2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Zhabritsa (lat. Seseli) - a genus of biennial and perennial plants of the family Umbrella, or Celery The genus includes 48 species, distributed mainly in Asia Minor and Central Asia, Europe and Western Siberia. Typical habitats are meadows, forests, steppes, rocky slopes and sands. In culture, only a few species are used. Popular names - Suzik or crane grass.
Characteristics of culture
Zhabritsa is a herbaceous plant up to 100 cm high with a single furrowed, sinuous or fusiform root, often used for medicinal purposes. The lower leaves are green with a bluish bloom, vaginal, thrice-pinnate, linear, pointed lobes. The upper leaves are smaller, pinnate. The flowers are small, white or with a reddish tint, with multi-leaved linear-lanceolate envelopes, collected in umbellate inflorescences with numerous rays. The fruit is a two-seed egg-shaped. Blossoms in July-August.
Common types
* Siberian gill (lat. Seseli sibiricum) - the species is represented by perennial plants up to 1.5 m high with a powerful stem root. Leaves are hard, partially pubescent. The flowers are white or whitish-yellow, collected in lush umbrellas. Siberian gill blooms in the middle of summer.
* Gum-bearing gum (lat. Seseli gummiferum) - the species is represented by perennial plants common in the Crimea and Asia Minor. Leaves are bluish-gray, thinly dissected, evergreen, collected in compact rosettes. The gum-bearing gill blooms in late summer - early autumn, often before the onset of stable frosts.
* Forked gill (lat. Seseli dichotomum) - the species is represented by perennial plants up to 60 cm high with velvety bluish-green leaves. Blooms in mid-summer. Often used for landscaping gardens.
* Mountain shed (lat. Seseli montanum) - the species is represented by perennial plants with dark green feathery leaves, located opposite. The flowers are pinkish, collected in umbrellas, blooming in July-September. The species is distinguished by increased cold-resistant properties, withstand frosts down to -28C. Most often, representatives of the species are found in Italy, Switzerland, France, as well as on the Balkan Peninsula and the Caucasus.
The subtleties of cultivation and reproduction
The gill reproduces by seeds. Seeds of some species are not stored for long, they quickly lose their germination. It is necessary to sow seeds immediately after collection. The culture is drought-resistant, but it looks most impressive with systematic moistening. To the soils, the gill is not demanding, it develops normally on any soils. It does not accept only saline, swampy and waterlogged soils. The location is sunny or semi-shaded. When growing plants from seed, the first flowering occurs in 3-5 years.
Application
Zhabritsa is used in gardening. It blends harmoniously with village flower gardens, alpine slides and other rocky gardens. He is a frequent guest of shady flower beds. Suitable for decorating borders. The bluish leaves of the plants look great in combination with white prickly pear, sage and red-leaved stonecrop.
Gill is used in folk medicine. The roots, stems and leaves of plants are used in the treatment of tumors of various types. Tinctures of the aboveground parts of the culture help to cope with toothache, cramps, fever, suffocation and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Zhabritsa boasts diaphoretic, antibacterial and diuretic properties.
