Brightness in wet areas: Anagallis tenella

1995/06/01 Terés, Joxepo Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Botanika

We had the opportunity to meet this family when we studied the flower of San José and this time we will address the genus Anagallis. Within this genus some 20 species have been called, which are distributed especially in the temperate zones of the planet. As for the Basque Country, 3 species and one subspecies are mentioned.

The tenella Anagallis is a vivacious, creeping and relatively small herbaceous species, 5-15 cm. Its leaves are very small, opposite and very short. The flowers, solitary, appear in the axils of the leaves. Small, funnel-shaped corollas, slow pink, but sometimes white. Blooms in late spring or early summer. The fruit is a 2-4 mm capsule that develops between 6 and 12 seeds inside.

As for the distribution of this plant is in the west and middle of Europe, it can also be found in Sardinia, Crete and North Africa. Circumscribed to the Basque Country, it lives from 0 to 1,400 meters in general, quite distributed, although more easily in the Cantabrian areas. The humid and siliceous places are of great interest, usually limited to areas such as swamps, springs, peatlands and river banks.

It is often used as a medicinal plant, both against the bite of vipers and against rabies. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that this beautiful plant has been used for ornamentation.

We will have the opportunity to review this genus with the grass plant of pasmo, very known and common among us.

Family: primulaceae Species: Distribution: distributed Habitat: marshes, springs and banks Medicinal grass: yes