Circaea alpina L.
enchanter's-nightshade (small enchanter's nightshade)
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
enchanter's-nightshade (small enchanter's nightshade)
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a slender, tuber-tipped rhizome; stems erect, 10-50 cm tall, simple or branched, glabrous or appressed short-hairy.
Leaves:
Opposite, heart- to egg-shaped, 2-6 cm long, more or less entire to toothed, short-hairy on the lower surface, tips pointed; stalks 1.5-4 cm long, with narrow wings.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal clusters of 8-12 flowers, often with 1 or 2 linear bracts at the base; flower stalks spreading to erect, becoming reflexed and about equalling the fruit; hypanthium 0.3-0.5 mm long; petals 2, white to pale pink, 1-1.5 mm long, erect, deeply notched; sepals 2, 1-2 mm long, bent downward; stigmas 2-lobed.
Fruits:
Capsules, top- or pear-shaped, about 2 mm long, hooked-hairy, 1-chambered; seeds 1, glabrous.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC:
1. Stems glabrous; leaf bases heart-shaped; margins toothed; plants from throughout BC.................. ssp. alpina
1. Stems hairy; leaf bases from nearly heart-shaped to blunt; margins nearly entire to toothed; plants from coastal and S BC................... ssp. pacifica (Asch. & Magnus) Raven
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Circaea alpina
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
575 | 0 | 2750 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
11 | 0 | 119 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
344 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1568 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ICH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(2), BWBS(36), CDF(4), CWH(556), ESSF(47), ICH(569), IDF(46), MH(4), MS(7), PP(2), SBPS(3), SBS(260) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||