Spiky St. Christopher herb

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Spiky St. Christopher herb
Spiked St. Christopher's herb (Actaea spicata)

Spiked St. Christopher's herb ( Actaea spicata )

Systematics
Order : Buttercups (Ranunculales)
Family : Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae)
Subfamily : Ranunculoideae
Tribe : Actaeae
Genre : Christopher's herbs ( Actaea )
Type : Spiky St. Christopher herb
Scientific name
Actaea spicata
L.

The spiked baneberry ( Actaea spicata ) or just baneberry is a species of the genus Actaea ( Actaea ) within the family of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It is widespread in Eurasia and the only Central European species of the genus Christophskräuter.

description

illustration
Inflorescence with flowers in detail
Berry

The Ehrige Christophskraut is a perennial , herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 30 to 60, rarely up to 70 centimeters. It has a nodular rhizome . The entire plant is weakly branched. The 30 centimeter long, stalked leaves are pinnate in two three pinnacles. The edge of the ovate or ovate-lanceolate leaf sections is irregular and roughly serrated. When ground, the leaves have an unpleasantly pungent odor.

The flowers stand together in dense terminal or lateral, racemose inflorescences . The relatively small, hermaphrodite flowers are four-fold. The simple flower envelope consists of four white tepals and four nectar leaves . The nectar leaves are shaped like a petal and narrow. The tepals fall off relatively early. The 15 to 20 stamens are longer than the tepals. The Upper constant ovary is einblättrig and contains several ovules . When ripe, the berries are black and about 1 centimeter long.

The flowering period extends from May to July. The fruit ripeness extends from July to September.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16 (exceptionally also 18, 26, or 30).

ecology

In terms of its life form, the Ehrige Christophskraut is a hemicryptophyte or geophyte . Vegetative reproduction , a self- propagation in the broad sense, takes place via the rhizome.

In terms of flower biology, they are female disc flowers. The petal-like nectar leaves have no nectaries . However, there is a plentiful supply of pollen available for pollinators . Typical pollinators are beetles .

The berries (bellow berries) are often sought out and eaten by birds. The seeds pass through the bird intestine undamaged and are spread endochorically . The seeds are cold germs .

Occurrence

The eared St. Christoph's herb is widespread almost throughout Europe as far as Western Siberia . In the south it can only be found in the mountains , in the rest of the area mainly there. In Central Europe it is scattered and it does not occur in stocks. In Central Europe it occurs mainly in low mountain ranges and the Alps. It is absent in the western lowlands; in the eastern lowlands it is very rare, in Lower Austria it is rare. In Germany it occurs scattered, in the southern mountains and the Alps , however, it is common.

The eared St. Christopher grows on moist and calcareous subsoil in shady mountain and ravine forests, preferably in deciduous and fir forests on nutrient-rich and base-rich, humus-rich , loose, stony or pure clay soils . The eared St. Christopher avoids full sun and deep shade. It loves high humidity and summer coolness. It is a local characteristic of the Fraxino-Aceretum (Tilio-Acerion), but also occurs in the Hordelymo-Fagetum, occasionally also in bushes (Berberidion) or tall herbaceous corridors (Adenostylion). In Central Europe it rarely rises above 1500 meters at altitudes, in the total distribution area up to a maximum of 1900 meters. In the Allgäu Alps, north of Lechleiten, between the Mittlere Biber-Alpe and the Salzbüheljoch in Bavaria , it rises up to 1700 m above sea level.

Toxicity

The plant parts are considered to be less toxic to humans. Poisoning in animals is not known.

The main active ingredient is magnoflorin , which has a similar effect to protoanemonin . According to other information, the berries should be free of protoanemonin and other powerful toxins.

Symptoms of poisoning are reddening and blistering of the skin, internal nausea , vomiting , gastroenteritis , often associated with bloody diarrhea and severe colic .

use

Pliny probably mentions St. Christopher's herb in women’s suffering. Medieval authors warn that it is poisonous, as also Johnson in History of Plants 1633. Madaus believes that this is why later authors only name various poisonous effects, e.g. B. dizziness, cold sweat or narcosis, reddening of the skin and blistering. Actaea has a tradition as a remedy only in folk medicine, externally for skin diseases or in Scandinavia for toothache, internally for asthma and goiter, in Russia or in the Baltic States as an emetic, for headache and stomachache, uterine bleeding, vaginal discharge and hysteria. The Homeopathy knows Actaea spicata at paralyzing rheumatism pain of the hands and feet which comes in cold and effort, also with head and stomach complaints. The eared Christopher's herb is rarely used as an ornamental plant.

Common names

“The plant was dedicated to St. Dedicated to Christophorus and was also used in the Middle Ages as a magic remedy , for the so-called "Christopheln", ie to conjure up the spirits who shut out money . "

Trivial names are or were, in some cases only regional: Fleabane ( Switzerland , Alsace ), Beschreikraut (Henneberg), Christophelskraut (Switzerland, Swabia , Prussia ), Sankt Christophelskraut, Sankt Christophskraut ( Württemberg , Middle High German ), Christophswurz, Feuerkraut ( East Prussia ), Fleckachrut ( St. Gallen , Rheintal), Heidnisch Wundkraut ( Silesia , Göttingen ), Hexenkraut ( Aargau , Zurich , Glarus , Augsburg ), black cabbage, black rootwort, black root (Silesia), wolf root (Switzerland), wolves root ( Old High German ) and root root ( Transylvania ). There is the name mother berries ( Eifel ) especially for the fruits .

swell

literature

  • Bertram Münker: Wildflowers of Central Europe (Steinbach's natural guide). New, edit. Special edition. Mosaik, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-576-10563-8 .
  • Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Actaea spicata , chromosome number at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  2. ↑ a b c d Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait . 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 , p. 51 .
  3. ↑ a b c Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : Yew family to butterfly family . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08048-X .
  4. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 520.
  5. ↑ a b c d Lutz Roth, Max Daunderer, Kurt Kormann: Toxic Plants - Plant Poisons. Occurrence, effect, therapy, allergic and phototoxic reactions. With a special section about poisonous animals. 6th, revised edition, special edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86820-009-6 .
  6. ^ Gerhard Madaus: Textbook of biological remedies. Volume I. Olms, Hildesheim / New York 1979, ISBN 3-487-05891-X , pp. 401-405 (reprint of the Leipzig 1938 edition).
  7. ↑ Georgos Vithoulkas : Homeopathic Medicines. Materia Medica Viva. Volume I. Elsevier, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-437-55061-4 , pp. 89-96.
  8. ↑ Johannes Leunis : Synopsis of the three natural kingdoms. Hahn, Hannover, 1847. Part 2: Botany, p. 263. online in the Google book search
  9. ^ Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants , published by Philipp Cohen Hannover 1882, page 10.

Web links

Commons : St. Christoph's herb ( Actaea spicata )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files