Acantopanax Spread Out

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Acanthopanax spread out (lat. Acanthopanax divaricatus) - medicinal and ornamental shrub; a representative of the genus Akantopanax of the Araliev family. It is rarely found in culture. In nature, it grows in river valleys and along the edges of forests in Japan. It is cultivated in small quantities in Russia.

Characteristics of culture

Spread Acantopanax is a deciduous shrub up to 3 m high with a wide and spectacular crown formed by numerous powerful shoots. Young shoots are pubescent, later glabrous, gray, equipped with subulate spines curved at the top in the form of a hook. The main pride of Acantopanaxus spread out is its large palmate-compound leaves that rise on thin petioles. Leaves do not have stipules, are arranged alternately, clustered on short shoots, consist of 3-5 leaves.

Leaflets are oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, double-serrate, sparsely hairy, short-petiolate or sessile, with a sharp apex and wedge-shaped base, up to 12 cm long. Flowers are small, numerous, collected in umbellate inflorescences formed at the ends of short branches, sitting on pubescent peduncles. Fruits are black or almost black, spherical, up to 7 mm in diameter. Acanthopanax blooms spread out for 15-20 days in the second decade of August - in the first decade of September. The fruits ripen at the end of September, sometimes earlier. The species under consideration does not bear fruit annually; it begins to bear fruit in the 9-10th year.

Acantopanax spreads out from the first decade of May to the second decade of September. The growth rate of young specimens is average, later growth slows down. The species is winter-hardy, although it freezes heavily in severe winters. Propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds have low germination, so the seed method of reproduction is extremely rare. Most often, the species is propagated by cuttings; with proper care and favorable conditions, up to 100% of the cuttings take root.

Acantopanax spread out is decorative, and this is despite the fact that the flowers of the plant are small and inconspicuous, which cannot be said about the beautiful spherical fruits and unusual foliage, the bright green shade of which looks very attractive in the autumn period. The "summer dress" of shrubs is preserved until the very frost, and only semi-evergreen and evergreen plants differ in this feature. Spread Acantopanax is good as a soloist, shrubs also look good in small groups. Plants are suitable for hedges and defensive strips.

Growing conditions

Acantopanax is an unpretentious and undemanding culture. But plants grow better in well-lit areas or light shade. The dense shadow is reflected in the growth rate, crown width of shrubs and the saturation of foliage color. To soil conditions, Acantopanax spread out does not put forward any special requirements, the main thing is that the soil is permeable, loose, moist and nutritious. On waterlogged, poor, dry, saline, waterlogged and heavy soils, shrubs feel defective. Growing in heavy soils is possible provided good drainage is created.

Acantopanax is resistant to drought and air pollution, so it can be used for landscaping city parks. The culture is neutral towards transplantation even in adulthood. There are no difficulties in caring for shrubs, as well as in planting seedlings. Before planting, organic matter is introduced into the planting pit, but first fertilizers are mixed with fertile soil. In the future, the plants are fed once a year in the spring. Acanthopanax spread out does not need shelter for the winter and formative pruning. Sanitary pruning is done in early spring. Watering is carried out only as needed, that is, during a prolonged drought.

Healing raw materials

Acantopanax is widely used in traditional medicine. For medicinal purposes, bark, leaves, fruits and roots are used. The roots are harvested in the fall, preferably in the second half of September. The roots are dug up, shaken off the ground, washed in water and dried. Decayed parts at the roots are removed, healthy parts are dried in a dryer at a temperature of 70C. If there is no such in the arsenal, drying can be carried out in a closed room with good ventilation. As you know, acanthopanax roots contain essential oil, sterols, gum, starch, coumarins, lignans, alkaloids, triterpenoids, palmitic, linolenic and linoleic acids.