Houttuynia cordata

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Houttuynia cordata
Houttuynia cordata 2.JPG

Houttuynia cordata

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Magnoliids
Order : Peppery (Piperales)
Family : Lizard tail family (Saururaceae)
Genre : Houttuynia
Type : Houttuynia cordata
Scientific name of the  genus
Houttuynia
Thunb.
Scientific name of the  species
Houttuynia cordata
Thunb.

Houttuynia cordata , the heart-shaped Houttuynia , in German also called Newchtail or Lizard Tail , in a modern variegated garden variety also called chameleon plant or colored leaf , is the only plant species of the genus Houttuynia in the family of the lizard-tail plants (Saururaceae).

description

Heart-shaped leaf blade of Houttuynia cordata ( cordata means heart-shaped)

Appearance and leaf

Houttuynia cordata grows as a perennial , herbaceous plant and reaches heights of (5 to) mostly 30 to 60 cm. It forms creeping, relatively thin rhizomes as persistence organs. The articulated, longitudinally grooved, sometimes purple-red stalk grows creeping in the basal area and forms roots at the nodes ( nodes ); afterwards it grows ascending to upright and in this area the nodes can be hairless or hairy.

The alternate and spirally arranged leaves on the stem are aromatic and divided into petioles and leaf blades. The membranous, mostly ciliate stipules have a broad base and are ¼ to ½ as long as the petiole and grown together with a length of (0.5 to) 1 to 2.5 cm; they encircle the stem somewhat. The bald petiole is usually 1 to 3.5 (0.7 to 4) cm in length shorter than the leaf blade. The simple leaf blade, which is relatively thin for the family, is usually 4 to 10 cm long and (1.8 to) wide, usually 2.5 to 6 cm wide, ovate or ovate-heart-shaped with heart-shaped Spreading base and briefly pointed upper end. The leaf blade, which is densely provided with glands, is mostly bald and sometimes hairy on the branches of the leaf veins, has no parallel veins. There are five to seven main nerves, with the lowest main nerve or the innermost pair of main nerves only being recognizable about 5 mm above the base of the leaf. If there are seven major nerves, the outermost pair is thin and inconspicuous. The network nerves are more or less clearly recognizable. The underside of the leaf is usually purple in color, but cultivated forms can differ in leaf colors and even be colorful.

Four white bracts and spike-like inflorescence with many bractless flowers

Inflorescence and flower

The flowering period extends from April to September. On terminal or foliage leaves opposite, long 1.5 cm to 3, almost bare Blütenstandsschäften often six or eight are above most four bracts , the inflorescence . The showy, white bracts are (5 to) 10 to 15 mm long and (3 to) 5 to 7 mm wide and oblong to obovate with a rounded upper end; they look like the petals and serve to attract pollinators. The annual inflorescence has a length of usually 1.5 to 2.5 (0.4 to 2.7) cm and a diameter of (2 to) usually 5 to 6 mm and contains many flowers. The inconspicuous prophylls are linear and cylindrical.

The small, white flowers of the anthesis are radial symmetry and hermaphroditic. Bracts are missing. There is a circle with usually three or rarely four fertile stamens . The stamen is about three times as long as the elongated anthers. The base of the stamens is fused with the ovary. The stamens are longer than the style. There are three to five, mostly upper constant, carpels present. Androeceum and gynoeceum are fused along their entire length or only at the base or not. The two-celled pollen grains have no or an aperture and are sulkat. The three half under constant carpels are partly to a single-chamber ovary grown. Each carpel contains six to nine ovules . The three recurved styluses each end in a scar.

Fruit and seeds

The capsule fruits , which are almost spherical with a diameter of 2 to 3 mm, open at their tip, on which the durable stylus can be seen. The seeds contain sparse endosperm and abundant perisperm containing starch grains . The embryo is rudimentary and tiny at seed maturity. The fruits ripen between June and October.

ingredients

Cyanidin and the flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin have been identified as ingredients . The plant also contains essential oils and accumulates calcium oxalate in crystals.

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.96.

Occurrence

The wide natural range of Houttuynia cordata extends from the Himalayas in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim through Myanmar , Thailand, Korea, China , Taiwan and Japan (including the Ryūkyū Islands ) to Java . It is also found in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. In the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang as well as in Taiwan and Tibet , it thrives at altitudes close to sea level of up to 2500 meters Gorges, rivers and ditches, in forests, on wet meadows, on slopes, in thickets, on the edges of fields and on railway lines and roadsides.

Systematics

The genus Houttuynia was set up in 1783 in the spelling "Houtuynia" by Carl Peter Thunberg with the type species Houttuynia cordata in Kungliga Vetenskaps Academiens Nya Handlingar, 4, pp. 149–152, plate 5. A homonym is Houttuynia Houtt. in Natuurlijke Historie, 2 (12), 1780, p. 448, it was with the type species Houttuynia capensis Houtt. established, today a synonym for species from the family Iridaceae. Synonyms for Houttuynia Thunb. is Polypara Lour. and for Houttuynia cordata Thunb. Polypara cochinchinensis Lour. and Polypara cordata Kuntze . The generic name Houttuynia honors the Dutch naturalist Maarten Houttuyn (1720–1798). The specific epithet cordata for heart-shaped refers to the shape of the leaf blade.

The colorful leaves of the "Chameleon" variety

use

The young plants are eaten as vegetables. In spring, the fresh leaves are eaten raw or cooked and serve as a spice. The taste varies from orange-like to coriander-like or fishy depending on the type of culture and the time of harvest. The aromatic rhizome is also eaten cooked. There are also reports that the capsule fruits are eaten.

The medical effects were examined. The drug of Houttuynia cordata (Japanese: "Segiun" = "New energy in the flow", Chinese 蕺 菜 ji cai) from its leaves soothes swelling. Houttuynia cordata is also used in folk medicine for diuresis and detoxification; its antiviral properties, known in herbal medicine, have been confirmed in a medical test.

Using Houttuynia cordata as ground cover, thus avoiding a "weed" comes up. Until the 1980s, when the aquarium hobby was even more common at lower temperatures, the newt's tail was also used as a submerged aquarium plant. The submerged form forms very small leaves with a maximum length of 1 cm and remains quite small even with a maximum of 10 cm shoot length. Temperature range 10–22 ° C.

The emersed plant is more suitable for paludariums or the edge of a pond .

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f g h Nianhe Xia & Anthony R. Brach: Saururaceae. Houttuynia. P. 109 - Genus and species - Online , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven (Ed.): Flora of China . Volume 4: Cycadaceae through Fagaceae . Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3 (English).
  2. Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Houttuynia cordata. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  3. Entry at tropicos.
  4. a b c Entry in Plants for A Future.
  5. Tzou-Yien Lin et al. a .: Anti-Enterovirus 71 Activity Screening of Chinese Herbs with Anti-Infection and Inflammation Activities . In: American Journal of Chinese Medicine . No. 37 , 2009, p. 143-158 , PMID 19222118 .
  6. Christel Kasselmann : aquarium plants. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1995; 2nd, revised and expanded edition 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7454-5 , p. 297.

Web links

Commons : Houttuynia cordata  - collection of images, videos and audio files