Lunaria

One year (Lunaria annua)

The plant genus Lunaria has in many German names: the most common is the silver leaf, but often also Silbertaler, Silberling, Judas penny or Lunaria be used. The derived from the Latin name Lunaria means " moon plant" and refers to the sometimes circular, silvery partitions of Schötchenfrüchte that still remain in the fall and remember the moon. The genus belongs to the family of cruciferous plants ( Brassicaceae).

Description

The Lunaria species grow as single-, two-year to perennial herbaceous plants. The more or less hairy stems are erect and branched. The stalked leaves are simple. The leaf blade is oval to heart-shaped with serrated leaf edge.

The flowers are borne in short racemose inflorescences without bracts. The stalked flowers are hermaphroditic and cruciform. The four sepals are upright. The four petals are nailed purple or white. The petals are about twice as long as the sepals. The six stamens have long anthers. The short style ends in a bilobed scar.

The big little pods contain a few large, winged seeds.

Importance

The genus consists of only three species worldwide. All of them owing to their large, colorful flowers and the later silvery mature silicles use as ornamental plants. The dried branches are used since the 18th century also for decorative purposes. The plants prefer a warm, sunny or partially shaded spot and like nutritious soils. They can be propagated by seed or vegetatively by division.

Species

There are about three types:

• One year (Lunaria annua L. Syn. Lunaria biennis Moench ), originally a kind of southern Europe, which was planted much, and is then run wild. It comes in two subspecies: subsp. annua
• Subsp. pachyrrhiza ( Borbás ) Hayek

Swell

• SMH Jafri: Brassicaceae in the Flora of Pakistan: Lunaria - Online.
• Peter William Ball: Lunaria L. In: Thomas Gaskell Tutin include: Flora Europaea. Second edition, volume 1, p 358, Cambridge University Press 1993. ISBN 0 - 521-41007 -X