Dieffenbachia
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Dieffenbachia ( Dieffenbachia seguine ) |
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| Dieffenbachia seguine | ||||||||||||
| ( Jacq. ) Schott |
The Dieffenbachia ( Dieffenbachia seguine ), very rarely also called poison aron or Schweigrohr , is a species of the genus Dieffenbachia ( Dieffenbachia ) in the family of the arum plants (Araceae). It is native to the Caribbean and tropical South America , especially Brazil . Their varieties are easy-to-care for houseplants or ornamental plants for tropical parks and gardens.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The Dieffenbachia is a robust, evergreen, perennial, herbaceous plant that reaches heights of growth of up to 3 meters and a plant diameter of up to 60 centimeters. The 35 to 45 cm large leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The simple leaf blades are broadly ovate to oblong or lanceolate and glossy dark green; depending on the variety, they have white or yellow patterns.
Generative characteristics
The inflorescences typical of Araceae are formed.
Taxonomy
The first publication was under the name ( Basionym ) Arum seguine by Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin . Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott has a large number of synonyms, including :, Arum crudele Salisb. , Caladium seguine (Jacq.) Vent. , Arum seguinum L. , Caladium maculatum G. Lodd. , Seguinum maculatum (G.Lodd.) Raf. , Dieffenbachia maculata (G.Lodd.) Sweet , Dieffenbachia liturata Schott , Dieffenbachia picta Schott , Dieffenbachia plumieri Schott , Dieffenbachia lineata K.Koch & CDBouché , Dieffenbachia robusta K.Koch , Dieffenbachia cognata Schott , Dieffenbachia consobrina Schott , Dieffenbachia poeppigii Schott , Dieffenbachia gollmeriana Schott , Dieffenbachia neglecta Schott , Dieffenbachia ventenatiana Schott , Dieffenbachia irrorata Schott , Dieffenbachia lingulata Schott .
ingredients
Plant extracts are used in South and Central America as an insecticide , as a rat and cockroach poison.
The German trivial names such as Schweigrohr indicate the practice of using it in the 17th century - especially on slaves caught fleeing in the southern United States - as a means of torture , whereby parts of the plant had to be chewed, which led to swelling of the mucous membranes and the tongue and for prevented speaking for a day .
Mechanical action on special cells in the plant ensures that calcium oxalate crystals are fired and, for example, injure the tissue in the mouth. These injuries allow enzymes such as proteolytic dumbcaine to enter the tissue, which then causes symptoms such as itching, swelling and pain. The plant also contains various cyanogenic glycosides .
Administered in smaller doses, the plant parts can result in long-term or temporary infertility in both male and female animals and humans . This method was researched and used in Nazi Germany as well as in other countries. The aim in Germany was to enforce “racial purity” through drug treatment. It was supposed to replace the surgical interventions frequently used up to then on "genetically unclean" people, which also resulted in infertility. Experiments on humans were described as "unsuccessful" by leading doctors at the time who testified in the course of the Nuremberg trials .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Dieffenbachia seguine - data sheet at World Checklist of Selected Plant Families of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on June 15, 2018.
- ^ A b Kurt G. Blüchel : Healing forbidden - killing allowed. Organized crime in health care , Goldmann, ISBN 3-442-15327-1
- ^ David W. Nellis: Poisonous Plants and Animals of Florida and the Caribbean . Pineapple Press Inc, 1997, ISBN 978-1-56164-111-6 , pp. 147-.
