves distinguish it from ''

'' ( field scabious). The plant may be distinguished from '' Centaurea scabiosa'' ( greater knapweed) by having its leaves in opposite pairs, not alternate as in knapweed. The bluish to violet (occasionally pink) flowers are borne in tight compound flower heads or capitula. Individual flowers are tetramerous, with a four-lobed epicalyx and calyx and a four-lobed corolla. Male and female flowers are produced on different flower heads (gynodioecious), the female flower heads being smaller. The flowering period in the British Isles is from June until October.

Distribution

''Succisa pratensis'' is common throughout most of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, western and central Europe, extending eastwards into central Asia. It is absent from eastern Asia. It has been introduced to eastern North America.

Ecology

It grows in wet or dry grassland and heath on acid or basic soils and is found in hedgerows, marshes, meadows and pastures.Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles''. Cambridge University Press. The flowers are visited by various types of insects, but especially frequently by

hoverflies Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family (biology), family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen Hover (behaviour), hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed main ...

of the genus '' Eristalis''. It is a good source of nectar and is the larval food plant of the

marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval st ...

, the eggs of which are laid in groups on the underside of the plant, and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth (''

Hemaris tityus ''Hemaris tityus'', the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae which is native to the Palearctic. Range It has a wide range, from Ireland across temperate Europe to the Ural Mountains, western Siberia, Novosibirsk and t ...

''). As both invertebrates are rare, their survival relies on careful management of sites containing these plant and butterfly species.

Animal galls

The flowers are galled by the

gall midge Cecidomyiidae is a family of diptera, flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small in ...

'' Contarinia dipsacearum'', the leaves by the triozid bug '' Trioza munda'', and the roots by the

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

Meloidogyne hapla Northern root-knot nematode (''Meloidogyne hapla'') is a species of vegetable pathogens which produces tiny galls on around 550 crop and weed species. They invade root tissue after birth. Females are able to lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time in a ...

''.

Fungal and oomycetous pathogens

The leaves are parasitized by the

chytrid fungus Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoospores. Chytrids ...

'' Synchytrium succisae'',Karling, J.S. 1964. ''Synchytrium''.Academic Press: New York. the

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

'' Erysiphe knautiae'', the

rust fungus Rusts are fungal plant pathogens of the order Pucciniales (previously known as Uredinales) causing plant fungal diseases. An estimated 168 rust genera and approximately 7,000 species, more than half of which belong to the genus ''Puccinia'', are ...

'' Aecidium succisae'', and the

leaf spot A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions ...

fungi '' Fusicladium consors'', '' Ramularia succisae'', '' Septoria succisicola'', and '' Septoria scabiosicola''. The flowers are parasitised by the smut fungi '' Microbotryum succisae'' and '' Microbotryum flosculorum'', and the

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of c ...

'' Peronospora violacea''.

Management

The aim is to produce an uneven patchwork of short and long vegetation by the end of the grazing period, between . This is to allow the devil's bit scabious food plant to grow. This can be achieved through low intensity grazing (also known as extensive grazing) using

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

Sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

are not so good as they are more efficient at removing wild plants.

Gallery

Image:Succisa pratensis01.jpg, Bloom Image:succisa_pratensis.jpeg, ''Succisa pratensis'' on the German island

Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a Auto-free zone, car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the Germany, German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East Germany, East Germ ...

Succisa pratensis - Apis mellifera mellifera - Keila2.jpg, White-flowered form with the honey bee Image:Succisa pratensis W.jpg, Foliage ''in situ'' showing leaf arrangement Image:Succisa pratensis3 W.jpg, Closeup Image:Succisa pratensis4 W.jpg, Underside Bloemknop van een blauwe knoop (Succisa pratensis). 29-08-2023. (d.j.b).jpg, Flower at bud stage Bloem van een blauwe knoop (Succisa pratensis). 29-08-2023. (d.j.b).jpg, Flower in full bloom

References

External links

*
The Plant Press Natural England Website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q161697 Articles containing video clips pratensis Taxa named by Conrad Moench