Spice bushes
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Common spice bush ( Calycanthus floridus ) |
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The spice shrubs ( Calycanthus ) are a genus of plants within the spice shrub family (Calycanthaceae). Of the only four species, one occurs in China and three species are common in temperate western and southeastern North America .
Description and ecology
They are deciduous, woody plants that grow into small shrubs and reach heights of 2 to 4 meters. The opposite leaves are 5 to 15 inches long and 2 to 6 inches wide.
The flowers appear after the leaves in early summer and stand individually at the ends of leafy short shoots . The fragrant flowers are 4 to 7 centimeters in diameter. The hermaphroditic flowers have a spiral structure with a clearly hollow, i.e. sunken, flower axis, also known as a flower cup (hypanthium). The flowers have a relatively original structure. The pollination is mainly by beetles ( Cantharophilie ).
The hairy, dark reddish-brown fruits when ripe are cylindrical with a length of 5 to 7 centimeters and contain numerous seeds.
Systematics and distribution
The genus Calycanthus was established by Carl von Linné in 1759 . The genus name Calycanthus is derived from the Greek words kályx for cover, calyx and anthos for flower. Synonyms for Calycanthus L. nom. cons. are: Butneria Duhamel nom. rej ., Basteria Mill. , Beureria Ehret nom. rej., Pompadoura Buc'hoz ex DC. nom. inval., × Sinocalycalycanthus F.T.Lass. & Fantz , Sinocalycanthus (WCCheng & SYChang) WCCheng & SYChang .
The genus Calycanthus belongs to the subfamily Calycanthoideae within the family of Calycanthaceae .
The genus Calycanthus contains four species:
- Calycanthus brockianus Ferry & Ferry f. : It occurs in northern and central Georgia .
- Chinese spice shrub ( Calycanthus chinensis (WCCheng & SYChang) PTLi , syn .: Sinocalycanthus chinensis W.C.Cheng & SYChang ): Morphological and molecular data show that this species belongs to Calycanthus . It only thrives under trees in the Chinese province near rivers in mountainous areas at altitudes of 600 to 1000 meters only in the northern part of the Chinese province of Zhejiang (only in Lin'an, Tiantai). Other common German names for this deciduous shrub are: Karolina-Nelkenpfeffer, flowering spice shrub, strawberry shrub.
- Real spice shrub ( Calycanthus floridus L. , Syn .: Calycanthus glaucus Willd. , Calycanthus fertilis Walter , Calycanthus nanus (Loiseleur-Deslongchamps) Small , Calycanthus mohrii (Small) Pollard ): It is a deciduous shrub that is used as an ornamental plant, others German trivial names : Karolina-Nelkenpfeffer, flower-rich spice bush, wine florets. The two varieties are common in temperate, mainly southeastern North America.
- Californian spice shrub ( Calycanthus occidentalis Hook. & Arn. ): It thrives at altitudes of 200 to 1,600 meters in northern and central California and Washington .
Usage and ingredients
Spice shrubs are used as ornamental plants for parks and gardens.
Calycanthus species contain calycanthin , an alkaloid similar to strychnine that is poisonous.
The bark of Calycanthus floridus has a strong, camphor-like odor that is especially noticeable when the branches are damaged. Twigs retain this smell even after being kept in a dry environment for several years. The bark of Calycanthus floridus is dried and used as a spice, it is a substitute for cinnamon . It should be noted that the Calycanthus species are poisonous. Since the leaves of Calycanthus floridus contain some camphor , they are used to repel insects, as a perfume and for disinfection. From Calycanthus occidentalis , a dye is extracted from the flowers and the branches are made of baskets. Herbal oil, extracted from the flowers, is used in some perfumes.
swell
- George P. Johnson: Calycanthaceae. : Calycanthus - the same text online as the printed work , In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 3: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae , Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-19-511246-6 . (Sections Description and Systematics)
- Bingtao Li, Bruce Bartholomew: Calycanthaceae. : Calycanthus , p. 94 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Ed.): Flora of China. Volume 7: Menispermaceae through Capparaceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 2008, ISBN 978-1-930723-81-8 . (Sections Description and Systematics)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stephen L. Buchmann, Gary Paul Nabhan, Edward Osborne Wilson, Paul Mirocha: The forgotten pollinators . Covelo: Land Press, Washington 1996, ISBN 1-55963-353-0 .
- ↑ a b c George P. Johnson: Calycanthaceae. : Calycanthus - the same text online as the printed work , In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 3: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae , Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-19-511246-6 .
- ↑ a b c d Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Calycanthus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Walter Erhardt, Erich Götz, Nils Bödeker, Siegmund Seybold: The great pikeperch. Encyclopedia of Plant Names. Volume 2. Types and varieties. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7 .
- ^ Bingtao Li, Bruce Bartholomew: Calycanthaceae. : Calycanthus , p. 94 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Ed.): Flora of China. Volume 7: Menispermaceae through Capparaceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 2008, ISBN 978-1-930723-81-8 .
- ↑ Calycanthus floridus at Plants For A Future
- ^ Nigel Groom: The New Perfume Handbook . 2nd Edition. Springer, 1997, p. 48 ( Calycanthus on p. 48 in the Google book search).
