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Published In: Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Reihe 14: 496. 1965. (Wiss. Z. Martin-Luther-Univ. Halle-Wittenberg, Math.-Naturwiss. Reihe) Name publication detail
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 8/11/2017)
Acceptance : Accepted
Project Data     (Last Modified On 7/9/2009)
Status : Introduced

 

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1. Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert (cow herb, cow soapwort, cow cockle)

V. pyramidata Medik.

V. hispanica ssp. pyramidata (Medik.) Holub

Saponaria vaccaria L.

Map 1501, Pl. 349 h, i

Plants annual. Stems 20–100 cm long, erect, branched above the midpoint, glabrous and glaucous. Leaves opposite, clasping or fused basally into a sheath, short-petiolate (basal leaves) or sessile (stem leaves), lacking axillary clusters of leaves. Stipules absent. Leaf blades 2–10 cm long, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or oblong, not fleshy, angled to cordate at the base, angled or tapered to a bluntly or more commonly sharply pointed tip, the surfaces glabrous, somewhat glaucous. Flowers in terminal open, often flat-topped panicles, the stalks (0.5–)1.0–3.0(–5.5) cm long, erect or ascending at flowering and fruiting, the bracts paired and resembling small leaves. Epicalyx absent. Sepals 5, 9–17 mm long, fused most of their length into a tube, this more or less cylindrical to narrowly flask-shaped and strongly 5-angled or winged, each angle or wing with a prominent nerve, whitish green, herbaceous between the sepals, the lobes obovate to broadly triangular, much shorter than the tube, angled or short-tapered to a sharply pointed tip, not appearing hooded or awned, the margins herbaceous and green or more commonly thin and translucent or purplish-tinged. Petals 5, showy, 1.1–2.2 cm long, oblanceolate to spatulate, tapered to a relatively broad, membranous, straplike or stalklike base, the expanded portion 0.3–0.8 cm long, rounded, truncate, or shallowly and broadly notched at the tip, sometimes appearing slightly uneven or ruffled, pink or purplish pink, lacking appendages. Stamens 10, the filaments distinct, attached to the basal portion of the petals. Staminodes absent. Pistil with 1 locule or rarely appearing 2-locular toward the base, with a short stalk 0.5–1.5 mm long. Styles 2(3), each with a stigmatic area along the inner surface. Fruits capsules, (8–)10–13 mm long, the outer wall layer dehiscing apically by 4(6) ascending or slightly spreading teeth, the inner layer dehiscing irregularly. Seeds 8–12, 2.0–2.5 mm wide, subglobose, the surface with papillae, black, lacking wings or appendages. 2n=30. May–September.

Introduced, uncommon and sporadic (native of Europe, Asia; introduced nearly worldwide). Railroads, roadsides, and open, disturbed areas.

The taxonomy of Vaccaria is still not fully resolved. Botanists have treated it as comprising either four species or a single species (V. hispanica) with up to four subspecies (of which ssp. hispanica is the widespread weed). In the United States, this taxon formerly was more abundant, especially in the plains and midwestern states, as a crop weed. In recent decades, populations have been declining, in part due to a combination of improved grain handling and the more widespread application of herbicides. However, in Missouri it does not appear ever to have been very common. Mühlenbach (1979) noted that it was rarely observed in his botanical inventory of the St. Louis railyards, often as only 1–3 individuals at a site. The seeds of Vaccaria contain saponins and are poisonous (Burrows and Tyrl, 2001).

 
 


 

 
 
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