Western button bush

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Western button bush
Western button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

Western button bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis )

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Euasterids I
Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales)
Family : Red family (Rubiaceae)
Genre : Cephalanthus
Type : Western button bush
Scientific name
Cephalanthus occidentalis
L.

The western button bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis ) is a species of the genus Cephalanthus within the red family (Rubiaceae). It is distributed from North America through Mexico to Central America . Common English names are: buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, honey-bells.

description

inflorescence

Vegetative characteristics

The western button bush grows as a deciduous shrub or small tree , with heights of 1 to 3, rarely up to 6 meters.

Which are arranged opposite or threes in whorls leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The petiole is relatively short. The entire, simple leaf blade is 7 to 18 centimeters long and 4 to 10 centimeters wide and elliptical to ovate.

Generative characteristics

There is an inflorescence stem. Many flowers stand close together in a spherical inflorescence with a diameter of 2.0 to 3.5 centimeters . The hermaphrodite flowers are four-fold with a double flower envelope . Sepals and petals are connected to each other. The white to pale yellow petals are fused into a long, slender corolla tube. The stigma protrudes slightly from the corolla.

The fruit is a spherical structure made of achenes (nuts).

Natural, disjoint distribution area of Cephalanthus occidentalis

ecology

Water birds and other birds eat the seeds. Wood ducks use the plants to protect their nests . Deer bite the leaves. Insects and hummingbirds suck nectar , which the honeybee uses to make honey .

Occurrence

Cephalanthus occidentalis has a disjoint area in eastern and western North America. In Canada , records are known from southern Ontario and Quebec , which extend eastward to New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia . Except for the eastern United States and the eastern regions of the Midwest, there are significant populated areas in Arizona , the Mogollon Rim, and other mountain ranges, as well as in California throughout the San Joaquin Valley, west of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains , of western button bush only in west -Texas, Arizona and California before. Another population is known from Mexico .

In its natural range, the western button bush is a common wood in many wetlands such as quarries , floodplains , mangroves , pocosins , alluvial forests and in the undergrowth of moist forests. It is also part of the flora of the Everglades .

Illustration from Afbeeldingen der fraiste, meest uitheemsche boomen en heesters , 1802, plate 3

Systematics

The first publication of Cephalanthus occidentalis was made in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , 1, page 95. synonyms for Cephalanthus occidentalis L. are: Cephalanthus acuminatus Raf. , Cephalanthus angustifolius Dippel , Cephalanthus berlandieri Wernham , Cephalanthus hansenii Wernham , Cephalanthus obtusifolius Raf. , Cephalanthus oppositifolius Moench , Cephalanthus pubescens (Raf.) Raf. , Cephalanthus occidentalis subsp. californicus (Benth.) AEMurray , Cephalanthus occidentalis var. brachypodus DC. , Cephalanthus occidentalis var. Californicus Benth. , Cephalanthus occidentalis var. Macrophyllus Raf. , Cephalanthus occidentalis var. Obtusifolius Raf. , Cephalanthus occidentalis var. Pubescens Raf. Subtaxa will no longer be accepted.

use

Bee forage plant

Cephalanthus occidentalis is a good source of nectar ( "bee pasture" ). It is suitable for butterfly gardens.

Ornamental plant

The western button bush is used as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens because of its attractive appearance . It is used in near-natural landscaping because of its support in erosion control .

Medicinal plant

A number of historical medical uses are known for the western button bush . It is a poisonous plant because it contains cephalathin .

Landmark in the San Joaquin Valley

The small town of Buttonwillow (California) was named after the western button bush. A single one of these shrubs once served as a landmark on an old Yokuts Indian trail crossing the San Joaquin Valley as a meeting point. A rodeo area was later set up here by white settlers . The button bush tree is listed as California Historical Landmark No. 492 officially registered and known as the "Buttonwillow Tree".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Cephalanthus occidentalis in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ Cephalanthus occidentalis L. buttonbush . In: Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions . United States Forest Service. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b c d Cephalanthus occidentalis . In: Fire Effects Information System = FEIS . United States Forest Service.
  4. ↑ a b Common Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis L. . In: Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Guide . United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. ^ Elbert L. Little: Map 34-NW, Map 34-SW, Cephalanthus occidentalis . In: Minor Western Hardwoods  (= Atlas of United States Trees), Volume 3. US Government Printing Office, 1976.
  6. ^ Cephalanthus occidentalis at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed July 24, 2019.
  7. ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Cephalanthus occidentalis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  8. ↑ G. Davidse et al. (eds.): Flora Mesoamericana , Volume 4, 2, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2012, pp. 1–533. online at Cephalanthus occidentalis at Tropicos.org. In: Flora Mesoamericana . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  9. ↑ Penelope O'Sullivan: The Homeowner's Complete Tree & Shrub Handbook: The Essential Guide to Choosing, Planting, and Maintaining Perfect Landscape Plants . Storey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58017-571-5 .

Web links

Commons : Western button bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files