Astrantia
Encyclopedia
Astrantia is a genus
of herbaceous plants in the family
Apiaceae
, endemic
to Central
, Eastern
and Southern Europe
and the Caucasus
.The Genus name comes from the Greek word for star in reference to the star-like quality of the flower heads. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate
leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort, which may be confused with masterwort
, Peucedanum ostruthium.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of herbaceous plants in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Apiaceae
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, Eastern
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Southern Europe
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.The Genus name comes from the Greek word for star in reference to the star-like quality of the flower heads. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort, which may be confused with masterwort
Masterwort
Masterwort typically refers to the plant Peucedanum ostruthium or Imperatoria ostruthium in the family Apiaceae, and not to be confused with great masterwort, Astrantia major, in the same family.-Use:...
, Peucedanum ostruthium.
Species
- Astrantia carniolica K. Koch (Jacq.)
- Astrantia majorAstrantia majorAstrantia major, common name Great Masterwort, is an herbaceous, perennial plant with a rhizome, belonging to the family Apiaceae.-Etymology:...
L. - Astrantia minorAstrantia minorAstrantia minor is a species of herbaceous plant belonging to the family of Apiaceae.- Description :A. minor is a flowering plant that often reaches 15-30 cm in height, with simple stems, rarely branched in the upper half, the basal leaves are of two types, often on the same plant: one with narrow...
L.