Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum

Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: incertae sedis
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Lithospermum
Species: L. purpurocaeruleum
Binomial name
Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum
L.
Synonyms
  • Aegonychon purpurocaeruleum (L.) Holub
  • Buglossoides purpurocaeruleum (L.) I.M. Johnst.
  • Margarospermum purpurocaeruleum (L.) Opiz

Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum or Purple Gromwell[1] is a herbaceous perennial rhizomatous plant of the genus Lithospermum, belonging to the family Boraginaceae.

Etymology

The Latin name of the species purpurocaeruleum means purple and blue, referred to the changing colour of the flowers with the progress of flowering.

Description

Close-up on purple-reddish blooms and blue flowers

Lithospermum purpurocaerula is a bushy plant that reaches on average 20–60 centimetres (7.9–23.6 in) of height, with a maximum of 70 centimetres (28 in). The stem is hairy, erect and unbranched. Leaves are dark green and lanceolate to narrow elliptic, with a prominent midrib on the underside. Flowers are hermaphroditic, funnel-shaped, 15–20 millimetres (0.59–0.79 in) long and 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) of diameter, clustered in a racemose inflorescence. The blossoms are purple-reddish, then the color of the flowers turns into a deep blue. The flowering period extends from April to June. The fruits are bright white capsules, 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) long, with a glossy surface. They are very hard (hence the genus synonym Lithospermum, meaning "stone seed" for the hardness of these capsules).

Distribution

This species is widespread in British Isles, in the central Europe up to South Russia and in Mediterranean countries from Spain to the eastern Turkey.

Habitat

These plants occur in dry and warm forests with sparse deciduous vegetation, in the meadows on the edge of the wood, in hedgerows and scrublands. They prefer calcareous soils rich in humus, at an altitude of 0–1,800 metres (0–5,906 ft) above sea level.

Culture

It has been cultivated in Japan since the Nara period for its root, which can be used for herbal medicine and to make dyes.

One Japanese word for the plant, murasaki (紫), inspired the pen name "Lady Murasaki" for the author of The Tale of Genji and is also the source of the general Japanese term for the color purple, murasaki iro (紫色).

The dyes made from its root also had other names, such as shikon (紫根), but all of them were difficult to work with because of their requirement for an alum-rich mordant and the resulting colors' extreme vulnerability to photobleaching. During the Heian Period, sumptuary laws restricted murasaki-dyed clothing to the Empress and her ladies in waiting.

References

  1. ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
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