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Homogyne alpina

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(Redirected from Purple colt's foot)

Homogyne alpina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Homogyne
Species:
H. alpina
Binomial name
Homogyne alpina
Synonyms

Tussilago alpina L.

Homogyne alpina, the Alpine coltsfoot or purple colt's-foot,[1] is a rhizomatous herb in the family Asteraceae, which is often used as an ornamental plant. The plant has purple-red flowers, and it is usually associated with the gall flies Ensina sonchi and Acidia cognata.

Homogyne alpina is a perennial plant that reaches a height of 10 to 40 centimeters. The rhizome is creeping woolly and scaly. The stem is erect, reddish brown and often single head. It is hairy silvery-woolly, bare later and usually has 2 leaves on small scales. The leaves are all basal, long-stalked, leathery, coarse and glossy dark green, the underside is lighter. The leaf blade is heart-kidney-shaped.

The flower heads have a diameter up to 15 mm. The bracts are in a single row, crowded and hairy brown-red woolly at the base. The flowers are purple.

Distribution

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Homogyne alpina grows in the mountains of South Central Europe at altitudes from 500 to 3 000 meters. The species grows on moist, humus-rich, mossy soil in coniferous forests, bushes and dwarf-shrub heath. In the U.K., it is known from a single location in Angus, Scotland.[2]: 811  It is uncertain whether the plant is native or introduced.[3]

Similar species

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The felt-like Homogyne discolor is characterized by the under side white, felty leaves.

References

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  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
  3. ^ "Homogyne alpina". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. 6 April 2021.
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Media related to Homogyne alpina at Wikimedia Commons