2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Leontice (lat. Leontice) - a flowering medicinal plant belonging to the Barberry family. From the Greek, the name of this plant is translated as "lion" - this is due to the fact that the leaves of some varieties of leontice bear a resemblance to the prints of lion paws.
Description
Leontice, or leontitsa, is a tuberous early spring undersized plant-ephemeroid, endowed with triple-dissected leaves and bright yellow flowers collected in racemose inflorescences. The height of this herbaceous perennial is in the range from twenty centimeters to half a meter, and its globular tubers are always very deep in the soil.
The inflorescences of this plant have the appearance of few-flowered yellow brushes. Leontice usually blooms in late April or early May, and the dying off of the aerial parts of this plant starts in June. By the way, the flowers of leontice are very reminiscent of barberry flowers, and its swollen membranous capsules can be either open at the tops or not.
In total, the genus leontice has five to six species. And this plant was introduced into culture back in 1886.
Where grows
In nature, leontice can most often be found in the semi-deserts or steppes of East and Central Asia, Southeast Europe, as well as in China. It is quite possible to see this plant in the Balkans, as well as in the states of the eastern Mediterranean and in Turkey.
Usage
Most often, leontice is planted in gardens, on the edges, on raised beds or in rock gardens. In addition, this plant is widely used as a medicinal plant - for this, tubers collected in late February or early March are used. And the most suitable species for use for medicinal purposes are considered to be leontitsa Eversman and leontitsa Smirnov. The latter, by the way, is quite actively used for gastric ailments, accompanied by a decreased secretion of gastric juice. And in Georgian folk medicine, Leontice Smirnova is also an excellent assistant in the treatment of tuberculosis.
Growing and caring
Leontice is an extremely unpretentious plant, and this feature allows it to be planted even in shady gardens (exactingness to the sun is characteristic only of Leontice Albert). It is very undemanding to soils (at the same time, sandy loams are considered to be the best substrate for its cultivation), however, excessive stagnation of moisture can be detrimental to it. In general, the watering of this plant should be moderate - leontice treats drought much better than waterlogging.
During the summer dormancy, it is quite permissible for leontice to dig out of the soil and send it for storage in a dry place. And some varieties of this plant can boast of a very impressive winter hardiness and the ability to easily endure a temperature drop to minus twenty-three degrees.
In order for a beautiful and useful plant to please with excellent full-fledged growth, during the active growing season it must be fed with high-quality liquid fertilizers with a low nitrogen content. As a rule, such feeding is given once a month.
Reproduction of leontice is most often carried out by seeds (for winter sowing) - immediately after ripening, they are either sown or sent for storage in wet moss. The planted specimens emerge and begin to bloom only in the fourth or sixth year. Also, in culture, leontice is sometimes propagated by dividing the tubers - pre-prepared nodules are divided either in half or into three independent parts.
