| Hippocrepis comosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Hippocrepis |
| Species: | H. comosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Hippocrepis comosa | |
Hippocrepis comosa, the horseshoe vetch, [1] is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus Hippocrepis in the family Fabaceae.
The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps of flowers; at other times, it sends prostrate leafy runners over a wide area; sometimes it distributes itself as single flowers. The flowers are small, yellow or sometimes orange/red (becoming yellow as they mature), and of typical shape for the family Fabaceae: these appear for a period of two weeks around May.[ citation needed ].
The rate of seed production is variable: relatively low and sometimes negligible seed production. Seedlings remain the predominant method of extending its range. It has a low germination rate in the wild, although this can be improved in nurseries.
Hippocrepis comosa is found in the UK, predominantly in the south.[ citation needed ].
Hippocrepis comosa is a calciole (found only on chalk and limestone). It is a hardy plant that survives long periods of cold winters and dry summers years after year. Colonies are not harmed by sheep grazing, and are resistant to moderate trampling; they do not thrive after heavy ploughing or disturbance of the ground. In areas grazed by cattle they disappear, sometimes after several years (depending on grazing intensity.)
Hippocrepis comosa is the exclusive food plant of the caterpillars of chalkhill blue (Polyommatus coridon) and Adonis blue ( Polyommatus bellargus ) butterflies. [2] Populations that support such butterflies occur on longstanding ungrazed meadows, quarries, edges of paths and wasteland; outside of southern England and the Midlands (e.g. the Gower and Yorkshire populations) the climate is unsuitable for the butterflies.
Re-establishment of a colony of H. comosa is best attempted by planting individual plants: direct sowing has poor rates of success. Even this however offers no guarantee of a permanent colony (within a period as long as 20 years) and even less likelihood that the new plants will be used by significant populations of chalkhill blue butterflies within another 50 years.[ citation needed ]
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from a male part of a plant to a female part of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents are animals such as insects, birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves, when self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work.
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering 300 square miles (780 km2). It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but stretches into Berkshire and Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known landmarks. Large areas are given over to military training and thus the sparsely populated plain is the biggest remaining area of calcareous grassland in northwest Europe. Additionally the plain has arable land, and a few small areas of beech trees and coniferous woodland. Its highest point is Easton Hill.
A heath is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler and damper climate.
Trillium grandiflorum is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. A monocotyledonous, herbaceous perennial, the plant is native to eastern North America, from northern Quebec to the southern parts of the United States through the Appalachian Mountains into northernmost Georgia and west to Minnesota. There are also several isolated populations in Nova Scotia, Maine, southern Illinois, and Iowa.
The common blue butterfly is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively called blues, from the coloring of the wings. Common blue males usually have wings that are blue above with a black-brown border and a white fringe. The females are usually brown above with a blue dusting and orange spots.
The chalkhill blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
The Adonis blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic ecozone.
Albizia julibrissin, the Persian silk tree or pink silk tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern and eastern Asia.
Cordeauxia edulis is a plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus Cordeauxia. Known by the common name yeheb bush, it is one of the economically most important wild plant at the Horn of Africa, but it is little known outside of its distribution area. It is a multipurpose plant, which allows the survival of nomads by providing them with seeds. Further the bush serves forage for livestock, firewood and dye. Its wild population is currently declining. Because it is potentially valuable for other hot, dry regions as a resource for food and fodder, it's recommended to take measures against its extinction.
Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (USA), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.
Bowerchalke Downs, is a 128.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971. The downs encompass the entire southern outlook of the village of Bowerchalke in the Salisbury district of Wiltshire, England, and are adjacent to both the Hampshire and Dorset county boundaries. The Bowerchalke Downs are located within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are part of the Southern England Chalk Formation.
Ham Hill is an area of chalk downland in Wiltshire, England, on the steep banks running alongside the road from the village of Ham to Buttermere, close to the Berkshire border. A biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notified in 1971, covers 1.5 hectares of the site; this designation is due to the site's species-rich plant and insect communities, which include some rare species. Notable among these is the musk orchid, which has been confirmed at only one other site in Wiltshire.
Park Gate Down or Parkgate Down is a 7-hectare (17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Stelling Minnis in Kent. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust,
The Folkestone Downs are an area of chalk downland above Folkestone, where the eastern end of the North Downs escarpment meets the English Channel. Part of the Downs is the Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated for its geological and biological interest.
Zygaena ephialtes is day flying species of burnet moth found in Europe. It is typically found in xeric habitats, and populations have recently decreased. It also exhibits Müllerian mimicry with other species, like Amata phegea.
Lysandra albicans, the Spanish chalk-hill blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain and Western North Africa.
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.
Hippocrepis emerus, the scorpion senna, is a species of perennial plant belonging to the genus Hippocrepis in the family Fabaceae.
Polyommatus damonides, the Damonides blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Otto Staudinger in 1899. It is endemic to the southern part of the Zangezur Mountains, where it is known in two populations. One is the vicinity of the town of Meghri in Armenia and another lives near the town of Ordubad in Nakhichevan.
Lysandra corydonius, the false chalkhill blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. The species is distributed in south-eastern Europe, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, north-eastern Turkey, and north-western Iran. L.corydonius is very similar to Lysandra coridon but a slight violet sheen is present, especiallv in the outer area of the wings. .It inhabits a wide variety of grasslands and woodlands. In Armenia it occurs from 1200 to 2000 m above sea level. The known larval host plants of the species in Turkey is Hippocrepis comosa, in the Caucasus - Coronilla varia. The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. In Armenia from 2003 to 2013 its population increased.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hippocrepis comosa . |