2011-10-08 Lower Austria, district Hollabrunn - Jetzelsdorf (260 msm Quadrant 7262/3).German name: Halbstrauch-RadmeldeRoot and habitus.
See remarks here for habitat, and other shots of the same species.Bassia prostrata develops a very remarkable root system (for more details see the magisterial thesis of
Peter Biskup (2008): Untersuchungen zur Biologie und kologie der stark gefhrdeten Halbstrauch-Radmelde (Bassia prostrata) in sterreich als Beitrag zur Entwicklung von Schutzmassnahmen, Universitt Wien).The plant may live up to 15 years (according to Peter Biskup), and will develop a huge root system which goes down, especially - like here - on Loess, more than 6 metres (the Austrian botanist
Lore Kutschera was digging here in Jetzelsberg region some 20 years ago, and gave up after she was well beyond 6 metres: the root system still went on! a sketch of the root of this plant is printed on a monument there, on this hill). Depending on local conditions, the root system not only goes deep but also may stretch horizontally.Its roots are perfectly adapted for loose Loess faces or sand dunes: it doesn't matter a great deal to the plant if its main root is getting exposed, due to wind erosion or, like here on Loess, a landslide: as the root is both tough and flexible it'll still keep the plant deeply rooted in earth (side roots branching off in all directions of course help!), and the plant will just keep growing on as soon as it will drop down a good two meters, which will happen here pretty soon: the exposed length of root stretches approximately a metre, and when finally a minor slide will happen it'll drop down another metre.The real danger here in this particular habitat is human activity: farmers oftentimes cut plants off when passing with their tractor.