Editing Polemonium reptans

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Polemonium reptans 2009.jpg
| image_caption = ''Polemonium reptans'' flowers
|status = G5
|status_system = TNC
| genus = Polemonium
| species = reptans
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''''Polemonium reptans''''' is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[herbaceous]] plant native to eastern North America. Common names include '''spreading Jacob's ladder''', '''creeping Jacob's ladder''', '''false Jacob's ladder''', '''abscess root''', '''American Greek valerian''', '''blue bells''', '''stairway to heaven''', and '''sweatroot'''.

== Description ==
Jacob's ladder grows {{convert|50|cm}} tall, with pinnate [[leaf|leaves]] up to {{convert|20|cm|0}} long with 5–13 leaflets. The leaves and flower stems grow from a vertical [[crown (botany)|crown]] with abundant [[fibrous root]]s.<ref name="illinois" /><!-- on root system -->

The [[flower]]s are produced in [[panicle]]s on weak stems from mid to late spring. They are 1.3&nbsp;cm ({{frac|1|2}} in) long and have five light blue-violet [[petal]]s that are fused at the base, enclosed by a tubular [[calyx (flower)|calyx]] with five pointed lobes.<ref name="illinois">{{cite web | title = Jacob's Ladder | url = http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/jacob_ladder.htm| website = Illinois Wildflowers | date = 2016 | last1 = Hilty | first1 = John }}</ref> The pollen is white. The [[stigma (botany)|stigma]] extends beyond the anthers, making self-pollination difficult, so insects must [[Pollination#Mechanism|cross-pollinate]] for the plants to produce seed.<ref name="pollinators" />

Pollinated flowers develop into an oval [[capsule (botany)|pod]] with three chambers, 6&nbsp;mm ({{frac|1|2}} in) long, which is enclosed by the green calyx. The plant spreads by reseeding itself. The Latin specific epithet ''reptans'' means creeping.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Polemonium reptans - Plant Finder|url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=l810|access-date=2022-01-01|website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Jacob's Ladder Polemonium reptens Leaves 3008px.JPG|Leaves
File:Jacob's Ladder Polemonium reptens Flower Buds 2628px.jpg|Oval seed pods enclosed in green calyces
</gallery>

== Ecology ==
[[File:Jacob's Ladder Polemonium reptens Flowers and Wasp 1479px.jpg|thumb|Flowers being visited by a [[wasp]]]]
The flowers produce both [[pollen]] and [[nectar]]. Long- and short-tongued bees visit the plants for both nectar and pollen, [[Syrphidae|syrphid flies]] and fire beetles (''[[Pedilus lugubris]]'') feed on pollen, and [[butterfly|butterflies]] and [[moth]]s drink nectar. Out of these insects, large bees are the most effective at cross-pollination, since they most often touch the pollen-covered anthers.<ref name="pollinators">{{cite book|title=Pollinators on Native Plants|author=Heather Holm|date=2014|publisher=Pollinator Press|location=Minnetonka, MN|pages=160–161}}</ref>

== Range and habitat ==
''Polemonium reptans'' is typically found in rich, moist woods, often along streambanks.<ref name=Carman>{{cite book|title=Wildflowers of Tennessee|first=Jack B.|last=Carman|publisher=Highland Rim Press|year=2001|page=206}}</ref><ref name=Horn>{{cite book|last=Horn|first=Dennis|title=Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians|year=2005|publisher=Lone Pine Publishing|location=Edmonton|isbn=1-55105-428-0|author2=Tavia Cathcart|page=243}}</ref> Its range extends from Minnesota to New Hampshire in the north, and from Georgia to Mississippi in the south.<ref name=Horn /> It is most abundant west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].<ref name="Carman" /><ref name="Horn" />

== Cultivation ==
[[File:Polemonium_reptans_Stairway_to_Heaven_11zz.jpg|thumb|The variegated [[cultivar]] 'Stairway to Heaven']]
The plant prefers partial shade and mesic soil. It tolerates full sun, but requires constantly moist soil.<ref name="pollinators" />

== Uses ==
The dried roots have a slightly bitter and acrid taste. ''P. reptans'' has been traditionally used as an herbal medicine for febrile and inflammatory diseases, to ease coughs, colds and bronchial complaints, and to encourage perspiration.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wren|first=R.C.|title=Potter's Cylopedia of Botanicak Drugs and Preparations|publisher=Potter & Clarl|place=London|year=1923|page=1}}</ref>  It is furthermore said to bring relief in cases of inflammations and infections.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of medicinal herbs|author=Duke, James A.|date=2002|publisher=CRC Press|others=Duke, James A., 1929-|isbn=0849312841|edition=2nd|location=Boca Raton, Florida|oclc=48876592}}</ref> The root is rarely used in modern herbalism. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use.

== References ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q648261}}

[[Category:Polemonium|reptans]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1759]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Groundcovers]]
[[Category:Flora of Northern America]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]