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Plants & Fungi
Ajuga reptans
EOL Text
Ajuga reptans, commonly known as bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bungleweed, common bugle, is an herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe. It is invasive in parts of North America. Grown as a garden plant it provides useful groundcover. Numerous cultivars have been selected, of which 'Caitlin's Giant' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[1]
Ajuga reptans has dark green leaves with purple highlights. It is a spreading ground cover that grows in a dense mat. The leaves grow 5–8 cm (2–3 in) high but in the spring it sends up 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall flower stalks with many purple flowers on them.
Contents
Description[edit]
Ajuga reptans is a sprawling perennial plant with erect flowering stems and grows to a height of about 10 to 35 cm (4 to 14 in). The stem are squarish with hairs on two sides and the plant has runners that spread across the surface of the ground. The purplish-green, stalked leaves are in opposite pairs. The leaf blades are hairless and are elliptical or ovate with a rounded tip and shallowly rounded teeth on the margin. The inflorescence forms a dense raceme and is composed of whorls of blue flowers, each with dark veins on the lower lip. The calyx has five toothed lobes and the corolla forms a two-lipped flower about 14 to 17 mm (0.6 to 0.7 in) long with a short tube. The upper lip of each flower is short and flat with a smooth edge and the lower lip is three-lobed, the central lobe being the largest, flat with a notched tip. There are four stamens, two long and two short, which are longer than the corolla and are attached to the tube. The ovary is superior and the fruit is a schizocarp with four chambers.[2]
Uses[edit]
Bugle is also known as "carpenter's herb" due to its supposed ability to stem bleeding.[3]
Bugle is a primary nectar source of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. It is a secondary nectar source of the Brimstone, Chequered Skipper, Common Blue, Cryptic Wood White, Dingy Skipper, Duke of Burgundy, Green-veined White, Grizzled Skipper, Heath Fritillary, Holly Blue, Large Blue, Large Skipper, Large White, Marsh Fritillary, Orange-tip, Painted Lady, Small White and Wood White butterflies.[4]
It is also component of Purple moor grass and rush pastures, a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK
Ajuga reptans herb has been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally as a tea for the treatment of disorders related to the respiratory tract.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ "Ajuga reptans AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ^ "Blue bugle: Ajuga reptans". NatureGate. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
- ^ Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies (Century, 1987), p108
- ^ "Nectar Sources". Ukbutterflies.co.uk. 2002–2014.
- ^ Vogl, S; Picker, P; Mihaly-Bison, J; Fakhrudin, N; Atanasov, A. G.; Heiss, E. H.; Wawrosch, C; Reznicek, G; Dirsch, V. M.; Saukel, J; Kopp, B (2013). "Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine--an unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs". Journal of Ethnopharmacology 149 (3): 750–71. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. PMC 3791396. PMID 23770053. edit
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ajuga_reptans&oldid=636008130 |
This plant is widespread throughout Britain, up to altitudes of 760 meters (3). Elsewhere it is found throughout much of Europe, the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan), south west Asia, Algeria and Tunisia (2).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/bugle/ajuga-reptans/ |
Found in damp broadleaved woodlands, typically in shaded places, and in damp meadows and pastures (2).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/bugle/ajuga-reptans/ |
The flowers are pollinated by bumblebees and other long-tongued bees. According to sources within the horticulture industry, the foliage is rarely bothered by rabbits and deer. Photographic Location
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/carpet_bugle.htm |
Foodplant / open feeder
gregarious larva of Athalia cordata grazes on leaf (underside) of Ajuga reptans
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
Erysiphe biocellata parasitises live Ajuga reptans
Foodplant / feeds on
scattered pycnidium of Phyllosticta coelomycetous anamorph of Phyllosticta ajugae feeds on live leaf of Ajuga reptans
Remarks: season: autumn
Foodplant / spot causer
hypophyllous colony of Ramularia ajugae causes spots on live leaf of Ajuga reptans
Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Tingis reticulata sucks sap of Ajuga reptans
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Ajuga_reptans.htm |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 14
Specimens with Barcodes: 16
Species With Barcodes: 1
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Ajuga+reptans |
Bugle is a perennial herb that can spread by seed or, more typically, by means of creeping stems known as 'stolons' or 'runners' (3). It flowers from late April to early July (6). The flowers are pollinated by bees, although self-fertilisation is also possible (2). Bugle was, in the past, a well-known medicinal herb. It was used mainly to treat wounds, and was once widely planted in gardens to provide a ready supply (5).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/bugle/ajuga-reptans/ |
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Ajuga+reptans |