Mercurialis perennis
EOL Text
Foodplant / internal feeder
larva of Apion pallipes feeds within stem of Mercurialis perennis
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / spot causer
gregarious, epiphyllous, amber or pale brownish yellow pycnidium of Ascochyta coelomycetous anamorph of Ascochyta mercurialis causes spots on live leaf of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 5-9
Foodplant / feeds on
Barynotus moerens feeds on Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / spot causer
amphigenous colony of Cercospora dematiaceous anamorph of Cercospora mercurialis causes spots on live leaf of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 8-9
Plant / associate
basidiome of Chamaemyces fracidus is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Conocybe dumetorum is saprobic on old, decayed stem of Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Conocybe vexans is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Coprinus cortinatus is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota adulterina is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota hetieri is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota moelleri is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota seminuda is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Entoloma araneosum is associated with live Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Entoloma dysthales is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Entoloma incarnatofuscescens is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / resting place / on
colony of Helicobasidium purpureum may be found on live stem of Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Foodplant / open feeder
imago of Hermaeophaga mercurialis grazes on leaf of Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Inocybe haemacta is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota jacobii is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota subalba is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota subgracilis is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Leucoagaricus serenus is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Foodplant / parasite
elongate and confluent, clustered aecium of Melampsora populnea parasitises live peduncle of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 4-6
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Melanophyllum haematospermum is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Foodplant / feeds on
Muntiacus reevesi feeds on Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Mycena acicula is saprobic on dead, decayed stem of debris of Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, then superficial pycnidium of Phoma coelomycetous anamorph of Phoma macrocapsa is saprobic on dead stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 5
Foodplant / spot causer
amphigenous, immersed pycnidium of Phyllosticta coelomycetous anamorph of Phyllosticta mercurialis causes spots on Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 6-10
Other: uncertain
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Psathyrella leucotephra is associated with live Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / saprobe
suberumpent, sessile apothecium of Pyrenopeziza mercurialidis is saprobic on dead stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 4
Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Pyrenopeziza mercurialis is saprobic on dead stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 2-6
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Rhodocybe griseospora is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / saprobe
superficial colony of Sarcopodium dematiaceous anamorph of Sarcopodium circinatum is saprobic on dead stem of Mercurialis perennis
Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium-bearing, elongated stroma of Spilopodia melanogramma is saprobic on dead stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 2-5
Foodplant / gall
resting sporangium of Synchytrium mercurialis causes gall of live stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 4-6
Plant / resting place / on
larva of Thrips fulvipes may be found on live Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: 6-8
Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Typhula uncialis is saprobic on dead, decaying stem of Mercurialis perennis
Remarks: season: spring-summer
Plant / associate
fruitbody of Tyromyces wynnei is associated with Mercurialis perennis
Other: major host/prey
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Specimens with Barcodes: 5
Species With Barcodes: 1
Mercurialis perennis, commonly known as dog's mercury, is a woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.[1][2] A member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), it is a herbaceous, downy perennial with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves. The dioecious inflorescences are green, bearing inconspicuous flowers in March and April. It characteristically forms dense, extensive carpets on the floor of woodlands and beneath hedgerows.
Growth[edit]
Dog's mercury favours alkaline (basic) soils and can be found in abundance in suitable habitats in limestone regions. It also occurs widely on neutral soils, but is absent from acidic ones. Spreading by underground rhizomes, it thrives in deep shade or semi-shade, where its dense growth may shade out other woodland flowers such as oxlip, fly orchid, and even young ash seedlings,[3] but in the open it eventually gives way to other plants.
Although it is strongly associated with land that has had a long continuity of woodland or shrub cover, and only rarely occurs in extensive areas of secondary woodland, it is nevertheless able to colonise new deciduous woods on dry, calcareous soils at an annual rate of a metre or more.[3]
Existing colonies in some parts of Britain (including some in woods on boulder clay in East Anglia), are expanding and showing increased vigour, perhaps as a result of deeper shade in woodlands where coppicing has ceased.[3]
Names[edit]
The plant's common name derives from the plant's resemblance to the unrelated Chenopodium bonus-henricus (Good King Henry, also known as mercury, markry, markery, Lincolnshire spinach). Since Mercurialis perennis is highly poisonous, it was named "dog's" mercury (in the sense of "false" or "bad").[3] It has also been known as boggard posy.
Plant communities[edit]
Dog's mercury is one of the characteristic plants of several woodland types, in particular:
- W8 Fraxinus excelsior - Acer campestre - Mercurialis perennis woodland
- W9 Fraxinus excelsior - Sorbus aucuparia - Mercurialis perennis woodland
- W12 Fagus sylvatica - Mercurialis perennis woodland
Chemical characteristics[edit]
Dog's mercury is highly poisonous. Methylamine (mercurialine) and trimethylamine are thought to be present, together with a volatile oil and saponins.[4] Symptoms of poisoning appear within a few hours; they can include vomiting, pain, gastric and kidney inflammation, and sometimes inflammation of the cheeks and jaw ("malar erythema") and drowsiness. The first-known account of this phenomenon probably dates from 1693, when a family of five became seriously ill as a result of eating the plant (after boiling and frying it); one of the children died some days later as a result.[3]
Apart from Chenopodium bonus-henricus and some other edible members of the Chenopodiaceae (also known as mercuries), the most similar-looking species is probably Mercurialis annua, annual mercury, which is also thought to be poisonous.[4] Dog's mercury has been eaten in mistake for brooklime.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Mercorella bastarda, Mercurialis perennis L. includes photos, drawings, and a European distribution map
- ^ a b c d e f Mabey, Richard, Flora Britannica, Sinclair-Stevenson, London, 1996, pp256–257. ISBN 1-85619-377-2
- ^ a b Cooper, Marion R, & Johnson, Anthony W, Poisonous Plants & Fungi – An illustrated guide, HMSO, London, 1991, pp48–49, ISBN 0-11-242718-9
See also[edit]
- List of early spring flowers
- Woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system
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