Species of flowering plant
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Atropa baetica, commonly known as the Andalusian belladonna, is one of Europe's rarest wildflowers. A close relative of the infamous deadly nightshade ("Atropa belladonna"), its specific name derives from that of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, while its common name refers to the Spanish region of Andalucía – both designating the area in the south of Spain where it is most frequently encountered. It is an attractive perennial plant with a herbaceous habit, bearing infundibuliform (i.e. funnel-shaped), yellow or greenish flowers and shiny, black berries. Like the other three (generally accepted) species of Atropa, it is an extremely poisonous plant, containing a variety of tropane alkaloids with anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties. Although most populations of the plant are to be found in Spain, it is not wholly confined to the Iberian Peninsula of Europe, occurring also in certain localities in Morocco (e.g. the Talassemtane National Park) and Algeria in the Atlas Mountains (Rif, Tell Atlas and Middle Atlas ranges) of North Africa. The Rif and the Baetic System, which face each other across the Alboran Sea (which includes the Strait of Gibraltar), together constitute one of the finest of the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots – rich in endemic species, of which Atropa baetica is a notable example. (For more on Ibero-Maghrebi, floral biodiversity (featuring what, in Spanish are termed 'Iberoafricanismos') see Cartagena, Spain, section 'Environment' subsection 'Flora').
Description.
"Atropa baetica" Willk., Linnaea 25: 50 (1852) ..."Hab. in Sierra de Maria in glareosis rupibusque umbrosis in valle nemorosa el Barrancon ad alt. circ 5000-5500 copiose, ubi d.13 Julii 1845 florentem legi"...
Perennial herb (rhizomatous hemicryptophyte). Plant yellowish-green, glabrous; stems erect, fleshy, up to 125 cm in height, simple or branched above. Leaves alternate or opposite, simple, entire, lamina up to 13 × 7 cm, densely crowded, ovate, shortly acuminate, cuneate at base, mucronate, subcoriaceous and longipetiolate. Flowers solitary, axillary, borne in July. Pedicels erect. Calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, to 10 mm, lobes apiculate, somewhat accrescent. Corolla infundibuliform, up to 25 mm in diameter, twice as long as calyx, having lobes roughly equal in length to tube, green to yellow. Stamens subequal, inserted at base of corolla, exserted. Filaments tomentose at base. Anthers ovoid, pale yellow. Style long-exserted. Stigma peltate. Ovary with annular receptacular disc at base. Fruit a globose, shining, black berry, some 10mm in diameter. Rhizomatous root system relatively dense and shallow, penetrating to a depth of only 10–20 cm, but often spreading to form substantial clump.
Habitat: light shade of upland forest on calcareous rocks and screes.
Ploidy.
Chromosome number of "Atropa baetica" and infraspecific taxa 2n=72
Distribution.
"Atropa baetica" is a calcicole species with a distribution centred upon the limestone mountains of the South and Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa. It has been found in the Spanish provinces of Cádiz (province), Province of Málaga, province of Granada, Province of Almería Province of Jaén (Spain), Province of Cuenca and Province of Guadalajara and, more recently, in those of Region of Murcia and Catalonia. It is also found in the Moroccan region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima and in northern Algeria.
Hybrids.
"A. baetica" x "A. belladonna" – "A. x martiana" Font Quer published in Cavallinesia 5: 156 (1932)
In areas of Spain where "A. baetica" and "A. belladonna" grow together (either naturally as in the province of Jaén, or through the agency of humans, as in Cuenca and Madrid) populations of Atropa exist, the members of which are hard to assign to one species or the other, showing as they do features intermediate between the two.
"A x martiana" was described from a plant found growing in the Botanic Garden of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona (now known as the Historic Botanic Garden of Barcelona): a natural/spontaneous hybrid between a plant of "A. belladonna" grown from seed collected in the Serra de la Mussara in the Province of Tarragona and a plant of "A. baetica" derived from seed from the Sierra de las Nieves in Malaga. Eminent, Catalan scientist Professor Pius Font i Quer (1888–1964), who first described the hybrid, was also the founder of the botanic garden in which he noted that the cross had occurred.
Although native in the Serrania de Cuenca, "Atropa baetica" has also been aided in the distribution of its seed there by human activity: in 1936, local gatherers of medicinal plants gathered ripe berries from plants in the area and sowed the seed in various localities in the Serrania in an attempt to replace the plants that they were harvesting and thus ensure the feasibility of future harvests of mature plants.
Comparison with "Atropa belladonna ".
"Atropa baetica" is most easily distinguished from "A. belladonna" when the plants are in flower and fruit: not only are the open, cup-like, yellow corollas of the former more ornamental than the sombre, purple bells of the latter, but they also offer a more pleasing contrast with the glossy black berries (- if its luscious-looking fruits did not pose such a threat to children, "A. baetica" might make an attractive garden plant for the herbaceous border). The berries of "A. baetica" are slightly smaller than those of "A. belladonna" and contain fewer seeds, although the seeds themselves are larger than those of "A. belladonna".
When not in flower or fruit, differentiation is less easy, but may be achieved by attention to leaf colour and relative pubescence: "A. baetica" has yellowish-green foliage and the plant is relatively glabrous, while "A. belladonna" is a somewhat pubescent plant with dark green foliage. Furthermore, "A. baetica" is a somewhat smaller plant, rarely exceeding 125 cm in height, while "A. belladonna" often reaches 150 cm with occasional very robust specimens reaching 200 cm.
Habitat.
"Atropa baetica" grows among the undergrowth of mixed, upland forest on dry, sunny, rocky or stony slopes (and also, occasionally, in moister, shadier areas near watercourses) in limy (Calcium-rich) soils (often in disturbed, nitrogen-rich locations – see Nitrification and Human impact on the nitrogen cycle) at altitudes of 900–2,000 m. It is not, however, a quick coloniser of recently disturbed areas, preferring instead locations which have been disturbed at some time in the past e.g. the margins of disused or seldom-used paths, bridle paths and trackways (see ridgeway (road) and Drover's road) and also forest clearings, often in rather remote areas. "A. baetica" is frequently found growing in woodland of which the conifers "Pinus nigra" subsp. "salzmanii" var. "salzmanii", "Abies pinsapo" and "Juniperus communis" form major components. Other frequent companion plants include the hawthorn "Crataegus monogyna", the shrubs "Buxus sempervirens", "Viburnum tinus", "Genista scorpius" and "Daphne laureola" – and the tussock (grass) "Brachypodium phoenicoides".
Phenology.
"Atropa baetica" has a short growing season (around 5 months), favouring sites subjected to heavy winter precipitation in the form of snowfall and a hot summer/early autumn. The green shoots begin to sprout at ground level in mid-May. Growth (initially very rapid – stems reaching their full height in a mere 3–4 weeks) continues until early August, involving also residual summer growth of small leaf-rosettes (associated with the spread of the clump of rhizomes) which persist near ground level without giving rise to flowering stems. Anthesis (flowering) can occur from as early as the third week in June until mid-August, the greatest number of open flowers being present during the first fortnight of July. Unripe berries may be seen from late June up until the third week of September. Ripe berries are present from the beginning of September to mid-October, nearly all being ripe by the end of September.Senescence is observable between early/mid-September and late October: the first signs of foliar senescence have become noticeable by mid-September and by mid-October practically all plants are reduced to stands of leafless stems, the non -flowering basal rosettes being the last to lose their leaves. The last vestiges of aerial growth disappear shortly after the first rains or heavy falls of snow.
Pollinators.
The three insects observed to visit the flowers of "Atropa baetica" most regularly are the bumblebees "Bombus lucorum" L. and "Bombus pascuorum" Scop. and the European honeybee "Apis mellifera" – all members of the bee family Apidae.
Other pollinators include, in bee family Megachilidae: "Anthidium septemdentatum" Latr., "Megachile octosignata" Nyl. and "Megachile lagopoda" L.;
in bee family Anthophoridae: "Anthophora albigena" Lepeletier, and various "Ceratina" species;
in bee family Halictidae: "Halictus scabiosae" Rossi and "Lasioglossum albocinctum" Luc.;
and the ant species "Lasius niger" L. In subfamily Formicinae of the Formicidae.
Insect consumers.
"Atropa baetica" is one of the food plants of the larva of the Noctuid moth "Heliothis peltigera" Schiff. However, the toxicity of the leaves before the onset of senescence is such that the moth imagoes can display developmental abnormalities resulting from larval consumption of the plant e.g. deformities of the wings. The common name of "H. peltigera" in German (Bilsenkraut-Blüteneule) translates as 'the henbane-blossom owl (moth)', revealing the species' penchant for another plant in the Hyoscyameae – namely "Hyoscyamus niger", black henbane – the chemistry of which is similar to that of "Atropa baetica".
Several species of Hemiptera have been observed to feed on the juice of the fruits – both ripe and unripe: "Spilostethus pandurus" Scop. in family Lygaeidae and "Carpocoris mediterraneus" Tamanini in family Pentatomidae suck the sap of developing fruits in August–September, while (more rarely) "Corizus hyoscyami" L. of the Rhopalidae and "Palomena prasina" L. of the Pentatomidae have been known to suck the juice of the ripe berries in September–October. Very occasionally, "Camptopus lateralis" Germar. of the Alydidae has been seen to feed on the sap of the leaves.
The flea beetle "Epitrix atropae" (family Chrysomelidae, tribe Alticini) received its specific name in reference to its feeding upon Atropa species – chewing a multitude of tiny holes in the leaves..
Avian consumers.
Like many other plants bearing juicy, sugar-rich berries full of small seeds,(including other species of Atropa) "A. baetica" is dependent on various species of birds as seed-dispersal vectors. Birds transport the berries they have eaten far from the parent plant and the acids and enzymes present in the avian gut serve to break down the seed coat and speed the rate of germination in seeds passed in droppings. The droppings themselves, being rich in Nitrogen, furnish fertiliser to feed the seedlings, once germination has occurred. The extreme similarity of the berries of "A. baetica" to those of "A. belladonna" permit the conclusion that the bird species involved in the distribution of the seeds of the two species are almost certainly the same; although (unfortunately) it is rarely possible to observe birds consuming the fruit (of the rarer species) due to the severe damage to "A. baetica" caused by ungulates at fruiting time (see below). This conclusion allowed, it may be noted that one of the avian seed vectors for "A. belladonna" is Turdus philomelos, the song thrush and it is likely that other members of the family Turdidae found in Spain (of which there are a further nine – see section Passeriformes in List of birds of Spain) are involved too. In this connection it is worth mentioning that there is a small, but nonetheless intriguing, piece of evidence, in a Plautine comedy, that the Roman province of Hispania Baetica may have been famed as a supplier of thrushes, as food, to the tables of Ancient Rome. If this was indeed the case, such intensive bird-trapping could not fail to have had some impact on a plant dependent largely upon thrushes for its propagation by seed. The Tartessian (see Tartessos) tribe the Turdetani ("thrush people"?) of the valley of the Guadalquivir may have been known as such to the Romans by virtue of their trade in these edible songbirds.
The berries of "Atropa belladonna" have also been reported to be consumed, without harm, by the common pheasant, "Phasianus colchicus" (an introduced species in Spain) – which is therefore, like the song thrush, likely also to be a consumer of the berries of "Atropa baetica". In addition to the common pheasant, there are six other bird species (partridges in the main) placed in the phasianidae found in Spain (of which four are native and two introduced) which are probable consumers/seed vectors of Atropa species. Like the phasianidae, the domestic chicken is also a member of the order Galliformes and will feed on Atropa berries if presented with them (- see below in section "Medicinal Uses").
Mammalian consumers.
Neither vertebrates nor invertebrates consume "A. baetica" during the earlier stages of its growth cycle; however, during the month of September, when the onset of senescence causes the levels of tropanes