Cicerbita

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Cichorioideae
Tribus: Cichorieae
Subtribus: Lactucinae
Genus: Cicerbita
Species: C. acuminata – C. adenophora – C. alii – C. alpina – C. auriculiformis – C. azurea – C. benthamii – C. boissieri – C. bourgaei – C. brassicifolia – C. chiangdaoensis – C. crambifolia – C. crassicaulis – C. cyprica – C. deltoidea – C. garrettii – C. kossinskyi – C. ladyginii – C. macrophylla – C. madatapensis – C. mulgedioides – C. neglecta – C. nepalensis – C. nuristanica – C. olgae – C. pancicii – C. persica – C. plumieri – C. prenanthoides – C. putii – C. racemosa – C. roborowskii – C. scoparia – C. sonchifolia – C. songarica – C. tianschanica – C. variabilis – C. zhenduoi
Name

Cicerbita Wallr., Sched. Crit. 433 (-434). (1822)

Type species: Cicerbita alpina Wallr., Sched. Crit. 434. (1822)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Agathyrsus D.Don pro parte et Lactuca
Cephalorrhynchus Boiss. pro parte et Melanoseris
Eunoxis Raf.
Garacium Gren. & Godr. pro parte et Lactuca
Galathenium Nutt.
Mycelis Cass. pro parte et Lactuca

References

Wallroth, K.F.W. 1822. Schedulae Criticae de Plantis Florae Halensis Selectis. Corollarium novum ad C. Sprengelii Floram halensem. Accedunt generum quorundam specierumque omnium definitiones novae, excursus in stirpes difficiliores. Tom. I. Phanerogamia 433 (-434).
Hassler, M. 2018. Cicerbita. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 June 24. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Cicerbita. Published online. Accessed: JUne 24 2018.
Tropicos.org 2018. Cicerbita. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 24 June 2018.

Vernacular names
dansk: Turt
English: Alpine Blue Sowthistle
suomi: Sinivalvatit
русский: Цицербита

Cicerbita is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, native to Asia and Europe.[1][2] They are known commonly as blue sow thistles.[3] The word Cicerbita is from the Italian, meaning "chickory-like", a comparison to Cichorium, the chicory genus.[4]

Description

Cicerbita are usually perennial plants, often with rhizomes.[5] Annual species are also known.[6] The leaves are undivided or pinnate. The flower head has 5 to 30 florets in shades of blue or purple, or occasionally white[5] or yellow.[6] The achene is ribbed and has a pappus of bristles and hairs.[5]
Systematics

The plants of this genus were included in genus Lactuca, the lettuces, until 1822,[7] when the first of them were separated based on the morphology of the fruits.[6] The definition of the genus is still in debate and very unclear.

Accepted species[8]

Cicerbita canadensis (L.) Farw. – eastern and central parts of Canada and USA
Cicerbita chiangdaoensis H.Koyama – Thailand
Cicerbita gmelini Beauverd – Altay Republic
Cicerbita nepalensis Kitag. – Nepal
Cicerbita nuristanica Kitam. – Afghanistan
Cicerbita oligolepis Chang ex C.Shih – Yunnan
Cicerbita thianschanica (Regel & Schmalh.) Beauverd – Altay Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang
Cicerbita unicostata Kitam. – Afghanistan
Cicerbita violaefolia (Decne.) Beauverd – western Himalayas
Cicerbita zeravschanica Popov ex Kovalevsk. – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

Uses

Cicerbita alpina is eaten as a vegetable in Italy, part of its native range. The young shoots are boiled and served in olive oil or tomato sauce. They are considered a delicacy and can be had in restaurants.[9] The shoots in oil can be purchased in markets under the local name insalata dell'orso ("bear salad").[4] The plant is collected from the wild and there is some concern that it may be threatened with overexploitation, so local ordinances now limit wild collection in some areas. Field trials are underway to examine the possibility of cultivating the plant in agriculture.[9]
References

Wallroth, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm. 1823. Schedulae Criticae de Plantis Florae Halensis Selectis. Corollarium novum ad C. Sprengelii Floram halensem. Accedunt generum quorundam specierumque omnium definitiones novae, excursus in stirpes difficiliores. Tom. I. Phanerogamia 1: 433
Tropicos, Cicerbita Wallr.
Genus Cicerbita Wallr. Archived 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
Scartezzini, F., et al. (2012). Domestication of alpine blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr.): six year trial results. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 59(3) 465-71.
Cicerbita. Flora of China.
Bano, R. and M. Qaiser. (2010). The genus Cicerbita Wallr. (Cichoriae-Asteraceae) in Pakistan and Kashmir. Pakistan Journal of Botany 42, 35-56.
Chu, S. (1991). On circumscription of the genus Cicerbita Wall., and two new genera of Compositae from Sino-Himalayan Region. Archived 2014-11-26 at the Wayback Machine Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 29(5) 394-417.
Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
Scartezzini, F., et al. Domestication and field management trials of Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr. In: First International Conference on Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use. September 14–17, 2005. Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. pg. 14-17.