Lapsana communis, the common nipplewort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and southwestern Asia, and it is widely naturalized in other regions including North America.Altervista Flora Italiana, genere LapsanaFlora of North America, Lapsana communis Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 811. 1753. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Description
Lapsana communis is an annualParnell, J. and Curtis, Y. 2012 Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press. or perennial herbaceous plant growing to tall, with erect, hairy branching stems and milky sap. The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged; the larger leaves at the base of the flowering stem are often pinnate, with a large oval terminal leaflet and one to four small side leaflets, while smaller leaves higher on the stem are simple oval; all leaves have toothed margins. The flowers are yellow, produced in a capitulum diameter, the capitula being numerous in loose clusters at the top of the stem.Flora of Northwestern Europe: Lapsana communisBlamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. The capitulum is surrounded by a whorl of involucral bracts, the outer ones very small and the inner ones erect, narrow and stiff and all the same length. The eight to fifteen florets are all ligulate and pale yellow, shaped like a tongue with a five-toothed tip. Each has five stamens and a gynoecium composed of two fused carpels. The fruit is a cypsela surrounded by the hardened remains of the involucral bracts. The numerous small seeds are retained in the cypsela until the plant is shaken by the wind or a passing animal. Pappus is absent.
SubspeciesFlora Europaea: [ Lapsana communis] Lapsana communis subsp. adenophora (Boiss.) Rech.f. – Southeast Europe Lapsana communis subsp. alpina (Boiss. & Balansa) P.D.Sell. – Crimea Lapsana communis subsp. communis – most of Europe, except the southeast Lapsana communis subsp. grandiflora (M. Bieb.) P.D.Sell. – Southwest Asia Lapsana communis subsp. intermedia (M. Bieb.) Hayek. – Southwest Asia, southeast Europe Lapsana communis subsp. pisidica (Boiss. & Heldr.) Rech.f. – Greece
Distribution and habitat Away from its native area, Lapsana communis is common throughout the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. naturalised, and sometimes considered an invasive species, in many areas around the world, including Australia,Flora of New South Wales: Lapsana communis. Chile,Flora of Chile: Lapsana communis. New Zealand,Flora of New Zealand: Lapsana communis. Greenland, and most of Canada and the United States.Flora of North America: Lapsana communis.
Lapsana communis is found growing in arable fields, woods, hedges, roadsides, wasteland, hedgerows, woodland margins and clear-felled areas in forests.
Cultivation and uses The young leaves are edible, and can be used in salads or cooked like spinach.Plants for a Future: Lapsana communis. Because of its tiny hairs, some might prefer it mixed with other vegetables. The scientific name comes from lapsane, an edible herb described by Marcus Terentius Varro of ancient Rome. The English name 'nipplewort' was coined in the 17th century as an equivalent of papillaris (from Latin , meaning a nipple), the name used by German apothecaries, since the plant was used to treat cracked nipples and ulcerated breasts,Grigson G. 1974. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Allen Lane. especially under the doctrine of signatures on account of the flower buds' resemblance to nipples.Parkinson, J. (1640). Theatrum Botanicum; or an Herball of Large Extent.
See also Nanakusa-no-sekku
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