''Cruciata laevipes'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules a ...

. It is commonly known as crosswort, smooth bedstraw or Luc na croise in Gaelic. The Latin epithet ''laevipes'' refers to the smooth stalk. The common name crosswort is a 16th century translation of the botanists' Latin ''cruciata planta'', meaning "cross plant", i.e., with leaves in a cross-like arrangement.

Description

This perennial sprawling plant can grow to a height of , spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. Of the

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s. It is associated with arbuscular mycorrhiza that penetrate the cortical cells of the roots. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

it flowers April to June. Pollination is by bees and

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

Distribution and habitat

''Cruciata laevipes'' is found in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

as well as from northern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, and the western

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

s. It is also reportedly naturalized in Ontario County in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. ''Cruciata laevipes'' is found in meadows, road verges, riverbanks, scrub and open woodland, generally on well-drained

calcareous soil Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adj ...

Uses

''Cruciata laevipes'' is little used in herbal medicine today, but it was once recommended as a remedy for rupture, rheumatism and

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

Bald's Leechbook ''Bald's Leechbook'' (also known as ''Medicinale Anglicum'') is an Old English medical text probably compiled in the ninth century, possibly under the influence of Alfred the Great's educational reforms.Nokes, Richard Scott ‘The several compil ...

recommended crosswort as a cure for headaches.Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger August: ''The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium'' Little, Brown, 2000

References

External links

US Department of Agriculture, plants profile, ''Cruciata laevipes'' Opiz, smooth bedstraw''Cruciata'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae

''C. laevipes'' photographs
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q159244 Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Rubieae Herbs Medicinal plants of Europe Flora of Belgium Flora of Sardinia Flora of Corsica Flora of France Flora of Great Britain Flora of Austria Flora of the Czech Republic Flora of Germany Flora of Hungary Flora of Switzerland Flora of the Netherlands Flora of Poland Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Flora of Kosovo Flora of Albania Flora of Bulgaria Flora of Italy Flora of Greece Flora of Romania Flora of Turkey Flora of Iran Flora of New York (state) Flora of Serbia Flora of Croatia Flora of Ukraine Flora of Russia Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of Georgia (country) Flora of Armenia Flora without expected TNC conservation status