2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Allamanda (lat. Allamanda) - a genus of evergreens, native to the tropics, stretching from Mexico to Argentina. Among the representatives of the genus, there are shrubs, vines and trees that are distinguished by beautiful flowering. As a member of the Kutrov family, like many of their other relatives, plants of the Allamanda genus contain white latex (sap), which can cause not only irritation on human skin, but also much worse consequences when in contact with it. Therefore, when caring for the plant, protective agents should be used.
What's in your name
This feminine name of the genus keeps the memory of a man, a Swiss physician and botanist named Frederic-Louis Allamand, who lived and worked in the 18th century.
Description
The oval-pointed leaves of Allamanda are located oppositely on the stem. Leaves are leathery, like many tropical plants, with a glossy surface or slightly pubescent. The shine or pubescence helps the plant retain moisture, rather than allowing the sun to pull it into the sky. The edge of the sheet is even.
In the photographs of the blooming Allamanda, it is easy to confuse it with the flowering plant "Tekoma", in which the inflorescences are also collected from yellow funnel-shaped flowers. But, looking closely at the leaves, it immediately becomes clear which plant captured the photo. Indeed, in Tekoma, the edge of the leaf is decorated with clearly pronounced denticles, and the surface does not shine.
And the yellow flowers of Allamanda are much larger (up to 14 cm in diameter) than Tekoma's, but you won't understand this in every photo. The funnel-shaped flowers of Allamanda have five yellow or pink petals and form inflorescences, which botanists call a "complex umbrella".
The fruit of the plant is a spiny box, similar to a miniature hedgehog. Seeds are located inside the capsule.
Varieties
The genus of Allamand, according to various sources, has from 12 to 15 plant species.
Let's list a few of them:
* Allamanda angustifolia (lat. Allamanda angustifolia)
* Allamanda broadleaf (lat. Allamanda latifolia)
* Allamanda oleandroliferous (lat. Allamanda neriifolia)
* Allamanda laxative (Latin Allamanda cathartica)
* Allamanda Schotta (lat. Allamanda schottii)
Growing
Allamanda is a fast growing plant. Lianas, for example, grow up to three meters in length in a year.
In the wild, Allamanda chooses places to live along the banks of rivers, or others, open to the sun, but with moist fertile soil and enough rain. In Australia, in the second largest state of Queensland, which is famous for its tropical nature reserves, Allamanda has become an aggressor, growing in landfills, in abandoned yards, in roadside ditches. Simple pruning of the plant to the very root has no effect, since it only stimulates the emergence of new growth from the roots remaining in the soil.
Shaded areas are unsuitable for the plant, as are alkaline or salty soils.
Allamanda is a thermophilic plant, frosts kill it. Therefore, her fans living in areas with a cold climate grow Allamanda in flower pots, which are placed in greenhouses, greenhouses, residential or office buildings.
The plant is propagated by cuttings.
Medical use
Allamanda laxative is used to treat malaria, jaundice, liver tumors.
Laboratory analyzes of the chemical composition of Allamanda Schott's tissues revealed the presence of active substances with anti-inflammatory properties in the plant.
Some plant species have shown certain activity against pathogenic fungi, cell cancer, and HIV.
Recommended:
Tropical Allamanda
For exotic lovers, a liana has settled in the tropics of Brazil, its large bright flowers adorn the world for a long period. In our climate, it can be grown as a houseplant, with the possibility of creating high humidity around the plant
