Polemonium
Encyclopedia
Polemonium, commonly called Jacob's ladder, is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plant
s in the family Polemoniaceae
, native to cool temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere
and also in the southern Andes
in South America
. Many of the species grow at high altitudes in mountains.
They are perennial plant
s (rarely annual plant
s) growing 10–120 cm tall with bright green leaves
divided into lance-shaped leaflet
s, and produce blue (rarely white or pink) flower
s in the spring and summer.
Polemonium species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Coleophora polemoniella
.
Selected species
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae are a family of about 25 genera with 270-400 species of annual and perennial plants, native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity in western North America, especially in California.Only one genus is found in Europe, and two in Asia, where they...
, native to cool temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and also in the southern Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Many of the species grow at high altitudes in mountains.
They are perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s (rarely annual plant
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s) growing 10–120 cm tall with bright green leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
divided into lance-shaped leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s, and produce blue (rarely white or pink) flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s in the spring and summer.
Polemonium species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Coleophora polemoniella
Coleophora
Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions...
.
Selected species
- Polemonium acutifoliumPolemonium acutifoliumPolemonium acutiflorum is a plant of the genus Polemonium....
Tall Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium antarcticum
- Polemonium borealePolemonium borealePolemonium boreale is a plant native to the most of the high arctic. In Greenland it is found only in a small area on the east coast. It is not very common....
Northern Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium brandegeei Brandegee's Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium caeruleumPolemonium caeruleumJacob's Ladder or Greek valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant. The plant produces cup-shaped, lavender-coloured or white flowers...
Charity - Polemonium californicumPolemonium californicumPolemonium californicum is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names moving polemonium, low Jacob's ladder, and California Jacob's ladder. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in shady and moist habitat, such as mountain woodlands...
Showy Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium carneumPolemonium carneumPolemonium carneum is a plant native to the northwestern United States west of the Cascade Range in Washington south to the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Common names include royal Jacob's ladder, great polemonium, and salmon polemonium...
Royal Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium chartaceumPolemonium chartaceumPolemonium chartaceum is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names Mason's Jacob's-ladder and Mason's sky pilot. It is native to California, where it has a disjunct distribution...
Mason's Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium chinense
- Polemonium confertum Rocky Mountain Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium cuspidatum Stiff-point Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium delicatum
- Polemonium elegans Elegant Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium eximiumPolemonium eximiumPolemonium eximium is a species of flowering plant in the genus which includes the Jacob's Ladders. Its common name is skypilot. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California where it grows in the talus of the high mountain slopes...
Sky Pilot - Polemonium foliosissimum Towering Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium gayanum
- Polemonium longii Long's Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium mexicanum
- Polemonium micranthumPolemonium micranthumPolemonium micranthum is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name annual Jacob's-ladder. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to North Dakota to California, where it can be found in many types of shrubby habitat, such as sagebrush and foothill...
Annual Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium nevadense Nevada Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium occidentalePolemonium occidentalePolemonium occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name western Jacob's-ladder. There are two subspecies. The common ssp. occidentale is native to western North America from British Columbia to Colorado to California, where it can be found in moist areas...
Western Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium pauciflorum Few-flower Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium pectinatum Washington Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium pulcherrimumPolemonium pulcherrimumPolemonium pulcherrimum is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by several common names, including beautiful Jacob's-ladder, showy Jacob's-ladder, and skunk-leaved polemonium...
Beautiful Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium reptansPolemonium reptansPolemonium reptans is a flowering plant in the genus Polemonium, native to eastern North America. Common names include Abscess Root, Creeping or Spreading Jacob's Ladder, False Jacob's Ladder, American Greek Valerian, Blue bells, Stairway to Heaven, and Sweatroot.-Growth:It is a perennial...
Greek Valerian - Polemonium sumushanense
- Polemonium vanbruntiae Van Brunt's Jacob's Ladder
- Polemonium viscosumPolemonium viscosumPolemonium viscosum is a flowering plant in the genus Polemonium native to western North America from southern British Columbia east to Montana and south to Arizona and New Mexico, where it grows at high altitudes on dry, rocky sites.It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 10-30 cm tall,...
Sticky Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium yezoense
External links
- Flora of China: Polemonium
- Jepson Flora of California: Polemonium (click 'next taxon' to view individual species accounts)