Polemonium

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Polemoniaceae
Subfamilia: Polemonioideae
Tribus: Polemonieae
Genus: Polemonium
Species: P. acutiflorum – P. boreale – P. brandegeei – P. caeruleum – P. californicum – P. carneum – P. caucasicum – P. chartaceum – P. chinense – P. confertum – P. delicatum – P. eddyense – P. elegans – P. eximium – P. filicinum – P. flavum – P. foliosissimum – P. grandiflorum – P. helleri – P. hingganicum – P. hultenii – P. humile – P. hyperboreum – P. intermedium – P. longii – P. macranthum – P. melindae – P. mellitum – P. mexicanum – P. micranthum – P. occidentale – P. pauciflorum – P. pectinatum – P. pilosum – P. pseudopulchellum – P. pulchellum – P. pulcherrimum – P. racemosum – P. reptans – P. richardsonii – P. sibiricum – P. sumushanense – P. vanbruntiae – P. villosum – P. viscosum – P. yezoense

Name

Polemonium L. (1753)

Type species: P. caeruleum L.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Polemoniella A.Heller, Muhlenbergia 1: 57. 1904.

References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 162.
Farr, E. R. & Zijlstra, G. eds. (1996-) Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum). 2009 Aug 24 [1].
Flora of China 2008. 'eFloras. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. 2009 Sept 07 [2].
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Polemonium. Published online. Accessed: Oct. 22 2016.
Porter, J.M., & Johnson, L.A. 2000. A phylogenetic classification of Polemoniaceae. Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany 19(1): 55–91. DOI: 10.5642/aliso.20001901.06 Full text PDF Reference page.
The Plant List 2013. Polemonium in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2016 Oct. 22.
Tropicos.org 2016. Polemonium. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2016 Oct. 22.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Сінюха
български: Полемониум
English: Jacob's Ladder
suomi: Sinilatvat
hornjoserbsce: Jěrnica
한국어: 꽃고비속
русский: Синюха
svenska: Blågullssläktet
Tiếng Việt: Chi Lá thang

Polemonium, commonly called Jacob's ladders or Jacob's-ladders (the name derived from the Biblical story), is a genus of between 25 and 40 species of flowering plants in the family Polemoniaceae, native to cool temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.[1][2] One species also occurs in the southern Andes in South America. Many of the species grow at high altitudes, in mountainous areas. Most of the uncertainty in the number of species relates to those in Eurasia, many of which have been synonymized with Polemonium caeruleum.[3]

Polemonium are perennial plants (rarely annual plants) growing 10–120 cm tall with bright green leaves divided into lance-shaped leaflets. They produce blue (rarely white or pink) flowers in the spring and summer.

Some species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora polemoniella.
Species
Polemonium caeruleum
Polemonium californicum

As of April 2020 Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts 37 species.[1] Many are locally known simply as "Jacob's ladder".[4][5][6][7]

Polemonium acutiflorum – tall Jacob's ladder[8][9]
Polemonium boreale Adams – northern Jacob's ladder
Polemonium brandegeei (A.Gray) Greene – Brandegee's Jacob's ladder
Polemonium caeruleum L. – Jacob's ladder (the original plant to bear this name); charity
Polemonium californicum Eastw. – showy Jacob's ladder
Polemonium campanulatum (Th.Fr.) Th.Fr.
Polemonium carneum A.Gray – royal Jacob's ladder
Polemonium caucasicum N.Busch
Polemonium chartaceum H.Mason – Mason's Jacob's ladder
Polemonium chinense (Brand) Brand
Polemonium confertum – Rocky Mountain Jacob's ladder
Polemonium eddyense Stubbs – Mount Eddy Jacob's-ladder
Polemonium elegans Greene – elegant Jacob's ladder
Polemonium elusum J.J.Irwin & R.L.Hartm. – elusive Jacob's-ladder
Polemonium eximium Greene – sky pilot
Polemonium foliosissimum A.Gray – towering Jacob's ladder
Polemonium glabrum J.F.Davidson
Polemonium grandiflorum Benth.
Polemonium hingganicum (P.H.Huang & S.Y.Li) S.Y.Li & K.T.Adair
Polemonium kiushianum Kitam.
Polemonium majus Tolm.
Polemonium mexicanum Cerv. ex Lag.
Polemonium micranthum Benth. – annual polemonium
Polemonium nevadense Wherry – Nevada Jacob's ladder
Polemonium occidentale Greene – western Jacob's ladder
Polemonium pauciflorum S.Watson – few-flower Jacob's ladder
Polemonium pectinatum Greene – Washington Jacob's ladder
Polemonium pulchellum Bunge
Polemonium pulcherrimum Hook. – beautiful Jacob's ladder
Polemonium reptans L. – Jacob's ladder, Greek valerian
Polemonium sachalinense Vorosch.
Polemonium schizanthum Klokov
Polemonium schmidtii Klokov
Polemonium × speciosum Rydb.
Polemonium sumushanense G.H.Liu & Y.Q.Ma
Polemonium vanbruntiae Britton – Vanbrunt's Jacob's ladder
Polemonium × victoris Klokov
Polemonium vilosissimum (Hultén) D.F.Murray & Elven
Polemonium villosum Rudolph ex Georgi
Polemonium viscosum Nutt. – sticky polemonium
Polemonium yezoense (Miyabe & Kudô) Kitam.

References

"Polemonium caeruleum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
Kew Plant List of Polemonium species, synonyms, unaccepted names
"Polemonium L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
Wilhelm, Gerould; Rericha, Laura (2017). Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Indiana Academy of Sciences.
Jepson Flora of California: Polemonium
Reznicek, A. A.; Voss, E. G.; Walters, B. S., eds. (February 2011). "Polemonium reptans". Michigan Flora Online. University of Michigan Herbarium. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Polemonium". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Polemonium acutiflorum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
Maiz-Tome, L. 2016. Polemonium acutiflorum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T64321387A67730462. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64321387A67730462.en. Downloaded on 30 March 2020.