Lapsana communis

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae}} {{Speciesbox |image = Lapsana communis 003.JPG |genus = Lapsana |species = communis |authority = L. |synonyms_ref = <ref name = betty>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/gcc-43300 The Plant List ''Lapsana communis'' L.]</ref> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title = Synonymy |''Lapsana cancellata'' Borbás |''Lapsana cappadocica'' Bornm. |''Lapsana crispa'' Willd. |''Lapsana glandulosa'' (Freyn) Klokov |''Lapsana olympica'' Candargy |''Lapsana pubescens'' Hornem. |''Lapsana sonchifolia'' Gilib. |''Lapsana sylvatica'' Wallr. |''Lapsana adenophora'' Boiss., syn. of subsp. ''adenophora'' |''Lapsana alpina'' Boiss. & Balansa, syn. of subsp. ''alpina '' |''Lapsana glandulifera'' Cass., syn. of subsp. ''grandiflora '' |''Lapsana grandiflora'' M.Bieb., syn. of subsp. ''grandiflora '' |''Lapsana lyrata'' Willd., syn. of subsp. ''grandiflora '' |''Lapsana aipetriensis'' Vassilcz., syn. of subsp. ''intermedia '' |''Lapsana intermedia'' M.Bieb., syn. of subsp. ''intermedia '' |''Lapsana macrocarpa'' Coss., syn. of subsp. ''macrocarpa '' |''Lapsana cassia'' Boiss., syn. of subsp. ''pisidica'' |''Lapsana peduncularis'' Boiss., syn. of subsp. ''pisidica'' |''Lapsana pisidica'' Boiss. & Heldr., syn. of subsp. ''pisidica'' |''Lapsana ramosissima'' Boiss., syn. of subsp. ''pisidica'' }} }}

'''''Lapsana communis''''', the '''common nipplewort''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=LACO3|taxon=Lapsana communis|accessdate=18 January 2016}}</ref> is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and southwestern Asia, and it is widely naturalized in other regions including North America.<ref>[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Lapsana Altervista Flora Italiana, genere ''Lapsana'']</ref><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220007293 Flora of North America, ''Lapsana communis'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 811. 1753. ]</ref><ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Lapsana%20communis.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]</ref>

==Description== thumb|Habitus of full-grown plants ''Lapsana communis'' is an annual<ref name="Parnell 12">Parnell, J. and Curtis, Y. 2012 ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. {{ISBN|978-185918-4783}}</ref> or perennial herbaceous plant growing to {{convert|1-1.2|m|abbr=on}} tall, with erect, hairy branching stems and milky sap. The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged; the larger leaves at the base of the flowering stem are often pinnate, with a large oval terminal leaflet and one to four small side leaflets, while smaller leaves higher on the stem are simple oval; all leaves have toothed margins. The flowers are yellow, produced in a capitulum {{convert|1-2|cm|abbr=on}} diameter, the capitula being numerous in loose clusters at the top of the stem.<ref name=fnwe>Flora of Northwestern Europe: [http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=3888 ''Lapsana communis'']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=blamey>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}</ref> The capitulum is surrounded by a whorl of involucral bracts, the outer ones very small and the inner ones erect, narrow and stiff and all the same length. The eight to fifteen florets are all ligulate<ref name="Parnell 12"/> and pale yellow, shaped like a tongue with a five-toothed tip. Each has five stamens and a gynoecium composed of two fused carpels. The fruit is a cypsela surrounded by the hardened remains of the involucral bracts. The numerous small seeds are retained in the cypsela until the plant is shaken by the wind or a passing animal.<ref name=NatureGate>{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/nipplewort |title=Nipplewort: ''Lapsana communis'' |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-30}}</ref> Pappus is absent.<ref name="Parnell 12"/>

;Subspecies<ref name=betty/><ref name=fnwe/><ref name=fe>Flora Europaea: [ ''Lapsana communis'']</ref><ref name=grin>{{GRIN | accessdate = 10 January 2018}}</ref> *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''adenophora'' (Boiss.) Rech.f. – Southeast Europe *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' (Boiss. & Balansa) P.D.Sell. – Crimea *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''communis'' – most of Europe, except the southeast *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''grandiflora'' (M. Bieb.) P.D.Sell. – Southwest Asia *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''intermedia'' (M. Bieb.) Hayek. – Southwest Asia, southeast Europe *''Lapsana communis'' subsp. ''pisidica'' (Boiss. & Heldr.) Rech.f. – Greece

==Distribution and habitat== Away from its native area, ''Lapsana communis'' is common throughout the British Isles,<ref>Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0 521 04656 4}}</ref> naturalised, and sometimes considered an invasive species, in many areas around the world, including Australia,<ref name=fnsw>Flora of New South Wales: [http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lapsana~communis ''Lapsana communis''].</ref> Chile,<ref name=fc>Flora of Chile: [http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/FloraData/060/PDF/V04/Volume5-Lapsana.pdf ''Lapsana communis''].</ref> New Zealand,<ref name=fnz>Flora of New Zealand: [http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_53bb02f9-3782-4aec-b86f-8468d32b7562&fileName=flora%204.xml ''Lapsana communis''].</ref> Greenland,<ref name=fna /> and most of Canada and the United States.<ref name=fna>Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220007293 ''Lapsana communis''].</ref>

''Lapsana communis'' is found growing in arable fields, woods, hedges,<ref name="Parnell 12"/> roadsides, wasteland, hedgerows, woodland margins and clear-felled areas in forests.<ref name=NatureGate/>

==Cultivation and uses== The young leaves are edible, and can be used in salads or cooked like spinach.<ref name=pfaf>Plants for a Future: [http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lapsana+communis ''Lapsana communis''].</ref> Because of its tiny hairs, some might prefer it mixed with other vegetables.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nyerges|first=Christopher|title=Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods|publisher=Falcon Guides|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4930-2534-3|location=Guilford, CT|oclc=965922681}}</ref> The scientific name comes from ''lapsane'', an edible herb described by Marcus Terentius Varro of ancient Rome. The English name 'nipplewort' was coined in the 17th century as an equivalent of ''papillaris'' (from Latin ''papilla'', meaning a nipple), the name used by German apothecaries, since the plant was used to treat cracked nipples and ulcerated breasts,<ref>Grigson G. 1974. ''A Dictionary of English Plant Names''. Allen Lane. {{ISBN|0-71-390442-9}}</ref> especially under the doctrine of signatures on account of the flower buds' resemblance to nipples.<ref>Parkinson, J. (1640). ''Theatrum Botanicum; or an Herball of Large Extent''.</ref>

==See also== *Nanakusa-no-sekku

==References== {{Reflist}} *{{Commons-inline}}

Category:Cichorieae Category:Medicinal plants Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of Asia Category:Leaf vegetables Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus