Anthriscus-sylvestris_14

Description :

Anthriscus sylvestris (s.str.) (L.) Hoffm, syn.: Chaerophyllum alpinum Vill., Chaerophyllum sylvestre, Anthriscus alpina (Vill.) Jord., Myrrhis sylvestris (L.) Spreng., Carum sylvestre (L.) Baill., + about 25 other namesFamily: ApiaceaeCow Parsley, Wild Chervil, Mother-Die, DE: Wiesen-KerbelSlo.: gozdna krebuljica.Dat.: June 3. 2019, June 9. 2019Lat.: 46.360418 Long.: 13.702872Code: Bot_1206/2019_DSC07292, Bot_1210/2019_DSC6310Habitat: grassland, pasture; near mixed wood edge; locally flat terrain; calcareous, colluvial, skeletal ground; shallow soil layer; partly sunny place;elevation 600 m (1.970 feet); average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil.Place: Lower Trenta valley, between villages Soa and Trenta, near the cottage Trenta 2b; Na Melu place, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comment: Umbellifers (celery, carrot or parsley family) (Apiaceae or Umbelliferae) are huge flowering plant family with more than 3.000 taxa worldwide arranged in more than 400 genera. The key characteristic of this family is the inflorescence in which the flowers are aggregated in terminal umbels (a flat-topped or convex inflorescence with the pedicels arising more or less from a common point, like the struts of an umbrella). Hence to recognize family members is usually simple (although other families exist, which also flower in umbels). Not so with determinations on species and genus level. Historically, the taxonomy was defined according to fruit morphology, however modern DNA analyses have overturned much of this order. The process of redefinition of the family is not yet finished. There exist many similar taxa and they are often variable. Hence a careful observation of several traits is required to come up with a reliable determination (except with the most common and well known taxa). Fruit shape is still the most helpful for species determination. But, if one finds Anthriscus sylvestris in full bloom, still without fruits, it can be recognized by the following traits:- tall plant up to 1 m in height or more (Fig 10),- white petals with entire margin (Fig.12),- ground and lower stem leaves two to four times pinnate (Fig. 2, 15),- the lower segment of the first order of the leaf is much smaller than the rest of the leaf (Fig.15),- bracts (leaf like structure at the base of the umbel) missing (Fig.11),- but secondary bracts present; they are uniformly radially arranged, about 3 times longer than wide; acuminate (gradually tapering to a sharp point, sides along the tip are concave) and ciliate (with marginal fringes or hairs) (Fig. 3, 17),- sepals missing,- at the base of the plant there is no abundant remnants of old leaves and stems.Not strong, but distinct and pleasant smell of the plant on somewhere in between celery and anise may also help in determination.Anthriscus sylvestris is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is a common plant in Slovenia and grows everywhere in the Alps up to alpine elevations. As a fast growing plant it is an invasive species in several other areas of the world, as in the United States for example. Ref.:(1) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora fr sterreich, Liechtenstein und Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 826.(2) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije (Flora of Slovenia - Key) (in Slovenian), Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007), p 391. (3) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 1., Haupt (2004), p 1080.(4) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 956.