Polemonium acutiflorum : Tall Jacob's-ladder

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Genera: Polemonium (Jacob's-ladder) (Gk. polemonion= a kind of plant; See 'Folklore' entry under 'Uses' for more info on name origins)

Species: acutiflorum (Lat. acus=needle, point + floris=flower; referring to the somewhat pointed lobes of the petals.)

Synonym(s): P.caeruleum, P.occidentale

English Name(s):

Tall Jacob's-ladder, Blue Jacob's-ladder

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• 15-40 cm tall.
• Plant arises from a horizontal rhizome (rootstalk).
• Stems erect, usually solitary, decumbent at the base.
• Stems sticky glandular-hairy at least above.

Leaves:

• Alternate and pinnately divided.
• Leaflets 19-27, leaflets 10-25 mm long by 3-12 mm wide.
• Leaflets lanceolate to elliptic in shape.
• Leaves 3-17 cm long, reduced in size upwards.
• Mostly basal (from base), 2 to several.

Reproductive Parts:

• Calyx (sepals) united, 5-lobed.
• Corolla (petals) united, 5-lobed. Lobes radiating outward and very showy.
• Flowers perfect (bisexual), and regular in symmetry.
• Ovary is superior (above recepticle), and 3-loculed (chambered).
• Stamens (male parts) 5, attached to corolla tube.
• Stamens attached at the top of the corolla tube.
• Calyx bell-shaped, 6-8 mm long, twice as long as wide, green to purple.
• Corolla blue to violet or rarely white, 1.5-2.0 cm long, lobes twice as long as the tube and ciliate (margin hairs).
• Flowers in a corybose cyme.

Seed:

• Fruit is a capsule.
• Capsule enclosed in calyx.
• Capsules spherical

Not to Be Confused With:

• The other Polemonium (jacob's-ladder) species. Though this one can be distinguished by its tall stature and its hairless leaves.

Physiology:

• The anthers (male parts) deliver the pollen for a day or two before the style (female part) bends upwards,the corolla opens, the anthers shrivel, and the stigma (pollen receptor) opens.
• The blue part of the corolla and part of the white reflect ultraviolet light while the other part of the white base absorbs ultraviolet light. It is therefore seen by insects as being 3 coloured rather than the 2 colours we see.

Life Cycle:

• Perennial

Seasonal Cycle:

• Plants are blooming in early July and are generally finished by the end of that month.

Animal Uses:

• Cats are said to be fond of the scent and roll around on these plants.
• Pollenated by bumblebees and other medium-large insects.

Habitat:

• Moist rich peaty humus.
• Moist sites in meadows and along streams in tundra, heath and woodlands.

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Traditional Gwich'in:

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