''A. genevensis'' (also variously known as the upright bugle, blue bugle, Geneva bugleweed, blue bugleweed) is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe. It is less common than its relative, ''

Ajuga reptans ''Ajuga reptans'' is commonly known as bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bugleweed, and common bugle, and traditionally but less commonly as St. Lawrence plant. It is an herbaceous flowering plant in the mint family Lamia ...

'' (common bugle).

Description

''A. genevensis'' is a perennial plant (flowering between April and July) growing to a height of between 10 and 30 cm.Tomanová, 178 Evergreen, it has long-stalked, obovate, basal leaves which are shallowly lobed or toothed. It has an upright stem with flowers arranged in dense, terminal, spike-like inflorescences. The flowers are usually violet-blue, though can be pink or white, and the uppermost flowers are often flushed with blue. When pink, it is sometimes known as "pink beauty", and when white, it is sometimes known as "alba". The flowers have short upper-lips with protruding

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

. The plant sometimes suffers from '' Erysiphe biocellata'', a type of mildew.

Relatives

''A. genevensis'' is a less common relative of ''Ajuga reptans'', the Common bugle, though it is common for the two plants to interbreed, as well as with ''

Ajuga pyramidalis ''Ajuga pyramidalis'', commonly known as pyramidal bugle, is a flowering plant of the genus ''Ajuga'' in the family Lamiaceae. It is a native plant in Europe. Description Pyramidal bugle is a perennial, herbaceous plant growing from about tall. ...

'', the pyramidal bugle, producing

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

offspring that are very similar.Tomanová, 179

Varieties

There are also several variants of ''A. genevensis'' such as ''A. genevensis'' var. ''arida'' (a variety with short grey hairs found in mountain meadows) and ''A. genevensis'' var. ''elatior'' (a mountain plant with randomly hairy stems). Both varieties vary slightly in the shape and size of the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

Distribution

''A. genevensis'' is found on the edges of dry woods, as well as in thickets and grasslands. It is found in Europe (from France to western Russia), Turkey and the Caucasus. It is also naturalized in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, as a result of seeds that have escaped from gardens. It is used as an ornamental plant in gardens worldwide, where it used in edges due to its slower spread compared with ''A. reptans''.

Uses

''A. genevensis '' has uses within traditional Austrian medicine. It is taken internally as a tonic, for treatment of disorders related with the respiratory tract.

References

External links

''Ajuga genevensis''
in the USDA database {{Taxonbar, from=Q158548 genevensis Flora of Europe Flora of Turkey Flora of the Caucasus Garden plants of Europe Groundcovers Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus