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Phytolacca is a genus of perennial plants that prefer tropical regions. There are phytolaccas on the American continents and in East Asia. The genus contains 25-35 species. Scientists have not yet decided. Most of them are herbaceous, but there are also shrubs. Phytolacca dioica is a complete powerful tree. In Our Country, phytolacca is found only as a decorative component in landscape design. The most common dual-purpose plant is the berry (Phytolacca acinosa). It can be used as an ornamental shrub and the berries are edible.
Description of the flower lakonos
The name “phytolacca” comes from two words: the Greek “phyton” – plant and the Latin “lakka” – red paint. Almost all plants of this species have shiny black-skinned berries. The juice of the berries is thick, sticky, dark red. It is possible that in ancient times the fruits of phytolacca growing in Asia were used to dye clothes. Yes, and the Indians took dyes for clothes from somewhere, and the American variety of phytolacca produces many berries with red juice.
Phytolacca came to the territory of Our Country by chance and for a long time grew as weeds. In their homeland, lacones are weeds.
The height of phytolaccas is from 1 to 25 m. Lakonoses are deciduous or evergreen.
The leaves on the shoots are simple, opposite. The edges may be smooth or serrated. Stems are pink, green or red. Flowers range from greenish-white to pink, depending on the species. Collected in inflorescences-brushes at the ends of the stems. In autumn, the flowers of lakonos develop into black spherical berries with a diameter of 4-12 mm. Initially, the color of the fruit is green. After maturation, it changes to dark purple or black.
As a garden flower, the American lakonos is bred. It is most popular as an ornamental plant. Lakonos berry is often grown as an edible crop.
Types and varieties of phytolacca (laconos)
No one has ever tried to domesticate Phytolacca, and all forms that can be found in the garden are wild species of Lacones. In addition to those listed, 2 more species can be found in the gardens. Relatively low shrubs and herbs are suitable for growing for landscape design.
Phytolacca icosandra
Tropical very decorative lakonos. A large species of a representative of the genus Phytolacca. The bush grows up to 3 m in height. The leaves on red shoots are very large: 10-20 cm long, 9-14 cm wide. Bright pink flowers are collected in brushes 10-15 cm long. There is no scale in the phytolacca photo, and it is impossible to estimate the diameter of an individual flower, which is 5 -10 mm. Each flower has 8-20 stamens. After flowering, the resulting fruits of the plant have a diameter of 5-8 mm.
Phytolaccapruinosa
Another species of the genus Phytolacca. Perennial shrub. At a young age, the pakonos is green, in mature it becomes red. In the process of flowering, the brushes are red. Phytolacca berries of this species are also black.
The view is very unpretentious. It grows along roads, on dry rocky slopes, in forest clearings. Area:
- Syria;
- Lebanon;
- Cyprus;
- Southern Turkey.
In these regions, phytolacca grows at an altitude of 1-1,5 km.
Phytolaccaacinosa
With black berries on the stem, this pokeweed is a plant with many names:
- grape;
- edible;
- berry;
- polycarpous;
- stone fruit.
Refers to herbaceous plants. The birthplace of this phytolacca is Asia. The plant is distributed:
- in the Far East;
- in Japan;
- In Korea;
- in China;
- in India;
- in vietnam.
The main places of cultivation in Our Country are botanical gardens. But the weed cannot be kept in the garden, and in the wild this laconus is already found in the Moscow and Voronezh regions, in Mordovia. Lakonos drupe is winter-hardy enough to withstand the cold.
The plant is edible. In populations growing in the Himalayas, Japan and China, roots, leaves and berries are eaten. In the tropics of America and Southeast Asia, grape phytolacca is cultivated as a vegetable: young shoots are edible boiled, and the leaves are used instead of spinach.
Such an error could be fatal. The American pokemon is venomous. Plants are really very similar during flowering. If you look at a photo of the brushes of flowers of lacones, then they cannot be distinguished from each other. The difference is visible when fruits are formed on the brushes: in the berry, the brushes remain standing, while in the American they droop.
Phytoláccaamericána
Lakonos American is a herbaceous plant up to 3 m high. Another difference between berry and American phytolacca is their roots. The berry root is rod-shaped, similar to carrot. The American has a thick and short multi-headed rhizome with a central fleshy stem. But this difference can only be seen by digging up mature plants.
The leaves are large, opposite, ovate. The ends are pointed. Leaf length 5-40 cm, width 2-10 cm. Petioles are short.
The plant is monoecious, in the brush are flowers of both sexes. The diameter of the American lakonosa flower is 0,5 cm. The length of the racemose inflorescences is 30 cm. The American phytolacca blooms in June-September.
The ripened berry has a purple-black color and a rounded shape. Seeds about 3 mm long. Fruiting begins in August.
The area is already beginning to occupy the entire globe. From North America to the Eastern Hemisphere, the plant was introduced by accident. Since this type of lakonos reproduces well by seeds, today it has already spread throughout the Caucasus as a weed. It grows wild near dwellings, roads, in vegetable gardens and orchards. In the European part of Our Country it is often used in landscape compositions.
Is lakonos poisonous
Many phytolaccas have 2 substances in their chemical composition: phytolaccatoxin and phytolactygmine, which are poisonous to mammals if the plants have not been prepared correctly. Birds can eat the fruits of lacones without harm to themselves, since most of the toxins are contained in the seeds. The tough outer shells protect the seeds from digestion, making the birds sowing this weed.
Information about the toxicity of phytolacca is contradictory due to two factors:
- confusion between two types of lacones;
- other conditions of existence.
If the berry lacquer is almost completely edible, then the American is poisonous. But they look similar, and people often don’t tell the difference between them.
The toxicity of plants often depends on climatic conditions and the chemical composition of the soil. Hellebore, poisonous in the southern regions, is harvested in Altai for livestock feed.
It is possible that the American lakonos is also losing its poisonous qualities in Our Country due to cold weather and other soil composition. But this can only be verified experimentally. Therefore, it is better not to take risks.
Lakonos in landscape design
Phytolaccas are reluctant to use in garden design, as these plants reproduce well by seeds. We constantly have to fight not only with an indecently growing bush, but also with its young shoots.
If you are not too lazy to cut the plants, then they can be used to create high walls that enclose individual areas of the garden. Also, designers often practice the cultivation of phytolacca to cover tree trunks.
In addition, lacones are grown:
- for the sake of bouquets, since the inflorescences stand for a very long time;
- as an ornamental culture that adorns the garden in autumn;
- single bushes;
- as a central figure in a decorative flower bed.
Phytolaccas are especially noticeable in autumn, when the stems gain color and turn red.
Planting and caring for laconos in the open field
Phytolacca do not tolerate transplants very well. The best option for their reproduction is seeds. You can also dig up very young plants until their main root has grown to its full length. If you transplant large bushes, they may die. Propagation by seeds and subsequent care of the laconos do not require much effort from the gardener.
Site preparation
Lakonoses can grow in the shade, but the quality of the bush will be poor. Shaded phytolacca will be lower than usual, will give few small inflorescences. For planting choose a sunny place. As a weed, lakonos is unpretentious and can grow on any soil.
To propagate the flower of the lakos with seeds, it is enough to find the one who grows this plant and ask him for planting material.
Preparation of planting material
Preparation of planting material consists of simple operations:
- picking ripe berries;
- grinding fruits into a homogeneous mass;
- washing the resulting puree and washing hands;
- collection of washed seeds.
Then it remains only to plant the seeds in the ground, as they need stratification. This stage, the seeds will pass perfectly in the ground without human intervention.
Rules of landing
Planting and subsequent care for a seed-grown lacanos is also simple. Grooves are made in the prepared loosened soil and seeds are planted in them. Phytolacca germinate very well from seeds, therefore, after the appearance of spring shoots, excess plants are removed.
During the initial planting, not in a permanent place, it should be borne in mind that it is possible to transplant the laconos only in a very young state, until it has developed a full-fledged root system. When planting, taking into account further movement to a permanent place, lacones are sown so that it is convenient to dig them out later.
Watering and top dressing
As a self-respecting weed, the mature lakos doesn’t need much care other than pruning. Pruning is needed so that the plant does not flood all the free space. Watering is carried out as needed.
Watering time is determined by drooping leaves. Phytolacca recovers very quickly. After a few hours, the leaves return to their normal position. On a very hot day, the leaves may droop to avoid excess evaporation of moisture. But here you just need to remember the date of the last watering.
You have to be careful with supplements. In fertile soil, weeds grow more than usual. Lakonos is no exception. If in Our Country it usually does not reach the usual height for a particular type of phytolacca, then on top dressing it can grow even more than in its homeland.
Lakonos flower transplant
Phytolaccas do not tolerate transplants very well, and ideally, plants should also be planted by seed in a permanent place. But sometimes it becomes necessary to move the bush.
For transplanting in a new place, they dig a hole 60 cm deep and fill it with fertile soil. The bush is dug in from all sides and carefully turned out together with a clod of earth. They are transferred to a new place and placed so that the root neck is at the level of the soil.
It is best to transplant phytolacca in the fall, when they have shed their vegetative part and only the roots remain. At this time, the roots are dug up, moved to a new place and covered with mulch for the winter.
When transplanting during the growing season, one must be prepared that the plant will completely shed its upper part and may even die. But there is a chance that lateral buds will sprout from the root next year, and the phytolacca will recover.
Pruning lakonosa for the winter
Preparing the lakonos shrub for winter consists in mulching its roots with its own tops. In botany, there is no such thing as “lignified bushy grass”, but in essence, lakos grown in Our Country are such grass. For the winter, their entire upper part dies off, and only the roots hidden in the ground remain. Thanks to this, phytolaccas are able to tolerate frosts.
Sometimes growth buds that are at the top of the root can freeze. But the plant is recovering from lateral buds. For this reason, pruning the bush and sheltering the branches for the winter is not required.
How the Lakonos hibernates
In phytolacca, only the root and seeds overwinter. The vegetative part dies off annually. In the spring the bush grows again. Young shoots emerge from the seeds, which can be transplanted to a new place while it is still about 10 cm high.
Lakonos breeding
Reproduction of flowers of laconos occurs only by seeds. Cuttings are impossible due to the annual death of the ground part. Theoretically, Phytolacca can be propagated by roots, but these plants do not like such rough handling and are very likely to die.
Seeds have very good germination in the first year. It is enough to sow them in the fall and thin out the seedlings that have appeared in the spring.
Diseases and pests
Phytolacca diseases and pests are almost certainly present in their native places. There are no plants without pests. But in the conditions of Our Country, Lakonos have no natural enemies. That contributes to their aggressiveness. Moreover, phytolaccas are able to repel “European” pests. Often these perennials are planted around the trunks of fruit trees.
In the conditions of the climate, plants also do not have diseases. This resilience makes Phytolacca an enticing plant for those who don’t feel like taking the time to tend their garden. But the “lazy” will have to fight with the young growth of Lakonos.
Conclusion
The lakonos plant is not of serious economic importance. It is commonly used in garden compositions for landscape design. American phytolacca is considered a medicinal plant because of its toxicity, but it is better not to check which dosage is healing and which is life-threatening.