Representatives of the Clove family (Caryophyllaceae) are found literally in all corners of the globe. Such plants grow, including on the territory of our country. In the forests and steppes of Russia, you can find forest doze, dioecious smoky, cuckoo color, etc. Of course, Carnations are a family whose representatives are often grown in suburban areas. They are used in gardens and orchards mainly as ornamental plants.
General characteristics
The main distinguishing features of all members of the Clove family are:
- paired simple opposite leaves;
- bisexual flowers with calyx and corolla;
- dry, box-shaped fruit-coenocarp;
- small, smooth, knobby seeds.
Carnations - a family that includes 86 genera and about 2000 species.
Distribution
These plants grow unevenly across the continents of the Earth. Most of themfound in East and Central Asia, as well as in the Mediterranean countries. Various kinds of carnation representatives can be found in forests and steppes, deserts and in the tundra. One of the species of this family - creeping asterisk - was even found high in the mountains (6000 m).
Flower structure
The Carnation family, or rather, its representatives, are distinguished by the fact that their corollas have five or four petals. There are usually 8-10 stamens in each of them. They are arranged in two circles of 4-5 pieces. The ovary of the flowers is superior with numerous ovules in each nest. In most cases, the flowers of the representatives of the Carnation family are protandrous. That is, the pollen in them spills out before the stigmas of the pistils ripen.
Nectar in flowers is usually plentiful. They are pollinated by bees, butterflies, etc. In most cases, the flowers of the carnation family have a sprawling shape, and therefore are not specialized for pollination by any particular insects.
Classification
All carnations according to the F. Pax system are usually divided into three main subfamilies:
- paronychia;
- tarball;
- Alsine.
They can differ in the absence or presence of stipules or the structure of the flower.
Carnation family: importance for the national economy
Clove can be used:
- as ornamental plants;
- in official and folk medicine;
- inas soap substitutes;
- like livestock feed.
Clove - a family that includes, among other things, weeds that have to be fought when growing various kinds of agricultural and ornamental crops. There are also poisonous varieties of Caryophyllaceae in the wild.
Carnation family: representatives with decorative value
Many species of the Caryophyllaceae family have been grown in gardens for quite some time. The most popular decorative carnations include, for example, representatives of the Mylnyanka and Smolevka genera. Very often in the countryside you can also see beautiful gerbils and minuartia.
Saponaria: general description
The main distinguishing feature of representatives of this genus is their unpretentiousness and rather high decorative qualities. Most of the soapworts, since these plants are compact, are grown on alpine hills. The genus Saponaria contains more than 30 different species.
Soapwort officinalis until recently could be seen in almost all gardens and orchards. Today, this plant of the Clove family has somewhat lost its popularity. It's all about its increased ability to root formation. This decorative (and medicinal) culture grows almost instantly, and therefore, very quickly turns into a weed.
The most popular representative of this genus today is another soapwort -basilic. In the wild, this plant grows mainly in the mountains of Western Europe. The shoots of the soapwort basilica form lodging, and the color of the flowers is bright pink. Caring for this plant, like all members of the genus, is very easy. However, to maintain compactness, the basil-leaved soapwort should be cut back to a third of its height after re-blooming (at the end of summer).
Very often in the gardens and orchards of Russian summer residents you can also see the soddy soapwort. This species is native to the Pyrenees. The flowers of this compact (5-6 cm) plant have a very beautiful pink color.
All of the above soapworts are able to grow in one place for many years. These plants do not require any special soil preparation. However, a place for them should be chosen sunny, elevated. It is very good to arrange drainage in the flower bed as well.
Smolevki (Silene): distinctive features
This is also a fairly popular genus of carnations among the owners of summer cottages, with more than 400 species. Smolevki are used mainly in small flower beds and on stone hills. The most common representative of this genus is Smolevka Primorskaya. This rather low plant (up to 25 cm) forms a very interesting and beautiful gray-blue “pillow” on a flower bed or hill. Smolevka Primorskaya blooms almost all summer. So far, several varieties and forms have been bred. For your garden, you can choose a variety with white flowers or pink.
Alpine Smolevka - also quite populara representative of the genus - forms loose "pillows" up to 20 cm high. Its shape with double lush flowers is considered especially beautiful. Also, sometimes gardeners grow a stemless, Argive and Kantzin form in their suburban areas.
Description of clove Lychnis (Lychnis)
This common genus is also distinguished by rather high decorative qualities. It includes 35 species, but its most popular representatives are Arkwright Lychnis and crowned. The first forms a compact bush 35-40 cm high and pleases gardeners with spectacular orange-red flowers, the diameter of which can reach 3 cm.
Lychnis coronata is a herbaceous plant of the clove family, capable of growing even on infertile soils. In height, it can reach 45-90 cm. The color of flowers in this representative of the genus Lychnis is white or pink.
Gerbils (Arenaria) and Minuartia (Minuartia)
Representatives of these genera are very similar to each other. To such an extent that they are often even confused with each other. The most popular gerbil is the mountain gerbil. This plant can reach 10 cm in height and grow up to 50 cm in width. The flowers of the mountain gerbil are white, large.
The most common minuartia is juniper leaf. This spectacular plant reaches a height of only 15 cm and looks great both in single plantings and in combination with other ornamental crops, for example, alpine cloves or ferns. Inflorescences at minuartiajuniper leaf are racemose, and the leaves are pointed.
Medicinal varieties
Clove - a family, many of whose representatives can be used, including in folk and official medicine. First of all, these are plants such as:
- Plum.
- Gryzhnik smooth.
- Representatives of the Kachim clan.
These plants can be used to cure various diseases due to the high content of physiologically active substances in their tissues: alkaloids, flavonoids, vitamins, saponins, essential oils and organic acids.
Thornwort (Acanthophyllum): description
The Clove family is distinguished by its adaptability to a variety of environmental conditions. Its representatives can grow, including in the foothills. It is on elevated places that you can find medicinal prickly. A distinctive feature of this plant is the absence of a stem. The leaves of Acanthophyllum are notched, prickly on both sides, collected in a rosette (40-50 cm in diameter). In the middle of the latter there is an inflorescence-basket, at the bottom of which tubular flowers are attached.
From the medicinal purpose, only the fleshy roots of the thorny leaf are mainly used. They, among other things, contain essential oils, tannins, insulin, resinous substances. A tincture of thorn can be prescribed to cure helminthiasis (in animals), get rid of chiri, as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent.
Gryzhnik smooth: what kind of plant?
This is a groundcoverThe perennial is also included in the Carnation family. You can see his photo below. Its smooth creeping stems are completely covered with small oval leaves, in the axils of which tiny yellow flowers are collected in balls. In the wild, the smooth hernia grows mainly in pastures, rocky wastelands and along roads.
Useful infusions and decoctions of this nondescript herb can be for coughs, jaundice, diseases of the bladder and kidneys. They can also be used in baths for poorly healing wounds.
Rod Kachim
Another name for this genus is gypsophila. These are very common plants of the clove family. Currently, about 150 species of this genus are known. But of course, not all of them are medicinal. Most often, in order to cure various kinds of diseases, panicled kachim is used. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a long rhizome and a branched spherical stem. In the wild, kachim paniculata grows in Western Siberia, Central Asia and the European part of Russia. Its green parts can be used as an antimicrobial, pain reliever, laxative, or emetic. Also, an infusion of this herb is often used for pain in the liver.
Weeds
Adding complexity when growing various kinds of agricultural and horticultural crops can be many representatives of the clove family. But the most malicious weed is the medium stellate, or wood lice. The life cycle of this plant is only 40 days. And so for the season itcan give up to 3 generations. The lower part of the stems of woodlice, as well as its autumn shoots, easily overwinter and sprout in early spring immediately after the snow melts. After flowering, each plant can produce up to 25 thousand seeds. At the same time, they retain germination for up to 8 years.
Poisonous cloves
The most famous plant belonging to this group is the common cockle. This fairly common weed has a long taproot. Its stem is quite high (up to 1 m), knotty, slightly branched. The leaves of the cockle are narrow and sharp, and the flowers are solitary purple-red. The green mass of this plant poses no danger to human and animal he alth. Only cockle seeds are poisonous.
Forage grasses
In pasture meadows and steppes grow a variety of representatives of cloves. Almost all of them can be eaten by livestock. However, the greatest value as fodder plants is nevertheless carnation grass and waterweed. The first is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 45 cm high with opposite long leaves. The stems of this variety can be of two types. Non-flowering densely leafy. At the same time, they do not grow too long. Flower-bearing ones are very tall and branched in the upper part in the form of a fork. Carnation grass propagates by seeds. It usually grows on rocky wastelands, in grassy thickets, in meadows and fields.
Water softwort - a valuable fodder grass of the clove family - representsis a perennial, the height of which can be 20-70 cm. Its stems are pubescent in the upper part, and bare in the lower part. The leaves of the soft hair are ovate, and the inflorescences are a semi-umbrella. Under natural conditions, this plant is found in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Far East, Siberia.
The above characteristic of the Clove family allows us to judge them as very useful for the national economy. Of course, this group also includes weeds, and even poisonous plants. However, many cloves are also valuable as ornamental plants that can become a real decoration of yards, gardens and city streets, and as medicinal and fodder plants.
