California aralia
| California aralia | ||||||||||||
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California aralia ( Aralia californica ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Aralia californica | ||||||||||||
| S. Watson |
The Californian aralia ( Aralia californica ), English called Elk Clover, is a species of plant in the Araliaceae family. It is native to California and southwest Oregon .
description
Vegetative characteristics
The California Aralia grows as a deciduous, perennial herbaceous plant and reaches heights of 2 to 3 meters. The roots are extensive. The plants contain a white milky sap .
With a length of 1 to 2 m, the relatively large, alternate leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade, and more or less glabrous. The compound leaf blades are simple to triply pinnate. The leaf stalks are up to 30 cm long. The leaf blade is typically divided into three sections, each with three to five leaflets . The leaflets are usually 15 to 30 cm long and oval to oblong with a serrated edge and an almost heart-shaped base.
Generative characteristics
The relatively large total inflorescence with a length of 30 to 45 cm consists of numerous dold-like partial inflorescences. The flower has a diameter of 2 to 3 mm and is five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five durable sepals are fused at their base. There are five free petals . There is only the inner circle with five stamens . The ovary is subordinate.
The fruits, which are relatively small with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm, are spherical, somewhat fleshy and dark purple to black. The seeds are light and 3 mm long.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 48.
Occurrence
Aralia californica is native to California from Orange County to southern Oregon . It occurs in damp, shady places, in ravines and along rivers.
Systematics
The first description of Aralia californica was made in 1876 by Sereno Watson in Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , Volume 11, pp 144-145.
Aralia californica belongs to the Aralia section in the Aralia genus .
use
Native Americans drank a tea made from the roots and ate the fruit as a tonic . Preparations from the root were used against stomach ache, fever and exhaustion, the boiled roots as a compress for itching and wounds.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Linda H. Beidleman, Eugene N. Kozloff: Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino Monterey . University of California Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-520-23173-3 , pp. 97-98
- ↑ a b c d e f Dieter Wilken: The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California. University of California Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0520253124 , p. 210: Jepson Flora Project: Aralia californica - Online.
- ^ A b c Philip A. Munz, David D. Keck: A California Flora and Supplement. University of California Press, 1973, ISBN 978-0520024052 , p. 1000
- ^ Watson scanned in at biodiversitylibrary.org in 1876 .
- ↑ Entry in Tropicos .
- ↑ Christopher Hobbs, Steven Foster: A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. , Houghton Mifflin, 2002, ISBN 978-0395838068 , p. 68.
