2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Lavatera tree (lat. Lavatera arborea) - a beautifully flowering shrub of the genus Lavatera (lat. Lavatera) of the Malvaceae family (lat. Malvaceae). Some botanists attribute the plant to the genus Malva (lat. Malva) and then its name turns into "Malva arborea". Lavatera is a tree-like strikingly beautiful creation of nature, born on the rocky shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In favorable conditions, the plant turns into a weed, making its way into gardens and fields with cultivated crops. It differs from other species of the genus Lavatera in the absence of leaves and side shoots in the lower part of the stem, which makes the plant look like a tree, and the stem like a tree trunk. During the flowering period, the plant stands out for its picturesque flower petals with a dark base and dark veins, as well as wide bracts.
What's in your name
The specific epithet "tree-like" is a literal translation from the Latin "arborea" and is obliged to the base part of the stem, which remains bare, since the lateral shoots are born only in the upper part of the plant. The lower part of the stem becomes like a strong trunk, and the whole plant as a whole seems to turn into a small tree with a spreading picturesque crown.
The Latin name has many synonyms, for example, "Luxurious Mallow", "Lavatera Veneta", "Spanish Lavender", "Village Mallow" and others.
Description
Lavatera tree-like is a shrub, strong stems of which grow up to two to three meters. Young stems are green, as they mature they acquire a reddish tint, then olive, and later gray. Plants that have chosen sea cliffs as their habitat, fertilized with seabird droppings, are more modest in size than those that grow at lower altitudes, sometimes littering man-made gardens and fields.
Lavatera tree-like, unlike its one-year relatives, popular with gardeners, is a perennial or biennial plant. Young vegetative parts of the shrub: stems, leaves, flower cups and leaves of the bush, have picturesque stellate pubescence.
Lobed leaves
Lobe-shaped petiole leaves are located on strong stems. The leaf blade can have from five to seven lobes of a bright green color, with a jagged edge, which are less angular and rounded, which distinguishes them from the leaves of ordinary Mallow. The middle lobe is often the longest. The leaves located in the lower part of the plant can reach a diameter of twenty centimeters, and the length of their petioles exceeds the length of the leaf plate. The predominant form of leaves is ovate-lanceolate.
Showy flowers
Large pink-purple flowers are born in the axils of the upper leaves or in the axils of the leaves of the lateral shoots singly, in pairs, or, most often, forming an inflorescence. Their short stalks (about one centimeter long) of green color are covered with dense pubescence of white hairs directed towards the stem. The pink color of the five petals alternates with a deep purple that marks the center and has longitudinal strokes on the surface, giving the impression that a skilled engraver has worked on the design of the floral corolla. The shape of the petals is elliptical obovate. At night and in cloudy weather, the flowers close, as if falling asleep before the sun's rays appear.
The flower shape is traditional for plants of the Malvaceae family. A cup-shaped floral corolla is protected by a double guard. The usual calyx of five pointed triangular sepals, which is two to three times shorter than the corolla, is surrounded by three subassemblies (epicalix). The leaves of the epicalix are broadly ovoid, merging with each other for about half their length, and covered with hairy pubescence.
Ring-shaped fruit
The fruit of Lavatera tree-like is a fruit of eight single-seeded fruits arranged in a ring around a conical, pointed, protruding axis. The fruit is surrounded by expanding bracts and partially covered with sepals.
Usage
In addition to the fact that Lavatera arborealis is a very spectacular beautiful plant, its leaves have healing properties, helping to heal sprains, as well as burns on the skin. To do this, the leaves are soaked in hot water and applied to the affected area.
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Hold-tree
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Lavatera
Lavatera - flower culture; an annual or perennial plant of the Malvaceae family. Under natural conditions, lavatera grows in Central Asia, the Mediterranean, western North America and some European countries. The second name is khatma. Currently, there are about 25 species.
Lavatera Is A Favorite Flower
Along the way, with the already familiar flowers, I bought a bag of seeds in the store that does not tell me anything "Lavatera". When the bushes grew up and put on a floral outfit, I fell in love with the lavender. It combines such diverse qualities as tenderness and stamina, modesty and a riot of colors, unpretentious care and generosity of abundant flowering
