2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Actaea (Latin Actaea) - shade-loving decorative-leaved perennial from the Buttercup family. The second name is raven.
Description
Actea is a medium-sized short-rhizome perennial, from whose short rhizomes a great many rather large dissected successive leaves depart. And with the onset of spring, powerful peduncles appear above these leaves, on which brushes of small white flowers are located. As for the height of these peduncles, it usually ranges from half a meter to seventy centimeters.
The flower cups are formed by four rapidly falling leaves of whitish shades. There are usually from one to six small spatulate petals in them, however, it also happens that they are completely absent. Numerous stamens, which will be more authentic than all other parts of the flower, are often equipped with filaments expanding at the top. And there are from one to eight pistils in each flower, and they all boast the presence of wide sessile stigmas and ovoid upper ovaries.
The shiny fruits of the actea, depending on the species, can be either black or red - they look like multi-seeded nuts or pea-sized berries and can sometimes sit on rather long legs.
The actea boasts a special decorative effect closer to the end of summer, when numerous fruits begin to appear on it.
Where grows
The homeland of Aktea is considered to be the deciduous forests of North America, the Far East and Europe. Currently, this plant is quite widespread in North America, Northern Europe, Japan, China, Mongolia, Western Siberia and the Caucasus. Especially often, the acteus can be found in moist shady forests, both coniferous and mixed, as well as in forest bogs, on hummocks in the middle of grassy bogs or in rare thickets. However, this beauty grows quite well in open areas, as well as on clay-stony or dry clay slopes.
Usage
Actea is actively planted in gardens as an ornamental plant. However, it is important not to forget that all of its parts are poisonous, and if a person accidentally eats or deliberately tries its fruits, he may develop severe abdominal pain, vomiting or nausea, and in especially severe cases - clouding of consciousness, convulsions or tremors.
Spike-shaped berries, boiled in alum, are used to produce black dye. The strongly curved branchy rhizomes of this plant are used in folk medicine as a laxative, and the tincture from the underground organs of the Dahurian Actea has a pronounced sedative effect, helps to reduce blood pressure and is quite widely used in the initial stages of hypertension (the underground organs of this plant contain alkaloids, resins, coumarins and glycosides).
Growing and caring
Actaea is usually planted in semi-shaded or shaded areas, as a rule, under the canopy of various trees, on forest soils with normal moisture. Sandy or loamy soils are also suitable for growing it, but clay, alkaline and poorly drained soils should be avoided in every possible way.
Everyone who wants to grow an act should also take into account the fact that this beauty may need an initial garter - either to the wire or to the guiding twine.
Reproduction of aktea is carried out either by dividing the bushes at the end of summer, or by seeds, which are sown in autumn or spring. Seedlings usually begin to delight with their flowering already in the second or third year. By the way, the actea forms self-seeding quite well!
