About Cruciata laevipes Opiz
Cruciata laevipes Opiz is a perennial sprawling plant. It grows between 15 and 70 cm (6 and 28 inches) tall, and spreads via both seeds and stolons. Unusually for plants in its group, it has yellow hermaphrodite flowers. Inner flowers are male and drop off quickly, while outer flowers are bisexual and produce fruit. The flowers have a honey-like scent. This plant produces whorls of four leaf-like structures; only two of these structures in each whorl are true leaves, and the other two are stipules. It forms an association with arbuscular mycorrhiza, which penetrate the cortical cells of the plant’s roots. In the United Kingdom, this species flowers from April to June, and pollination is carried out by bees and flies. Cruciata laevipes is distributed across most of Europe, and also occurs in northern Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, and the western Himalayas. It is also reported to be naturalized in Ontario County, New York State. It grows in meadows, road verges, riverbanks, scrub, and open woodland, most commonly on well-drained calcareous soils. Today, Cruciata laevipes is rarely used in herbal medicine, but it was historically recommended as a remedy for rupture, rheumatism, and dropsy. Bald's Leechbook recommended this crosswort as a cure for headaches.
