''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 Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Rubiaceae. It is commonly known as crosswort, smooth bedstraw or Luc na croise in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. 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 In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

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 d ...

of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being stipules. It is associated with arbuscular

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

it flowers April to June. Pollination is by

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

and flies.

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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

as well as from northern

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

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, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, 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 soils.

Uses

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

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

and dropsy. Bald's Leechbook recommended crosswort as a

cure A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

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