Latua pubiflora
| Latua pubiflora | ||||||||||||
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Latua pubiflora |
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| Latua | ||||||||||||
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| Latua pubiflora | ||||||||||||
| ( Griseb. ) Baill. |
Latua pubiflora ( Syn .: Latua venenosa Phil. ), Also called the magician's tree, is a species of plant inthe nightshade family (Solanaceae). It is the only species in the genus Latua . It is endemic to the coastal mountains of southern Chile .
description
Vegetative characteristics
Latua pubiflora grow as shrubs that reach 2 to 10 meters in height or as smaller trees with one or more main trunks that can reach a diameter of 3 to 25 cm. The plant is covered with rigid, up to 2 cm long spines that stand in the leaf axils. The leaves stand on 2 mm long petioles, the leaf blades are hairy, 3 to 12 cm long and 1.5 to 4 cm long, elliptical to elongated elliptical, the tip is long and pointed, the base of the leaf tapers. Stomata can only be found irregularly distributed on the underside.
blossoms
The flowers stand individually on 5 to 20 mm long, felt-like flower stalks. These arise from the axils of the spines from a shell of overlapping scales. The five-fold, bell-shaped chalice is about 8 to 10 mm long. The calyx lobes are uniformly shaped, triangular, somewhat pointed. The magenta to red, urn-shaped crown has a length of 3 to 4 cm and a mean diameter of about 1.5 cm. The outside is densely hairy. The corolla lobes are relatively short, as wide as long or slightly wider. The stamens are fused with the petals about 8 mm from the crown base. They stand slightly over the crown tube, at the lower end they are hairy. The anthers are about 2 mm long and fused with the stamens at the base. The counters are separated from each other at the outer end, this separation extends over a third of their total length. The pollen are three to fourfolded, flattened to spherical and relatively small at 20 to 21 µm. The two carpels are bicameral, the numerous ovules are anatropic (opposite). The stylus is as long as the longest stamen. There are circular nectaries . The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds .
Fruits and seeds
The fruits are yellow to orange-yellow, fleshy berries with a diameter of about 2 cm, the calyx on the fruit is extended to a length of 11 to 16 mm, the calyx tips protrude outwards. The seeds are dark brown to black and about 2 mm in size, relatively thick, slightly longer than wide. Inside is a curved embryo , the cotyledons of which are shorter than the rest of the embryo. The endosperm is abundantly developed.
Other specifications
The chromosome base number is . The shoots, seeds and leaves in particular contain various tropane alkaloids , including atropine , hyoscyamine and smaller amounts of scopolamine .
distribution
The species is endemic in the coastal mountains of southern Chile at altitudes between 300 and 900 m.
use
The medicine people of the Mapuche - Huilliche - Indians are known to use the plant as a remedy against malevolent and disease-causing spirits. The tribe's medicine men, called machis , also used the plant to put themselves into trance-like states in order to receive revelations. The effect of the plant is similar to that of the deadly nightshade ( Atropa ): dilation of the pupils, dry mouth and subsequent foam formation, mental confusion, convulsions, delirium and hallucinations up to persistent insanity and death.
An attempt to use the Latua pubiflora as an ornamental plant has been proven as early as 1859 , when Richard Pearce , who worked for Veitch and Sons , cultivated plants of this type. However, there is little evidence of the whereabouts of these cultivated plants; it is assumed that they disappeared from culture shortly after 1900. More recent cultivation attempts, such as those of the International Conifer Conservation Program in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, report successes in growing the plant outdoors all year round.
literature
- Armando T. Hunziker: The Genera of Solanaceae. ARG Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein 2001. ISBN 3-904144-77-4 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Evans Schultes: Solanaceous hallucinogens and their role in the development of New World cultures. In: The biology and taxonomy of the Solanaceae . Academic Press, London, 1979. Pages 137-160.
- ↑ Martin F. Gardner: The Potential for Chilean Plants in Cultivation (PDF; 204 kB). In: Combined Proceedings International Plant Propagators' Society , Volume 52, 2002. Pages 285-290.
