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Thesium humifusum

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Genus of flowering plant in the mistletoe family Santalaceae

Thesium humifusum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Santalaceae
Genus: Thesium
Species: T. humifusum
Binomial name
Thesium humifusum
DC.

Thesium humifusum is a species of hemiparasitic flowering plant in the family Santalaceae found in western Europe and north-western Africa, known as bastard-toadflax.

Distribution

Within continental Europe, Thesium humifusum is found throughout France, Spain and Italy. In the Netherlands, it is very rare, being now restricted to a single dune system near Katwijk aan Zee. In Belgium, it can be found in coastal dunes in Flanders, and perhaps one site in Wallonia. It is the only species of Thesium in Great Britain, and is there considered 'scarce'. Thesium humifusum may also occur in parts of North Africa.

Ecology

Thesium humifusum is a hemiparasitic plant that steals nutrients from hedge bedstraw (Galium album) or lady's bedstraw (Galium verum). Although it can be abundant in appropriate habitats, its low growth habit and inconspicuous flowers mean that it is often overlooked. In Great Britain, it is restricted to downlands over chalk or oolitic limestone in southern England. Elsewhere, it may also grow in sand dune systems.

Description

Thesium humifusum usually grows flat along the ground, only occasionally producing more erect flowering stems. Its leaves are a yellowish green colour and are strap-shaped and up to 25 mm (1 in) long, with a single central vein. The flowers are also yellowish, and only 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. They have five tepals, five stamens, and a single ovary with three ovules and one style.

Taxonomy

Thesium humifusum was first described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in the 1815 third edition of his Flore Française. In English, it is known simply as 'bastard-toadflax'.

References

  1. "Thesium humifusum". eFlore: L'encyclopédie botanique collaborative. Tela Botanica. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  2. J. Pedrol & M. Laínz (1997). "Thesium L.". In Santiago Castroviejo Bolibar (ed.). Haloragaceae–Euphorbiaceae. Flora Iberica. Vol. 8. Madrid: Real Jardín Botánico. pp. 152–159. ISBN 84-00-07654-0.
  3. "Thesium humifusum DC". Flora Italiana. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  4. ^ Niko Buiten & René van Moorsel (2015). "Thesium humifusum DC., liggend bergvlas". FLORON Verspreidingsatlas. NDFF. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  5. K. M. Dijkstra. "Liggend bergvlas – Thesium humifusum". Wilde planten in Nederland en België. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  6. ^ Clive A. Stace (2019). "Santalaceae – bastard-toadflax family". New Flora of the British Isles (4th ed.). C&M Floristics. pp. 451–452. ISBN 978-1-5272-26302.
  7. ^ T. C. E. Wells (1994). "Thesium humifusum". In A. Stewart; D. A. Pearman; C. D. Preston (eds.). Scarce Plants in Britain. Peterborough, UK: JNCC. ISBN 978-1873701669.
  8. ^ "Thesium humifusum DC". The Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem. 2006. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  9. "Thesium humifusum". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Biological Records Centre. Retrieved 2020-07-08.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Thesium humifusum
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