Unpretentious resin: top species, cultivation and methods of reproduction. Smolevka plant: photos, types, cultivation, planting and garden care Contraindications and side effects
Or firecracker (Silene vulgaris) is a herbaceous plant, belongs to the class of dicotyledons, family Cloveaceae ( Caryophyllaceae).
There are more than 300 species of tars, they are common in the subtropical and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. Habitat: Europe, Asia Minor and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Japan, Mongolia, South Africa and North America. It also grows throughout almost the entire territory of Russia, except for the Arctic and southern regions. Along with the common gum, there are creeping gum, night forked gum, and Gali. People call it cracker, smolyanka and tooth potion.
Smolevka vulgaris description
Tar is an unpretentious plant; it does not require certain conditions for growth. Quite often it can be found in mixed and deciduous forests, wastelands, and on hillsides. In addition, tar grows as a weed in parks and in the private sector and causes great harm to agricultural crops.
Common gum is a perennial herbaceous plant from 20 cm to 60 cm in height, glabrous, with an erect, slightly sticky stem. The basal leaves are oval-shaped, wide. Stem leaves are sessile, pointed, lanceolate. Resin has a taproot system, a powerful, branched root. The root goes deep into the soil to a depth of 80 cm and is capable of forming sprouts. The flowering period is from May to September.
The flowers are white or cream-colored, on short stalks, collected in semi-umbrellas. Flowers with notched petals and swollen calyxes that point downwards. In the evening and at night they emit a pleasant aroma.
The gum tree bears fruit in June. The fruit is presented in the form of a spherical box, which is filled with small brown seeds. Seeds are flattened, kidney-shaped. The fertility of one plant is approximately 8 thousand seeds. Seeds sprout freshly from a depth of up to 0.5 cm. The maximum depth from which sprouts can appear is 4-5 cm. The most favorable temperature for germination is +18-+20°C, the minimum temperature is +4°C.
Common smoldering measures
Common gum is quite easily destroyed by pre-sowing tillage. After harvesting it can develop as a stubble weed. To eliminate such a weed, it is necessary to carry out deep peeling with a heavy harrow to a depth of 15 cm. In grain crops, 2,4-D and 2M-4HP, diameter D, a mixture of 2,4-D with Lontrel are effective against tar.
Resin common use
This plant is widely valued in folk medicine. While in traditional medicine it is not used at all. Herbalists use resin as an anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, and analgesic. Infusions and decoctions of resin can calm the nervous system, fight depression and nervous disorders. Also, the extract of this plant is able to remove toxic substances from the human body. Externally, tar can be used in the form of compresses and lotions for inflammatory skin diseases.
To prepare medicines, roots, flowers and herbs are used. Adding tar herb to tea has a diuretic effect. Decoctions from the root will help in the fight against tuberculosis, and the inflorescences are used in the preparation of sedatives. There are also a number of contraindications. You should not use such medications for colitis, constipation, during pregnancy and lactation.
Before starting treatment, it is imperative to contact a specialist to monitor and prescribe the dosage.
Smolevka vulgaris photo
Common gumweed Silene vulgaris 
Silene vulgaris seeds 
Common gumweed Silene vulgaris Cloveaceae is one of the largest families in the Clove order. It contains approximately 80 genera and 2000 species. Cloves can be found on all continents of the globe, in a wide variety of habitats. Representatives of the family grow in the tundra; among the cloves there are many forest and meadow plants. They are also found in arid areas: steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. In the mountains, cloves rise to the alpine belt, and one species, creeping chickweed (Stellaria decumbens), was found in rocky crevices in the Himalayas at an altitude of 6000 m, significantly higher than other flowering plants of the highlands.
Cloves are especially widely represented in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, with the largest number of genera and species concentrated in the Mediterranean, Western and Central Asia. In the composition of the floras of most parts of the Arctic, representatives of this family most often occupy fifth place in terms of the number of species. Several genera of cloves are found in the southern hemisphere, in its temperate zone, as well as in the mountains of the tropical region. Even on ice-covered Antarctica, where there are practically no higher plants, on the Antarctic Peninsula of the mainland, along with the Antarctic pike grass, one species of cloves was also found - Colobanthus quitensis. A significant number of species and even genera of cloves are cosmopolitan. These include the genera Spergula, Spergularia, Stellaria, Cerastium, Arenaria, etc.
The entire variety of genera and species of cloves, in accordance with the family system proposed by F. Pax and K. Hoffman, is usually divided into three subfamilies: paronychiaceae (Paronychioideae), alsinoideae and resinaceae (Silenoideae); representatives of subfamilies differ in the presence or absence of stipules and some structural features of flowers.
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The leaves of cloves are opposite, rarely alternate, simple, entire, often narrow - linear or linear-lanceolate, equipped with scale-like stipules (most paronychiaceae) or without stipules (alcine and resinaceae). The flowers are usually collected in dichasial inflorescences, very characteristic of this family, either highly branched and loose (in the Cachima species - Gypsophila), or more compact, umbellate or corymbose (bearded carnation - Dianthus barbatus); much less often, single flowers (common cockle - Agrostemma githago). The flowers are actinomorphic, in most representatives they are 5-membered (Fig. 199). There are 5 sepals, free or almost free (paronychiaceae and alsinaceae) or fused into a tube (resinous, for example, resinous clapper - Silene vulgaris, table 55); often there are bract leaves close to the calyx. There are usually 5 petals, always free; in some species the petals are barely developed or completely absent. Only in resinaceae, the petals have long marigolds (the narrowed part of the petals) and integral or divided into narrow lobes limbs (the widened part of the petals), and at the border between them there are sometimes petal-shaped outgrowths that form the so-called adventitious corolla or corolla. There are 10 stamens arranged in two circles or 5-4 in one circle, rarely 3, 2 or even 1 stamen. Gynoecium of 2-5 carpels, syncarpous or transitional to lysicarpous, predominantly with free styles. The ovary is superior, usually with numerous ovules in each socket, rarely with several ovules or only one. Fruits - capsules, nuts, rarely berries. The embryo is usually folded around the mealy perisperm.
Pollination is carried out mainly by insects. Flowers of paronychiaceae and alsinaceae with free, spreading sepals and petals are not specialized for pollination by certain species; The nectar and pollen in them are available to a wide variety of insects, which carry out cross-pollination. In cloves, nectar, sometimes quite abundant, is secreted by the expanded bases of the stamen filaments. Among the representatives of the family, good honey plants are known: common gum (Viscaria vulgaris), cuckoo adonis (Coronaria flos-cuculi), lush carnation (Dianthus superbus). Resinaceae flowers with fused sepals are pollinated mainly by day and night butterflies. With their long proboscis, butterflies extract nectar from the bottom of the tubular calyx, while they always touch the stamens, and transfer the adhering pollen to other flowers. It is also important that the flowers of many cloves are colored in various shades of red, and butterflies, unlike many other insects, are able to perceive the color red.
The flowers of a number of carnation plants are protandric, in which the pollen ripens and falls out before the stigma of the same flower becomes capable of receiving it. Protandry is known in Dianthus deltoides, Cuckoo adonis, Silene multiflora, S. chlorantha and many other dianthus.
Not only protandry, but also such phenomena, which are not uncommon among carnation plants as gynodioecy - female dioecy (some carnations, chickweeds, tarworts) and trietia - trioecy (certain species of soapwort - Saponaria - and tarworts), practically eliminate self-pollination and contribute to more successful cross-pollination, without excluding, however, the possibility of geitonogamy.
Carnation flowers, pollinated by moths, are light in color and may be odorless or fragrant. Silene nutans, growing in meadows in well-lit areas, opens white petals and emits a strong smell only in the evening, attracting moths. Flowering lasts three nights, and in the maturation of stamens and stigmas there is a certain sequence that eliminates self-pollination: on the first night, the stamens of the outer circle ripen, on the second - the stamens of the inner circle, and only on the third night do the stigmas ripen. From crawling insects, which would only take advantage of the nectar and pollen, but would not carry out pollination, the drooping gum is protected by a sticky mass secreted by the stem at the base of the peduncles. As soon as flowering ends, the sticky substance ceases to be released. In the same way, many other cloves, such as the common tar (Table 55), have a very sticky stem, which protects the flowers from uninvited guests - ants and other crawling insects. In the ovary of saponaria officinalis, cuckoo adonis, drooping gum and some other carnation butterflies lay eggs and perform pollination. The caterpillars that appear soon feed on immature seeds and then leave the flower, but such plants have quite a lot of seeds left for reproduction.
Some members of the family, which are insect-pollinated plants under normal conditions, are capable of switching to self-pollination if cross-pollination is impossible due to bad weather or the absence of insects. In closed - cleistogamous flowers, which are found in certain species, for example in the bryozoan (Sagina procumbens), forest pseudostellaria (Pseudostellaria sylvatica), self-pollination always occurs.
Some paronychiaceae (hernia - Hermana, paronychia - Paronychia) and alsinaceae (diwala - Scleranthus) with flowers in which the petals are barely developed or absent altogether are pollinated by the wind.
The fruits of the vast majority of cloves are multi-seeded capsules that open with denticles and are usually located at the top of the stem (Fig. 200). Ripe seeds do not spill out immediately, but in parts in different directions, when a gust of wind or the touch of an animal shakes the stem. The teeth of the capsules of carnation grass, drooping gum and some other cloves close in bad weather, and water cannot harm the seeds. In Gypsophila paniculata, a plant known as tumbleweed, the teeth of the bolls are always curved inwards, and the spaces between them are very small, so the seeds can be dispersed from the bolls only with sufficiently strong gusts of wind. This usually occurs in the fall, when the plant breaks away from the root and its loose spherical bushes are carried by the wind over long distances. An original method of seed dispersal is known from Wilhelmsia physodes, which grows mainly in the Arctic regions of Siberia and North America. Its capsules with mature seeds usually break up into three swollen, filmy-leathery nests, which are scattered by the wind (Fig. 200).
The seeds of some cloves are carried by ants; equipped with an aperture, the seeds of three-veined meringia (Moerhingia trinervia) are taken away by ants, which eat the aperture (Fig. 200). Seeds are often carried by the wind, especially in species that produce seeds with a membranous border (Fig. 200).
Single-seeded, overlapping fruits, the nuts are dispersed by wind or animals. Diwala nuts remain inside the growing calyx (Fig. 200); it easily clings to the fur of animals, which spread the fruits. Additionally, diwala nuts can be dispersed by wind. Fruits of the genera Pteranthus, Cometes and Sclerocephalus are distributed in the same way. In these plants, after flowering, the branches and leaves in each inflorescence grow, usually harden, and the entire plant with fruits becomes hard and prickly (Fig. 200). During the fruiting stage, the stems of paronychia and hernial plant become brittle, parts of plants with nuts are carried away by the wind (Fig. 200); in paronychia, with the fruits, in addition to the calyx, rather large membranous bracts remain, which facilitate the distribution of fruits by the wind. The fruit of the berry blister (Cucubalus baccifer) is very unique - it is a shiny black dry berry (Fig. 200); Birds may be involved in the distribution of such fruits.
The vast majority of cloves are annual or perennial herbaceous plants. However, the family contains several small, 60-180 cm high, shrubs - species of the genus Schiedea, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Shrubs and subshrubs are found mainly among the cloves, growing in arid and mountainous regions of the temperate zone, in the tropics and subtropics.
Some perennial forms of cloves, growing in the tundra, high in the mountains, in semi-deserts and deserts, are characterized by a peculiar cushion growth form. The stem of such plants branches repeatedly near the soil, with numerous shoots extending in different directions, which, in turn, branch repeatedly. The whole plant takes the shape of a hemisphere or pillow, often spiny. Very spiny cushions are formed by some species of spiny leaves (Acanthophyllum, table 56), growing mainly in the Southern Transcaucasus, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. The leaves of these cushion plants have been turned into thorns. Pillows can be loose or compact; both grow very slowly; per year the shoots lengthen by only a few millimeters, and the age of individual specimens is estimated at centuries. A dense pillow is better warmed up by the sun's rays, its shoots are well protected from the drying effects of the wind, and its own microclimate is created inside the pillows. Observations of the cushion plant (Arenaria obtusifolia) in the mountains of Colorado (USA) showed that its leaf temperature was 12° higher than the ambient temperature. Very large pillows, up to 2 m in diameter, are formed by aretioid rocks (Gypsophila aretioides, table 56), growing on rocks at an altitude of up to 2000 m in Southern Transcaucasia, mountainous Turkmenistan and Northern Iran. The cushions of this plant are very hard, from a distance they look like stone covered with lichen. The weight of the pillow sometimes reaches 150 kg. Given the extreme scarcity of vegetation, such pillows are used by local residents as fuel. Some of the highest altitude flowering plants are species of the genus Pycnophyllum in the alpine zone of the Andes. Some of them form round, moss-like cushions up to 1 m in diameter, which can grow near the edge of permanent snow.
In the alpine meadows, which are located high in the mountains, in close proximity to areas covered with ice and snow, you can find many carnation plants - representatives of the genera Smolevka, Chickweed, Chickweed, Alsine, Minuartia and some others. Almost all alpine plants are perennials, barely rising above the ground. They have a highly developed root system, many have a dense pubescence or waxy coating and a thick cuticle on the leaves and stems. Alpine meadows are extraordinarily beautiful, they are colored with a mass of various large and brightly colored flowers; The bright color helps to attract pollinating insects, which are very rare in the mountains.
Among the cloves, especially annuals, there are many plants that are harmful weeds of crops. These plants usually complete their development cycle quickly and produce huge quantities of seeds.
Spergula sativa, which previously inhabited only Eurasia, later became cosmopolitan, infesting crops of spring grains and row crops, as well as flax. One plant, blooming in July, soon produces up to 30,000 seeds, 10% of which are viable already in the current field season.
The common cockle is an annual with gray-tomentose pubescent leaves and single large pink flowers, previously widespread in the Mediterranean, it has penetrated to Australia and the Cape Land. Kukol is found in crops of grain crops and flax, being a particularly dangerous weed of cereals, since its seeds contain 6.5% of the poisonous glycoside gitagin, or agrostemin, which affects the heart, nervous system and destroys red blood cells. The admixture of cockle seeds in flour in an amount of 0.5% or more makes it bitter in taste and hazardous to health. However, cockle venom is harmless to sheep, birds and small rodents.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is well known as a ubiquitous and difficult-to-eradicate weed, mainly of vegetable crops. The life cycle of woodlice occurs in less than 40 days and produces 2-3 generations over the summer. The lower part of the stems, as well as autumn shoots, can overwinter and bloom soon after the snow melts. One plant produces up to 25,000 seeds, which remain viable for 8 years, and in some cases up to 25 years. This plant is readily eaten by livestock and is also used to feed chickens and domestic songbirds.
Most species of the family contain saponins - substances that, when shaken with water, produce abundant foam. Saponins are present in all parts of the plant, but most of them are in the parenchyma cells of underground organs. Many cloves, such as Soapwort, Dawn (Lychnis chalcedonica), Acanthophyllum gypsophiloides, and certain types of Cachima, have long been popularly known as “soap root” and were used as a substitute for soap. The foam formed by saponins is different from soap - it does not contain alkali. The property of saponins to produce abundant foam when shaken is manifested at a very small concentration, in some cases even at a dilution of 1:10,000. Currently, this property of saponins is used in fire extinguishers, in the production of fizzy drinks, beer, and halva. Saponins are used in perfumery in the manufacture of shampoos, in the textile industry for washing and bleaching wool and silk fabrics, for which ordinary alkaline soap is not applicable, in technology for the enrichment of ores by flotation.
The use of cloves in medicine is also associated with the presence of saponins in these plants. For medicinal purposes, mainly two plants are used - soapwort and hernia glabra (Herniaria glabra). However, saponins are far from harmless substances. It all depends on how they enter the human or animal body. Most saponins, when entering the digestive tract through the mouth, do not have a toxic effect, but when directly introduced into the bloodstream, many saponins cause hemolysis - the destruction of red blood cells. One of the most valuable saponin-bearing plants for the economy, the spiny foxtail, has long been a subject of wide export. As a result of many years of harvesting, its thickets in Southern Kazakhstan and the Central Asian republics have practically disappeared, so the urgent problem was the development of the basis for introducing this species into culture. In Western Europe, other saponinaceous plants are grown - the holly plant (Gypsophila acutifolia) and the paniculata plant (G. paniculata).
The most remarkable and best known in the family is the extensive genus Dianthus, which includes approximately 300 species, widely represented in Europe, Asia, tropical and South Africa, some species are found in North America. The Mediterranean is considered the center of species diversity of this genus. Many carnations are favorite ornamental plants and are cultivated almost everywhere because of their pleasant smell and the usually bright color of the corolla, often double due to the splitting of the stamens and their transformation into petals.
The smell of carnation flowers is reminiscent of the aroma of cloves, a spice that is the dried buds of the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum) from the myrtle family.
At the end of the 18th century. The annual Chinese carnation (Dianthus chinensis) penetrated into European gardens, from which, by crossing with other species, many varieties were obtained with flowers of various colors, sometimes reaching 15 cm in diameter. Numerous double, semi-double, remontant varieties grown for cutting were obtained from perennial Garden or Dutch carnation (D. caryophyllus) is native to Southern Europe. One of the least demanding and winter-hardy carnations is the bearded carnation, which has compact inflorescences of various colors. The perennial pinnate carnation (D. plumarius) is widely cultivated, originally from Europe (from the Italian Alps to the Tatras). The almost stemless carnation (D. subacaulis) from Southwestern Europe, the fragrant carnation (D. fragrans) from the Caucasus mountains, the alpine carnation (D. alpinus) from the highlands of the Alps, the blood-red carnation (D. cruentus) from Balkan Peninsula, Montpelien carnation (D. monspessulanus) from the mountains of Central and Southern Europe. In the European part of the Soviet Union, very common species are Dianthus and Dianthus (D. superbus). Carnation grass grows in dry, well-lit places, on sandy slopes and forest edges; its small, but graceful, bright, pink-red flowers are clearly visible among other plants. A lush carnation with a pale pink corolla, the petals of which are dissected at the edges into narrow, linear lobes, can be found in sparse forests, on forest edges and clearings, in meadows. Both of these carnations are successfully grown in gardens.
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In addition to carnations, representatives of the most diverse genera of this family are used as ornamental plants (Tables 55, 56, 57).
Life of plants: in 6 volumes. - M.: Enlightenment. Edited by A. L. Takhtadzhyan, editor-in-chief, corresponding member. USSR Academy of Sciences, prof. A.A. Fedorov. 1974 .
See what “Clove family (Caryophyllaceae)” is in other dictionaries:
FAMILY CARYOPHYLLACEAE- Includes about 80 genera and 200 species, distributed on all continents in a variety of environments. The largest number of representatives is concentrated in the Mediterranean, Western and Central Asia. Herbs, semi-shrubs and shrubs with whole... ... Forest herbaceous plants
Description . Smolevka is a perennial or biennial plant with thin, erect, less often drooping, sometimes branching stems. Green, broadly lanceolate leaves 4–9 cm long, arranged oppositely, in pairs. Smolevka belongs to dioecious plants; male and female flowers are located on different specimens. The flowers are white, pink or red, with 5 petals, about 2 cm in diameter, appearing at the top of the stems.
Height. From 30 to 90 cm, depending on the type.
1. Smolevka - planting and care
1.1.Growing from seeds
Propagated by seeds or stem cuttings. Fresh seeds can be sown in spring. Shoots appear within 2 - 4 weeks.
1.2.Caring for resin
An unpretentious plant that adapts well to a variety of living conditions. In perennial species, the middle of the plant becomes bare with age, so after flowering it is worth carrying out rejuvenating pruning.
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1.3.Containment temperature
Adapts well to a wide range of temperature conditions and tolerates short-term frosts. A cool dormant period is required during the winter months.
1.4.Lighting
Place the pot with plants in a well-lit place, however, shade it from direct sunlight.
1.5.Ground
Can be successfully grown in most types of soil, preferably with a neutral or alkaline pH.
1.6.Fertilizer
During the growth period, feed with water-soluble fertilizers for flowering plants. In autumn and winter, feeding is stopped.
1.7.When it blooms
Flowering is very long, often occurring throughout the summer.
1.8.Spraying
If the indoor air becomes too dryuse a room humidifier. If necessary, spray with water at room temperature in the morning.
1.9.Watering
Watering should be plentiful during the growing season. In autumn, the frequency of watering is reduced in accordance with the ambient temperature.
1.10.Transplanting resin
Smolevka does not like frequent transplants and if the root system is damaged, it takes a long time to recover. Transplantation is carried out only if necessary, in the spring; it is advisable to transfer the plants along with a lump of earth.
1.11.Pests and diseases
Mealybugs.
1.12.Purpose
A beautiful flowering plant, creeping varieties can be grown in hanging baskets.
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1.13.Note
As plants age, the lower part of the stems may become bare and lose their attractiveness.
Hydroponics.
2.Varieties:
2.1.Common tar or firecracker - Silene vulgaris
A perennial herbaceous plant from 30 to 45 cm in height with erect, thin, geniculate stems. The leaves are green, narrow, linear, entire, arranged in opposite pairs. The peduncles are thin, slightly curved, bearing several attractive white flowers up to 1 cm in diameter with fused petals.
2.2.Silene nutans
A herbaceous plant that forms a rosette of dark green oblong leaves up to 7.5 cm long. Peduncles are thin, vertical, pubescent, from 25 to 80 cm high. The flowers are white, drooping, up to 1 cm in diameter. An interesting feature of the plant is its white or pinkish petals , divided in half.
2.3.Silene acaulis
An attractive herbaceous perennial groundcover with short, branching stems at the base. The leaves are green, narrow, linear, glossy. As the plants age, they form a dense grass mat. The flowers are pink or white, with 5 oblong petals.
2.4.Gibraltar tar - Silene tomentosa
Perennial herbaceous plants up to 40 cm high, form a basal leaf rosette of oblong, matte, green, soft leaves. During the flowering period, the bushes form tall thin peduncles with opposite, linear leaves. The flowers are attractive, fragrant, pink, lilac or white. The flower petals have deep slits in the middle.
2.5.Silene capensis
Perennial herbaceous plants with erect shoots abundantly branched at the base. The bushes form a basal rosette of long, narrowly lanceolate leaves. On the stems, the leaves are already arranged in opposite pairs, have an oblong shape, the leaf blades are bent along the central vein. The flowers are white, fragrant, with 5 cut petals.
2.6. Narrow-leaved gum - Silene stenophylla
Herbaceous compact plants with velvety, narrow, linear, entire, dark green or bluish green leaves. The peduncles are thin, vertical, reaching 10 - 25 cm, bearing at the top several delicate, white flowers with gracefully carved petals.
2.7.Silene pendula
A fast-growing herbaceous perennial 10 - 25 cm high with thin stems abundantly branched at the base. The leaves are green, matte, opposite. Flowers appear in the summer months on tall, erect stalks. The flower petals are cut in the middle and have a lilac or pinkish tint. Flowering is very abundant and long lasting.
2.8. Shaft resin - Silene schafta
Compact herbaceous perennials up to 10 - 15 cm high, which can be used as ground cover plants. The leaves are oblong, green or bluish-green, slightly bent along the central vein. The flower stems are pubescent, vertical, thin, bearing opposite narrow leaves. At the top of the flower stalks are several attractive pink or lilac flowers.
2.9. Silene armeria
Herbaceous perennials with erect, branched shoots. A small leaf rosette forms at the base of the plant, which dies by the end of summer. On the stems, bluish-green, oblong-oval or spear-shaped sessile leaves up to 7 cm long are located in pairs. At the end of summer, the plant adorns itself with numerous bright pink, lilac or red flowers, collected in inflorescences - apical umbrellas.
2.10.Smolevka Primorskaya - Silene maritima
The plant is a perennial, herbaceous plant up to 30 cm high, forms a basal rosette of oblong, bluish-green leaves. The peduncles are thin, often lying down under the weight of the buds, slightly pubescent, bearing small lanceolate leaves arranged in pairs. The flowers are attractive, funnel-shaped, with wide white petals, reach 3 cm in diameter, appear in the second half of summer - early autumn.
2.11.Alpine tar - Silene alpestris
Compact herbaceous perennials that can be used as ground cover. They form a small rosette of oblong, green leaves. Flower stems are erect, thin, abundantly branched at the base of the plant. The flowers are small, delicate, white, with delicately carved petals.
2.12. Rock tar - Silene rupestris
A perennial herbaceous aerial plant with small, dark green, entire leaves and very thin, vertical peduncles. The flowers are fragrant, small, white, with oblong petals.
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Clove family (Caryophyllaceae) (V.V. Bochantseva, E.V. Semacheva)
Cloveaceae is one of the largest families in the Clove order. It contains approximately 80 genera and 2000 species. Cloves can be found on all continents of the globe, in a wide variety of habitats. Representatives of the family grow in the tundra; among the cloves there are many forest and meadow plants. They are also found in arid areas: steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. In the mountains, cloves rise to the alpine belt, and one species, creeping chickweed (Stellaria decumbens), was found in rocky crevices in the Himalayas at an altitude of 6000 m, significantly higher than other flowering plants of the highlands.
Cloves are especially widely represented in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, with the largest number of genera and species concentrated in the Mediterranean, Western and Central Asia. Representatives of this family are included in the floras of most parts of the Arctic.
In terms of the number of species, they most often occupy fifth place. Several genera of cloves are found in the southern hemisphere, in its temperate zone, as well as in the mountains of the tropical region. Even on ice-covered Antarctica, where there are practically no higher plants, on the Antarctic Peninsula of the mainland, along with the Antarctic pike grass, one species of cloves was also found - Colobanthus quitensis. A significant number of species and even genera of cloves are cosmopolitan. These include the genera Spergula, Spergularia, Stellaria, Cerastium, Arenaria, etc.
The entire variety of genera and species of cloves, in accordance with the family system proposed by F. Paxo.m and K. Hoffman, is usually divided into three subfamilies: paronychiaceae (Paronychioideae), alsinoideae and resinaceae (Silenoideae); representatives of subfamilies differ in the presence or absence of stipules and some structural features of flowers.
The leaves of cloves are opposite, rarely alternate, simple, entire, often narrow - linear or linear-lanceolate, equipped with scale-like stipules (most paronychiaceae) or without stipules (alcine and resinaceae). The flowers are usually collected in dichasial inflorescences, very characteristic of this family, either highly branched and loose (in the Cachima species - Gypsophila), or more compact, umbellate or corymbose (bearded carnation - Dianthus barbatus); much less often, single flowers (common cockle - Agrostemma githago). The flowers are actinomorphic, in most representatives they are 5-membered (Fig. 199). There are 5 sepals, free or almost free (paronychiaceae and alsinaceae) or fused into a tube (resinous, for example, resinous clapper - Silene vulgaris, table 55); often there are bract leaves close to the calyx. There are usually 5 petals, always free; in some species the petals are barely developed or completely absent. Only in resinaceae the petals have long marigolds (the narrowed part of the petals) and integral or divided into narrow lobes limbs (the widened part of the petals), and at the border between them there are sometimes petal-shaped outgrowths that form the so-called adventitious corolla or corolla. There are 10 stamens, arranged in two circles or 5 - 4 in one circle, rarely 3, 2 or even 1 stamen. Gynoecium of 2 - 5 carpels, syncarpous or transitional to lysicarpous, predominantly with free styles. The ovary is superior, usually with numerous ovules in each socket, rarely with several ovules or only one. Fruits - capsules, nuts, rarely berries. The embryo is usually folded around the mealy perisperm.
Pollination is carried out mainly by insects. Flowers of paronychiaceae and alsinaceae with free, spreading sepals and petals are not specialized for pollination by certain species; The nectar and pollen in them are available to a wide variety of insects, which carry out cross-pollination. In cloves, nectar, sometimes quite abundant, is secreted by the expanded bases of the stamen filaments. Among the representatives of the family, good honey plants are known: common gum (Viscaria vulgaris), cuckoo adonis (Coro-naria flos-cuculi), lush carnation (Dianthus superbus). Resinaceae flowers with fused sepals are pollinated mainly by day and night butterflies. With their long proboscis, butterflies extract nectar from the bottom of the tubular calyx, while they always touch the stamens, and transfer the adhering pollen to other flowers. It is also important that the flowers of many cloves are colored in various shades of red, and butterflies, unlike many other insects, are able to perceive the color red.
The flowers of a number of carnation plants are protandric, in which the pollen ripens and falls out before the stigma of the same flower becomes capable of receiving it. Protandry is known in Dianthus deltoides, Cuckoo adonis, Silene multiflora, S. chlorantha and many other dianthus.
Not only protandry, but also such phenomena, which are not uncommon among carnation plants as gynodioecy - female dioecy (some carnations, chickweeds, tarworts) and trietia - trioecy (certain species of soapwort - Saponaria- and tarworts), practically eliminate self-pollination and contribute to more successful cross-pollination, without excluding, however, the possibility of geitonogamy.
Carnation flowers, pollinated by moths, are light in color and may be odorless or fragrant. Silene nutans, growing in meadows in well-lit areas, opens white petals and emits a strong smell only in the evening, attracting moths. Flowering lasts three nights, and in the maturation of stamens and stigmas there is a certain sequence that eliminates self-pollination: on the first night, the stamens of the outer circle ripen, on the second - the stamens of the inner circle, and only on the third night do the stigmas ripen. From crawling insects, which would only take advantage of the nectar and pollen, but would not carry out pollination, the drooping gum is protected by a sticky mass secreted by the stem at the base of the peduncles. As soon as flowering ends, the sticky substance ceases to be released. In the same way, many other cloves, such as the common tar (Table 55), have a very sticky stem, which protects the flowers from uninvited guests - ants and other crawling insects. In the ovary of saponaria officinalis, cuckoo adonis, drooping gum and some other carnation butterflies lay eggs and perform pollination. The caterpillars that appear soon feed on immature seeds and then leave the flower, but such plants have quite a lot of seeds left for reproduction.
Some members of the family, which are insect-pollinated plants under normal conditions, are capable of switching to self-pollination if cross-pollination is impossible due to bad weather or the absence of insects. In closed - cleistogamous flowers, which are found in certain species, for example in the bryozoan (Sagina procumbens), forest pseudostellaria (Pseudostellaria sylvatica), self-pollination always occurs.
Some paronychiaceae (hernia - Herniaria, paronychia - Paronychia) and alsinaceae (diwala - Scleranthus) with flowers in which the petals are barely developed or absent altogether are pollinated by the wind.
The fruits of the vast majority of cloves are multi-seeded capsules that open with denticles and are usually located at the top of the stem (Fig. 200). Ripe seeds do not spill out immediately, but in parts in different directions, when a gust of wind or the touch of an animal shakes the stem. The teeth of the capsules of carnation grass, drooping gum and some other cloves close in bad weather, and water cannot harm the seeds. In Gypsophila paniculata, a plant known as tumbleweed, the teeth of the bolls are always curved inward, and the spaces between them are very small, so the seeds can be dispersed from the bolls only with sufficiently strong gusts of wind. This usually occurs in the fall, when the plant is torn from its roots and its loose, spherical bushes are carried by the wind over long distances. An original method of seed dispersal is known from Wilhelmsia physodes, which grows mainly in the Arctic regions of Siberia and North America. Its capsules with mature seeds usually break up into three swollen, filmy-leathery nests, which are scattered by the wind (Fig. 200).
The seeds of some cloves are carried by ants; equipped with an aperture, the seeds of three-veined meringia (Moerhingia trinervia) are taken away by ants, which eat the aperture (Fig. 200). Seeds are often carried by the wind, especially in species that produce seeds with a membranous border (Fig. 200).
Single-seeded, indehiscent fruits - nuts are carried by wind or animals. Diwala nuts remain inside the growing calyx (Fig. 200); it easily clings to the fur of animals, which spread the fruits. Additionally, diwala nuts can be dispersed by wind. Fruits of the genera Pteranthus, Cometes and Sclerocephalus are distributed in the same way. In these plants, after flowering, the branches and leaves in each inflorescence grow, usually harden, and the entire plant with fruits becomes hard and prickly (Fig. 200). During the fruiting stage, the stems of paronychia and hernial plant become brittle, parts of plants with nuts are carried away by the wind (Fig. 200); in paronychia, in addition to the calyx, rather large membranous bracts remain on the fruits, facilitating the distribution of fruits by the wind. The fruit of the berry blister (Cucubalus baccifer) is very unique - it is a shiny black dry berry (Fig. 200); Birds may be involved in the distribution of such fruits.
The vast majority of cloves are annual or perennial herbaceous plants. However, in the family there are several small, 60 - 180 cm high, shrubs of the genus Schiedea, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Shrubs and subshrubs are found mainly among the cloves, growing in arid and mountainous regions of the temperate zone, in the tropics and subtropics.
Some perennial forms of cloves, growing in the tundra, high in the mountains, in semi-deserts and deserts, are characterized by a peculiar cushion growth form. The stem of such plants branches repeatedly near the soil, with numerous shoots extending in different directions, which, in turn, branch repeatedly. The whole plant takes the shape of a hemisphere or pillow, often spiny. Very spiny cushions are formed by some species of spiny leaves (Acanthophyllum, table 56), growing mainly in the Southern Transcaucasus, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. The leaves of these cushion plants have been turned into thorns. Pillows can be loose or compact; both grow very slowly; per year the shoots lengthen by only a few millimeters, and the age of individual specimens is estimated at centuries. A dense pillow is better warmed up by the sun's rays, its shoots are well protected from the drying effects of the wind, and its own microclimate is created inside the pillows. Observations of the cushion plant (Arenaria obtusifolia) in the mountains of Colorado (USA) showed that its leaf temperature was 12° higher than the ambient temperature. Very large pillows, up to 2 m in diameter, are formed by aretioid rocks (Gypsophila aretioides, table 56), growing on rocks at an altitude of up to 2000 m in Southern Transcaucasia, mountainous Turkmenistan and Northern Iran. The cushions of this plant are very hard, from a distance they look like stone covered with lichen. The weight of the pillow sometimes reaches 150 kg. Given the extreme scarcity of vegetation, such pillows are used by local residents as fuel. Some of the highest altitude flowering plants are species of the genus Pycnophyllum in the alpine zone of the Andes. Some of them form round, moss-like cushions up to 1 m in diameter, which can grow near the edge of permanent snow.
In the alpine meadows, which are located high in the mountains, in close proximity to areas covered with ice and snow, you can find many carnation plants - representatives of the genera Smolevka, Chickweed, Chickweed, Alsine, Minuartia and some others. Almost all alpine plants are perennials, barely rising above the ground. They have a highly developed root system, many have a dense pubescence or waxy coating and a thick cuticle on the leaves and stems. Alpine meadows are extraordinarily beautiful, they are colored with a mass of various large and brightly colored flowers; The bright color helps to attract pollinating insects, which are very rare in the mountains.
Among the cloves, especially annuals, there are many plants that are harmful weeds of crops. These plants usually complete their development cycle quickly and produce huge quantities of seeds.
Spergula sativa, which previously inhabited only Eurasia, later became cosmopolitan, infesting crops of spring grains and row crops, as well as flax. One plant, blooming in July, soon produces up to 30,000 seeds, 10% of which are viable already in the current field season.
The common cockle is an annual with gray-tomentose pubescent leaves and single large pink flowers, previously widespread in the Mediterranean, it has penetrated to Australia and the Cape Land. Kukol is found in crops of grain crops and flax, being a particularly dangerous weed of cereals, since its seeds contain 6.5% of the poisonous glycoside gitagin, or agrostemin, which affects the heart, nervous system and destroys red blood cells. The admixture of cockle seeds in flour in an amount of 0.5% or more makes it bitter in taste and hazardous to health. However, cockle venom is harmless to sheep, birds and small rodents.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is well known as a ubiquitous and difficult-to-eradicate weed, mainly of vegetable crops. The life cycle of woodlice occurs in less than 40 days and produces 2 - 3 generations over the summer. The lower part of the stems, as well as autumn shoots, can overwinter and bloom soon after the snow melts. One plant produces up to 25,000 seeds, which remain viable for 8 years, and in some cases up to 25 years. This plant is readily eaten by livestock and is also used to feed chickens and domestic songbirds.
Most species of the family contain saponins - substances that, when shaken with water, produce abundant foam. Saponins are present in all parts of the plant, but most of them are in the parenchyma cells of underground organs. Many cloves, such as Soapwort, Zorka (Lychnis chalcedonica), Acanthophyllum gypsophiloides, and certain types of Cachima, have long been popularly known as “soap root” and have been used as a substitute for soap. The foam formed by saponins is different from soap - it does not contain alkali. The property of saponins to produce abundant foam when shaken is manifested at a very small concentration, in some cases even at a dilution of 1:10,000. Currently, this property of saponins is used in fire extinguishers, in the production of fizzy drinks, beer, and halva. Saponins are used in perfumery in the manufacture of shampoos, in the textile industry for washing and bleaching wool and silk fabrics, for which ordinary alkaline soap is not applicable, in technology for the enrichment of ores by flotation.
The use of cloves in medicine is also associated with the presence of saponins in these plants. For medicinal purposes, mainly two plants are used - soapwort and hernia glabra (Herniaria glabra). However, saponins are far from harmless substances. It all depends on how they enter the human or animal body. Most saponins, when entering the digestive tract through the mouth, do not have a toxic effect, but when directly introduced into the bloodstream, many saponins cause hemolysis - the destruction of red blood cells. One of the most valuable saponin-bearing plants for the economy, the spiny foxtail, has long been a subject of wide export. As a result of many years of harvesting, its thickets in Southern Kazakhstan and the Central Asian republics have practically disappeared, so the urgent problem was the development of the basis for introducing this species into culture. In Western Europe, other saponinaceous plants are grown - the holly plant (Gypsophila acutifolia) and the paniculata plant (G. paniculata).
The most remarkable and best known in the family is the extensive genus Dianthus, which includes approximately 300 species, widely represented in Europe, Asia, tropical and South Africa, some species are found in North America. The Mediterranean is considered the center of species diversity of this genus. Many carnations are favorite ornamental plants and are cultivated almost everywhere because of their pleasant smell and the usually bright color of the corolla, often double due to the splitting of the stamens and their transformation into petals.
The smell of carnation flowers is reminiscent of the aroma of cloves, a spice that is the dried buds of the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum) from the myrtle family.
At the end of the 16th century. The annual Chinese carnation (Dianthus chinensis) penetrated into European gardens, from which, by crossing with other species, many varieties were obtained with flowers of various colors, sometimes reaching 15 cm in diameter. Numerous double, semi-double, remontant varieties grown for cutting were obtained from perennial Garden or Dutch carnation (D. caryophyllus) is native to Southern Europe. One of the least demanding and winter-hardy carnations is the bearded carnation, which has compact inflorescences of various colors. The perennial pinnate carnation (D. plumarius), native to Europe (from the Italian Alps to the Tatras), is widely cultivated. The almost stemless carnation (D. subacaulis) from Southwestern Europe, the fragrant carnation (D. fragrans) from the Caucasus mountains, the alpine carnation (D. alpinus) from the highlands of the Alps, the blood-red carnation (D. cruentus) from Balkan Peninsula, Montpellier dianthus (D. monspessulanus) from the mountains of Central and Southern Europe. In the European part of the Soviet Union, very common species are Dianthus and Dianthus (D. superbus). Carnation grass grows in dry, well-lit places, on sandy slopes and forest edges; its small, but graceful, bright, pink-red flowers are clearly visible among other plants. A lush carnation with a pale pink corolla, the petals of which are dissected at the edges into narrow, linear lobes, can be found in sparse forests, on forest edges and clearings, in meadows. Both of these carnations are successfully grown in gardens.
In addition to carnations, representatives of the most diverse genera of this family are used as ornamental plants (Tables 55, 56, 57).
