Gooseberry tree
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Gooseberry tree ( Phyllanthus acidus ) |
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| ( L. ) Skeels |
The gooseberry tree ( Phyllanthus acidus ), also known as tree gooseberry or grosella , is a woody plant from the family of the Phyllanthaceae in the order of the Malpighien-like . It is used as a tropical and subtropical fruit tree , the fruits of which are processed into relishes , jellies and desserts. The origin of the species is unclear, but it is cultivated in both the New and Old World.
description
The deciduous gooseberry tree grows shrub-like or as a tree up to ten meters high with a few spreading branches. The bark is rough and light to gray-brown. It loses its leaves in the dry season.
leaves
Up to 40 leaves are alternating in two lines on thin branches up to 50 centimeters long. The leafy branches, which resemble pinnate leaves, are heaped at the end of thicker branches. They fall off with the leaves and leave marks on the branches that resemble leaves. The leaf blades are 2 to 8 inches long and 1 to 4 inches wide, pointed ovoid or ovate and entire. The leaves are soft, young leaves are reddish and later turn matt light green. The underside of the leaf is hairy downy. The leaf stalks are 2 to 3 millimeters long. There are two small stipules at the base of each leaf .
blossoms
The flowers grow in large numbers in up to 12 cm long, hanging panicles that develop directly on leafless areas of the branches and trunk. The flowers are very small, inconspicuous, short stalked and greenish pink, mostly unisexual, rarely hermaphroditic. Petals are missing, the mostly four sepals are scale-like. Male flowers have four stamens , female flowers usually have four staminodes , the ovary is three or four-chambered. The tree blooms and bears fruit all year round.
fruit
The fruits are drupes hanging from the branches in clusters . They are broadly rounded, 2 inches long with a diameter of up to 2.7 inches. Ripe fruits are pale yellow and longitudinally furrowed by five to seven constrictions. The fruit skin is thin, smooth and translucent, the flesh firm, juicy and glassy. The taste of the fruit is very sour, aromatic and somewhat astringent . Each fruit contains a round, about 1 centimeter long, longitudinally furrowed, hard, yellow-brown stone core that adheres firmly to the pulp.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 26.
Distribution and ecology
The origin of the species is unclear, it may come from northeast Brazil or Madagascar . Today it is found cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas, particularly frequently in Southeast Asia, India, South Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, on Guam, Hawaii and other Pacific islands, but also in Central and South America. It was introduced to Jamaica from Timor in 1793. Overgrown trees can also be found singly in South Florida .
The gooseberry tree is an undemanding and drought-resistant fruit and ornamental tree that is mostly cultivated in home gardens. Propagation takes place through seedlings . It grows at low altitudes, in El Salvador up to an altitude of about 1000 meters. The species makes little demands on the soil, but prefers moist soils.
Systematics and research history
The sting tree ( Phyllanthus acidus ) is a kind of the genus Phyllanthus in the family of Phyllanthaceae . There the genus in the subfamily Phyllanthoideae of the tribe Phyllantheae is assigned.
It was assigned by Carl von Linné in 1753 as Averrhoa acida ( Basionym ) in Species Plantarum of the genus of the cucumber trees ( Averrhoa ), in 1767 in Mantissa Plantarum as Cicca disticha of the genus Cicca . Today, Cicca is no longer seen as a separate genus, but as a synonym of the genus Phyllanthus .
use
Grosella fruits are very acidic and rich in vitamin C . They are eaten raw or with sugar or pickled sweet and sour and added to various dishes as a spicy ingredient ( relish ). An aromatic syrup is obtained from sugared fruits , the juice of pressed fruits is used for soft drinks. The fruits are processed into chutneys , jam and jelly, but are also used dried, candied and salted.
Young leaves can be prepared as a vegetable . The roots and the bark are slightly toxic and are used in folk medicine as laxatives and against bronchitis and psoriasis . The wood is rarely used.
In South India the fruits are harvested twice a year, from April to May and from September to October. In other areas, January is the main harvest time.
literature
- Bernd Nowak, Bettina Schulz: Pocket dictionary of tropical crops and their fruits . Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2009, ISBN 978-3-494-01455-5 , p. 447-448 .
- Andreas Bärtels: Tropical Plants . Ornamental and useful plants. 5th, revised edition. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3937-5 , p. 306 .
Web links
- Phyllanthus acidus at Useful Tropical Plants.
Individual evidence
- ↑ German name gooseberry tree after Zander - concise dictionary of plant names (quoted from GRIN) and Bärtels: tropical plants
- ↑ German names Grosella and Baumstachelbeere after Nowak, Schulz: Pocket dictionary of tropical useful plants and their fruits
- ↑ a b c Bärtels: Tropical Plants , p. 306
- ↑ a b Nowak, Schulz: Pocket dictionary of tropical useful plants and their fruits , p. 447
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Julia F. Morton: Otaheite Gooseberry . In: Fruits of Warm Climates . Florida Flair Books, Miami 1987, ISBN 978-0-9610184-1-2 , pp. 217-219 ( online [accessed October 29, 2011]).
- ^ Phyllanthus acidus. In: Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org, p. 33 , accessed on October 29, 2011 (English).
- ↑ Nowak, Schulz: Pocket dictionary of tropical useful plants and their fruits , pp. 447–448
- ↑ a b c d e Nowak, Schulz: Pocket dictionary of tropical useful plants and their fruits , p. 448
- ^ Phyllanthus acidus at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ a b Phyllanthus acidus. In: Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, accessed October 29, 2011 .
- ^ Averrhoa acida. In: Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org, p. 33 , accessed on October 29, 2011 (English).
- ^ Cicca disticha. In: Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, accessed October 29, 2011 .
- ↑ Cicca. In: Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, accessed October 29, 2011 .