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Succisa pratensis Moench

Devilsbit (en), Succise des prés (fr), Herbe du Diable (fr), Herbe-du-diable (fr), Mors-du-diable (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Dipsacales > Caprifoliaceae > Succisa

Characteristics

Slender, fibrous-rooted perennial 3–10 dm; lvs mostly in the lower half of the stem, entire or nearly so, oblanceolate, slender-petiolate, the upper ones much reduced; gynodioecious, the perfect heads to 3 cm thick, terminal, the female smaller; cor 4–7 mm, blue to white; fr 5 mm, hairy; involucel toothed; cal short, with 5 short awns; 2n=20. Native of Eurasia and n. Afr., occasionally found as a weed in the ne. part of our range. Aug. (Scabiosa succisa)
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A small plant. It grows 30-100 cm high and spreads 15-30 cm wide. It keeps growing from year to year. It forms a ring of leaves are the base. These are oblong or lance shaped. They are lightly downy. The flowering stems are slender and 100 cm tall. The flowers are like pincushions. They are dark purple or pink. The flower heads are 25 mm wide. They are in the axils of purple-tipped leafy bracts.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination entomogamy
Spread epizoochory
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.4 - 0.8
Root system fibrous-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) 0.3
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It grows naturally in wet grassy places in heath or open forest. It needs moist soil and sun or light shade. It suits hardiness zones 5-9.
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Meadows, pastures, marshes, fens and damp woods on slightly acid or calcareous soils.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 4-7
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The young leaves are added to salads.
Uses dye invertebrate food material medicinal poison
Edible leaves shoots
Therapeutic use Demulcent (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Tea (unspecified), Tumor(Throat) (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Expectorant (unspecified), Pectoral (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed or by division.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 10 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Succisa pratensis habit picture by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis habit picture by Ugoline Jacquot (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis habit picture by Pierre LEON (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Succisa pratensis leaf picture by rilwen (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis leaf picture by jeclerencia (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis leaf picture by Meßner Markus (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Succisa pratensis flower picture by Louis Bosca (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis flower picture by Frédéric Lamblin (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis flower picture by Max Ljungkvist (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Succisa pratensis fruit picture by Sylvain Piry (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis fruit picture by rubus (cc-by-sa)
Succisa pratensis fruit picture by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Succisa pratensis world distribution map, present in Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Algeria, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tunisia, Ukraine, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:320331-1
WFO ID wfo-0000500443
COL ID 7B3N5
BDTFX ID 66558
INPN ID 125295
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Lepicephalus succisa Succisa palustris Succisa pratensis Succisa gracilescens Succisa tardans Succisa stricta Succisa subacaulis Succisa sylvatica Succisa sabauda Succisa brevis Asterocephalus succisa Asterocephalus tomentosus Scabiosa borealis Succisa praemorsa Succisa parvula Succisa platyphylla Succisa incisa Succisa laetevirens Succisa vogesiaca Succisa viretorum Succisa procera Succisa propera Succisa pyrenaica Succisa rhodanensis Scabiosa succisa Succisa dentata Succisa fuscescens Succisa cuspidata Succisa aurigerana Succisa altissima Succisa angustula Succisa beugesiaca Scabiosa glabrata Succisa prativaga Succisa elliptica Succisa fuchsii Succisa cagiriensis Succisa vulgaris Succisa glabrata Succisa gigantea Scabiosa succisa var. ovalis Scabiosa succisa var. grandifolia Scabiosa succisa var. arenaria
WorldFloraDB 2024