Short Description
The blue buggle can grow up to 30 cm high.
The leaves are ovate and shaggy-haired. They stand in a rosette just above the ground. The upper leaves are three-lobed and sit opposite each other on the stem (decussate). The leaf margin is coarsely crenate.
The stem grows erect. It is square and also hairy.
The flowers sit in a stick-like circle above the leaves. They are blue to purple. The corolla consists of two lips. The upper lip is tiny and therefore appears to be absent. The lower lip is three-lobed.
The fruits are small, single-seeded nutlets. They always sit in fours in the calyx of the flower.
Features
Blue bugle
Ajuga genevensis
crenate leaf margin
shaggy haired
In the city
The 'blue bugle' is a pioneer of raw soils. It prefers warm, dry, nutrient-poor sites with calcareous soils. In the city, it often grows on rough grassland, on embankments, on paths and on sandy areas.
Fun Facts
The plant's hairiness reduces solar radiation and thus evaporation.
Often several plants stand close together, as several new shoots sprout from one root.
The species was first described in the Geneva area. That is why it is also called 'Geneva bugleweed'.
The four partial fruits surrounded by the sepal each have a nutritious oil body and are spread by ants. The flowers are pollinated by insects.
The flowering period is from April to June.
It lives for several years and generally flowers and fruits annually (perennial plant).
- Endangerment level Germany: Warning list
The 'blue bugle' is native to Central Europe.
Sources
Habitus, Christian Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AjugaGenevensis.jpg
Habitus, AnRo0002, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20180421Ajuga_genevensis2.jpg
Blüten, AnRo0002, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20160603Ajuga_genevensis.jpg
Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Page „Genfer Günsel“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 19.01.2018, 10:12 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genfer_G%C3%BCnsel&oldid=173092878 (Accessed: 13.04.2018).
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=138& (Accessed: 13.04.2018).