Christ thorn (Paliurus)
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Christ thorn ( Paliurus spina-christi ) |
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| Paliurus spina-christi | ||||||||||||
| Mill. |
The Crown of Thorns ( Paliurus spina-christi Mill. ) (Syn .: Paliurus aculeatus Lam. , Paliurus australis Gaertn. , And Rhamnus paliurus L. ), also Common piercing called, one is plant art belonging to the buckthorn plants belongs (Rhamnaceae). Its name may derive from its use as a crown of thorns . Another synonym is Ziziphus spina-christi (Mill.) Georgi, which leads to confusion with the Syrian Christ thorn .
description
Vegetative characteristics
It is a thorny shrub that grows to a height of five to six meters . The broad to narrow-shaped, leathery leaves are two- lined, alternate and are up to 4 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide, usually with entire margins or finely sawn with a short stem. The lamina is partly unequal, the tip is pointed to rounded or rounded to blunt, the veins are threefold. The leaves turn yellow in the summer months. The stipules are transformed into two mostly unequal, sharp and long thorns . Domatia may be present at the base of the underside of the leaf .
Generative characteristics
The small, 3–6 mm large, hardly fragrant, hermaphrodite and yellow flowers form multi-flowered umbels and show the characteristic features of the buckthorn family , they are five-fold, short-stalked and axillary. The five broad-shaped and pointed falls, keeled on the inside and downy hairy on the outside, enclose a flat, fleshy nectar disc in the middle of which the gynoeceum sits. The narrow, spatula and hood-shaped petals sit on the edge of the ten-lobed disc between the sepals and surround the back of the individual and somewhat shorter stamens with light brown anthers. The stamens and petals bend outward later in development. The two to dreifächerige ovary is semi-inferior and carries a two to dreiästigen stylus.
The flowers serve as a food source for numerous insects . The flowering period is from June to August.
The initially light green and orange-brown when ripe , woody wing nuts ripen from October to December and have a diameter of 2–3 cm. In the middle is a round, roughly 10 mm large, hard-fibred, nut-like capsule which contains two to three round and somewhat flattened, shiny, smooth and brown seeds; it is surrounded by the woody, membranous and wavy, radially ribbed and disc-shaped wings . The seeds contain about 20% fatty oil, the thousand grain mass is about 17 grams.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.
Location requirements
The plant grows on both sandy and loamy soils, but prefers the latter. It is also tolerant of the soil pH and can even thrive in very alkaline soil. An open location is important to her, so she grows in open or only slightly shaded areas. The plant tolerates drought and frost down to −15 ° C. If there is damage above ground, it can sprout again from the base.
blossoms
pollination
Wing nuts
Thorn of Paliurus spina-christi
Christ thorn, Paliurus spina-christi , nutty capsule and seeds
Thorny branch with fruits
distribution
The Christ thorn originally came from southern Europe as far as Asia (China), so similar to the buckthorn . Due to its anthropogenic use as a hedge plant, the Christ thorn is now much more widespread, including in North America . With appropriately favorable climatic conditions, the plant grows up to altitudes of 3000 m above sea level.
use
- In landscaping and agriculture , the plant is used for bounding hedges. But beekeepers also cultivate it as a nectar- producing plant.
- May have been Paliurus spina-christi for the crown of thorns Jesus of Nazareth (see also plants in the Bible ). However, this cannot be clearly proven and other plants are also being discussed, such as the thorny beagle ( Sarcopoterium spinosum (L.) Spach ) , which is common in Jerusalem, or the purge buckthorn ( Rhamnus catharticus L. ) and a hawthorn ( Crataegus spec.).
- In early ancient Egypt , an oil made from Christ's thorn called nebes oil was used as a fragrance and anointing oil.
- The seeds are edible.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Systematic Botany Theoretical Examination on svenlandrein.com, accessed December 5, 2017.
- ^ J. Fitschen: Woody flora. 6th edition, Quelle & Meyer, 1977.
- ↑ Shakhnoza S. Azimova, Anna I. Glushenkova: Lipids, Lipophilic Components and Essential Oils from Plant Sources. Springer, 2012, ISBN 978-0-85729-322-0 , p. 694.
- ↑ Paliurus spina-christi at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ^ GRIN Taxonomy for Plants
Web links
- Plants for a future (English)
- Paliurus spina-christi in the Flora of China.