Cardiocrinum giganteum
| Cardiocrinum giganteum | ||||||||||||
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Cardiocrinum giganteum |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cardiocrinum giganteum | ||||||||||||
| ( Wallich ) Makino |
Cardiocrinum giganteum is the highest growing species from the genus of the giant lilies ( Cardiocrinum ). In China, starch is obtained from the onion of the plant, which is used as food.
description
Cardiocrinum giganteum is a perennial, herbaceous plant that is between one and three meters high. The egg-shaped onion is between 3.5 and 4 centimeters high, 1.2 to 2 centimeters wide and is formed from the thickened approaches of the leaf stalks of the leaves that are rooted in the soil. The main onion dies after the fruit has formed, and new plants develop from the secondary onions.
The upright shoot is simply built, cylindrical in cross-section, hollow and does not form any further roots above the bulb. The leaves are on 25 cm long stalks in a basal rosette or stem-like, are ovate-heart-shaped, up to 30 cm long and up to 20 cm wide. The tip of the leaf is pointed, the edge of the leaf has entire margins, the leaf surface is traversed by a reticulate venature.
The fragrant flowers are creamy white with red and purple central veins. They are in terminal clusters, the bracts are leaf-like, elongated, 7 cm long, 2 to 2.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is funnel-shaped, consists of six segments, each 15 to 17 cm long. The six stamens are 8 cm long, the stamens are uneven, the free anthers are bent outwards. The ovary is elongate, 3 cm long, the stylus is 6 cm long. The fruits are 4 cm long, elongated capsules with a diameter of 3 to 3.5 cm. They open in folds with serrated flaps and contain a large number of flat, crescent-shaped, winged seeds.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24, less often 22.
Occurrence
The species is widespread in the central and western People's Republic of China , where it grows in forests along bodies of water at altitudes of 1400 to 1700 meters.
Systematics
A distinction is often made between two varieties:
- Cardiocrinum giganteum var. Giganteum : stems light green, the outside of the bloom cladding leaves a breath of green, growth height 1.50 to 3 meters. In the Himalayan region (Tibet, Bhutan, Northeast India, Myanmar, Nepal).
- Cardiocrinum giganteum var. Yunnanense (Leichtlin ex Elwes) Stearn (Syn .: Cardiocrinum mirabile (Franch.) Makino ): stems dark green, the outside of the bracts pure white, growth height only 1 to 2 meters. Only in China and Myanmar.
use
In central and western China, the onions are collected by locals and processed into starch that is used in the kitchen.
literature
- Shiu-ying Hu: Food Plants of China . The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong, 2005. ISBN 962-201-860-2 .
- Flora Of China , Vol. 24, p. 134, online
- Stephen Haw: The Lilies of China: The Genera Lilium, Cardiocrinum, Nomocharis and Notholirion , pp. 133-135, 1986, ISBN 0-8819-2034-7
- Walter Erhardt among others: The big pikeperch. Encyclopedia of Plant Names . Volume 2. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008. ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7