''Serratula tinctoria'', commonly known as dyer's plumeless saw-wort
or saw-wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Description
Saw-wort is a spineless hairless perennial herb with wiry branched erect grooved stems. It usually grows 20 – 80 cm tall. The long hairless leaves measure 12 – 20 cm long and have finely bristle-toothed edges. The leaves, which are arranged alternately along the stem, vary in shape and dimensions, ranging from undivided and lanceolate to deeply pinnatifid with narrow lobes. Only the lower leaves are stalked
[Rose F. "The Wildflower Key" ]
The stalked thistle-like flowerheads are 1.5 – 2 cm long and arranged in loose leafy inflorescences. The 5-lobed florets are reddish purple, the
involucre
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...
is narrow oblong. The purplish bracts are appressed to the stem, being oval and pointed and not spiny.
The
achenes
An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open ...
have a simple feathery yellowish
pappus.
Etymology and taxonomy
The
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 ...
"tinctoria" is derived from a Latin word meaning "used for dyeing or staining". This name refers to its source of yellow dye that was previously used until the 19th century.
Chromosome number has been confirmed as 2n = 22.
Ecology and habitat
''S. tinctoria'' grows in various soil types overlying a range of rock types but is almost always confined to semi-natural vegetation in habitats with low levels of soil fertility and disturbance. It typically favours moist soils with full sun to partial shade, growing in
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
s, mires, open woodland, and scrub as well as their ecotones.
[Jefferson RG, Walker KJ. 2017. Biological Flora of the British Isles: ''Serratula tinctoria''. ''Journal of Ecology'' 105: 1438 – 1458.]
Distribution
The species is found throughout much of England and Wales but is very rare in Scotland. It was first recorded from Ireland in
New Ross
New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...
,
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
in 1925, but has not been seen there since 1952.
The European range extends as far north as southern Sweden and Norway, but the plant is absent from much of the Boreal Zone (northern Poland, Russia, Fennoscandia, and the Baltic States) and the lowland Mediterranean.
''S. tinctoria'' has declined in Britain since at least the 19th century, primarily through a combination of drainage, ploughing and agricultural improvement as well as lack of management by cutting and grazing in grassland.
This is an introduced plant in a small area of the north-eastern United States.
[
]
Uses
The leaves of ''Serratula tinctoria'' are the source of a yellow dye.["Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland" by Rae Spencer-Jones and Sarah Cuttle, 2005, p. 202, ]
File:Asteraceae - Serratula tinctoria-1.JPG
File:Asteraceae - Serratula tinctoria.JPG
File:Serratula tinctoria MHNT.BOT.2012.10.41.jpg
References
External links
*
Many pictures
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7215753
Cardueae
Plant dyes
Plants described in 1753