Short Description
The field gromwell grows 10 to 50 centimetres high and roots up to 60 centimetres deep.
The leaves are ovate to elongated and densely hirsute. The lower leaves are narrowed into a stalk and usually pointed.
The stem is reddish at the base.
The flowers are mostly white. They are rarely blue, reddish or creamy white.
The fruits are small, single-seeded and brown nutlets. There are always four of them in the calyx of the flower.
Features
Field gromwell
Buglossoides arvensis
hirsute
mostly white flowers
single-nerved leaves
In the city
The field gromwell grows as a weed among cereals, on roadsides and sometimes on rubble. It prefers fresh, nutrient-rich and humus-poor clay and loam soils.
Fun Facts
The fruits are spread by adhering to fur or clothing.
The flowers produce little nectar, so they are sparsely visited by butterflies and bees.
The roots contain a red dye that was used for make-up in the past.
The flowering period is from April to July.
It is an annual plant, i.e. it only flowers for one summer and dies after the seeds have ripened.
- Endangerment level Germany: Warning list
Sources
Blüten, Fornax, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithospermum_arvense_W.jpg
Habitus, Bernd Haynold, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buglossoides_arvensis_300406.jpg
Früchte, MurielBendel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buglossoides_arvensis_Klausenfrucht2.JPG
Aichele, D. (1986): Was blüht denn da? Wildwachsenen Blütenpflanzen Mitteleuropas, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=928& (Accessed: 13.07.2018).
Seitz, B., Ristow, M., Meißner, J., Machatzi, B. & Sukopp, H. (2018) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der etablierten Farn- und Blütenpflanzen von Berlin. : Der Landesbeauftragte für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege / Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Klima und Verkehr (eds.) Rote Listen der gefährdeten Pflanzen, Pilze und Tiere von Berlin, URL: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/naturschutz/artenschutz/artenlisten-rote-listen/farn-und-bluetenpflanzen/ (Accessed: 26.03.2021).
Page „Acker-Steinsame“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 13.11.2017, 15:02 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acker-Steinsame&oldid=170963144 (Accessed: 13.07.2018).