Rubia peregrina

Scientific description

Taxon: Rubia peregrina
Class: Eudicotyledons
Subclass: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Common name: Wild madder

Origin:
Southern and Western Europe, North Africa.

Description:
Perennial, glabrous plant about 1 m tall, with square, scrambling or climbing stems bearing hooked prickles on the angles. Leaves leathery, whorled, oval-lanceolate with marginal hooks. Flowers bloom May–August in axillary cymes with long-pointed corolla lobes.

Propagation:
Mainly by creeping rhizomes; also by seeds.

Ecology:
Common in woodlands, scrublands and calcareous hillsides of southern France, western Europe (up to Ireland), and North Africa.

Uses:
Roots historically used as red dye. In herbal medicine: treatment for urinary stones, jaundice, and blood disorders.

Threats:
No major threats. Listed as Least Concern in national red lists.

Creative writing inspired by Rubia peregrina

The journey of hidden beauty

In a vegetable garden bursting with color and fragrance, a little green stem had made its way from the nearby forest and stood alone in a corner of the garden, gazing with envy and admiration at all the beautiful flowers: the red roses strutted before the astonished eyes of blackbirds, sparrows and titmice; the peonies, eagerly gathered by bees, majestically unfurled their colorful petals; and her? She was just a simple stem, frail, lacklustre and almost invisible, a stem that no-one noticed. Every day, she stretched out her stem a little further to get closer to the others, observing them with a touch of sadness and jealousy, sometimes allowing herself to dream, wondering if one day she too would experience this beauty, this attention, this love that the others received. And, in her heart, a question persisted: was there a place where she could finally be seen for what she really was?

One morning, as the sun was rising, the little green stem saw a man, his hands full of earth and his eyes focused, picking the most beautiful flowers in the garden. But that day, something unexpected happened. Without realizing it, the man had taken her with him, and she found herself discreetly in the van, in spite of herself, among the other flowers. Without knowing where she was going, she felt a sweet excitement mix with uncertainty. Perhaps this trip would change her life and lead her to the greatness she had always hoped for.

After several hours on the road, the van finally stopped. The man took out a crate in which he placed all the flowers he'd picked that morning. The green stem went out with the other flowers, amazed by the beautiful scenery and the radiant sunshine. The man walked on for a while, and then displayed them amidst piles of other flowers, some prettier than others. She realized then that she was at a flower market, and that here or elsewhere, nothing had changed... nobody would notice her. She began to regret having come, until a man stopped to watch her attentively. He was both attracted and intrigued by her. He thought the stem had potential and wondered why such a specimen had landed in the midst of beautiful flowers. He decided to pick it up and take it home. He began by planting it in a pot of earth, watering it and exposing it to the sun.

After a few weeks of gentle care, attention and affection - everything she'd dreamed of - the little green stem began to feel good, and little white flowers began to grow, reflecting the sunlight like little stars. Once the plant was fully grown, the man who was actually a very famous artist decided to paint a portrait of this budding transformation. His painting, entitled “La Garance Voyageuse”, was a great success and became a world-famous work of art. The little green stem was very proud to see her own portrait exhibited in museums ranging from small country villages to major cities. But after a while, the little green stem realized that it was the artist, not her, who was being admired. She felt sad and abandoned in a corner of the house, on a windowsill. She looked up at the sky and wondered where her portrait had traveled...without realizing it, it had grown and spread its arms to cover and embrace the whole artist's house, so that people came to see this magnificent house in bloom. Hadn't she found her place?

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Authentic Specimen