American tree shrike

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American tree shrike
American tree shrike (Celastrus scandens)

American tree shrike ( Celastrus scandens )

Systematics
Rosids
Eurosiden I
Order : Spindle tree (Celastrales)
Family : Spindle trees (Celastraceae)
Genre : Tree shrike ( Celastrus )
Type : American tree shrike
Scientific name
Celastrus scandens
L.

The American tree shrike ( Celastrus scandens ), rarely also known as American bittersweet or tree killer, is a species of the spindle tree family (Celastraceae). It is mainly native to eastern and central North America . It is used as an ornamental plant.

description

Appearance and bark

The American tree shrike grows as a deciduous, clockwise winding vine that reaches heights of 5 to 8 meters. The brown bark has light-colored lenticels .

leaf

The alternate leaves have light green petioles. The simple leaf blade is elongated, elliptical to ovate or obovate with a rounded to blunt base and a pointed upper end. The leaf margin is sawn. There are three to four lateral nerves on each side of the raised middle nerve. The leaves are dark green in summer and turn yellow in autumn.

Inflorescence and flower

Capsule fruits
Aril
Seeds

The American tree shrike is dioeciously separated ( dioecious ), but there are also hermaphroditic flowers. The flowering period is between May and June. Six or more flowers stand together in terminal, inconspicuous inflorescences. The relatively small, mostly unisexual or rarely hermaphrodite flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold as well as yellowish-green to greenish-white. In the male flowers there is only a circle with five stamens , which are inserted on the edge of a cup-shaped discus. In the female flowers, the upper ovary is well developed and the compact style ends in a three-lobed stigma. The pollination is done by bees.

Fruit and seeds

The round capsule fruits with a diameter of about 1 centimeter turn yellow-orange when ripe and open with three flaps turned back. Three to six seeds stand together in a spherical shape. With a length of about 6 mm, the ellipsoidal seeds are covered by a bright red to orange-colored aril and are eaten by birds. The fruits ripen from August to October and last until mid-winter. Male and female specimens are needed to obtain fruits and ripe seeds as decorations in the garden or park and as food for birds.

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 46.

distribution

Celastrus scandens has a wide distribution mainly in eastern and central North America . It occurs in the Canadian province of Ontario, in southern Quebec, southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan and in the states of the United States Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island , Vermont, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, northern Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, northern Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, northern Mississippi, western North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas.

Systematics

The first publication of Celastrus scandens was in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , 1, p. 196. The Artepitethon scandens comes from the Greek and means climbing. Synonyms for Celastrus scandens L. are: Celastrus bullata L. , Euonymoides scandens (L.) Moench .

use

Celastrus scandens was widely used by the indigenous peoples of North America . Leaves, bark, and roots have been used to heal rheumatism, labor pains, digestive problems, skin ulcers, coughs, tuberculosis , toothache, and even cancer. The inner rind was sometimes boiled into a thick soup during famine. A poison was made from the poisonous fruits.

Today Celastrus scandens is used as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. It is hardy in temperate latitudes and is used for greening facades or fences.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 86. ( online ).
  2. ↑ Celastrus scandens at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  3. ↑ Celastrus scans in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  4. ↑ First publication scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org .
  5. ↑ Celastrus scandens at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

Web links

Commons : American tree shrike ( Celastrus scandens )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files