Ajuga reptans  

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Ajuga reptans:

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.



Description[edit]


A young plant.

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]


Flower

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]

  1. ^ "Ajuga reptans AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 July 2013. 
  2. ^ "Blue bugle: Ajuga reptans". NatureGate. Retrieved 2013-12-15. 
  3. ^ Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies (Century, 1987), p108
  4. ^ "Nectar Sources". Ukbutterflies.co.uk. 2002–2014. 
  5. ^ 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
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Rights holder/AuthorWikipedia
Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ajuga_reptans&oldid=636008130

Description:

Perennial herb, 10-30 cm, with long leafy, rooting stolons. Stems simple, usually hairy on 2 opposite sides only. Leaves: basal in a rosette; lamina obovate to oblong-elliptic, entire to obscurely crenate; base attenuate into a broad petiole; apex obtuse; cauline few, ± sessile. Upper bracts tinged purple or blue, shorter than the flowers. Calyx campanulate. Corolla blue, less often pink or white.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorMark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe
Sourcehttp://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=166140

Cultivation:

The preference is partial sun, slightly moist to mesic conditions, and a fertile loamy soil that is somewhat acidic. If the soil is poorly drained and soggy, crown rot can develop and spread rapidly. In sandy soil, the roots are occasionally attacked by nematodes. Range & Habitat

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty
Sourcehttp://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/carpet_bugle.htm

Derivation of specific name:

reptans: creeping, referring to the stolons

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorMark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe
Sourcehttp://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=166140

Localities documented in Tropicos sources:

Ajuga reptans L.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)
South Africa (Africa & Madagascar)
Venezuela (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

  • Anonymous. 1986. List-Based Rec., Soil Conserv. Serv., U.S.D.A. Database of the U.S.D.A., Beltsville.
  • Gleason, H. A. 1968. The Sympetalous Dicotyledoneae. vol. 3. 596 pp. In H. A. Gleason Ill. Fl. N. U.S. (ed. 3). New York Botanical Garden, New York.
  • Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. Welman, E. Reitief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. v. Wyk & A. Nicholas. 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).
  • Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles & C. R. Bell. 1968. Man. Vasc. Fl. Carolinas i–lxi, 1–1183. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
  • Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Man. Vasc. Pl. Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
  • Fernald, M. 1950. Manual (ed. 8) i–lxiv, 1–1632. American Book Co., New York.
  • Cronquist, A. J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren. 1984. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 4: 1–573. In A. J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermount. Fl. Hafner Pub. Co., New York.
  • Hokche, O., P. E. Berry & O. Huber. 2008. 1–860. In O. Hokche, P. E. Berry & O. Huber Nuevo Cat. Fl. Vasc. Venezuela. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela, Caracas.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorTropicos.org Copyright (c) Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.tropicos.org/Name/17600017?tab=distribution

Worldwide distribution:

Throughout most of Europe; also SW Asia and N Africa

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorMark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe
Sourcehttp://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=166140

National Distribution:
Canada

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorNatureServe
Sourcehttp://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Ajuga+reptans

Range:

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).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/bugle/ajuga-reptans/

Habitat:

Found in damp broadleaved woodlands, typically in shaded places, and in damp meadows and pastures (2).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright Wildscreen 2003-2008
Sourcehttp://www.arkive.org/bugle/ajuga-reptans/

Faunal Associations:

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

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty
Sourcehttp://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/carpet_bugle.htm
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith