Blitum bonus-henricus
Good King Henry ( Blitum bonus-henricus )
The Good Heinrich ( Blitum bonus-henricus, Syn Chenopodium bonus-henricus ), also known as Wild spinach, is a species of the genus Blitum in the family of Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). Traditionally this type to the genus goose feet ( Chenopodium ) was placed and grouped together with others in the past as an independently treated the goosefoot family ( Chenopodiaceae ).
The name is either leprous to the legend of, remember poor Henry was or Old High German Home Rich (Home = paddock and rich = often, good edible).
- 7.1 Notes and references
- 7.2 Further literature used
Description
The Good Heinrich grows as a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth of about 10 to 80 centimeters. He usually has multiple ascending to erect, unbranched stems and smells normal. The Good Heinrich is a hemikryptophytische Pleiokormstaude and has a 1.5 cm thick, fleshy, many-headed root.
The change-constant leaves are quite large. The lower leaves are 5-11 inches long and 3-9 inches wide and are triangular to pike -shaped, almost entire, to 15 cm long stalks, pointed or blunt, slightly sticky, initially mealy by multicellular stalked bubble hair and body hair, later glabrous and dark green. The upper leaves are smaller, shorter -stalked and often do not spit corners.
The 3 to 5 millimeters thick flower clusters are arranged on short branches in a rispenähnlichen, terminal, elongated, rather narrow and dense, often nodding inflorescence is leafy only in the lowest part. The terminal flower of clusters are hermaphroditic with five bloom cladding and five stamens, the seitständigen hermaphrodite or female with three to five bloom cladding and without or with only two to four stamens. The bloom are fused together more than half; the free parts are narrow and do not overlap, not keeled, with a narrow membranous margin and a lobed, almost slashed - toothed tip. The usually two to three elongated scars measure 0.8 to 2 millimeters.
The fruits are one-seeded nuts that fall off with the perianth; the pericarp adheres to the seeds. The lens-shaped seed is perpendicular to the terminal flower, level in the seitständigen. He has a wide ovoid outline and is rounded at the edge; its length is 1.5 to 2.2 millimeters. The surface is dark brown to black, matt, with indistinct, rounded or square wells and a few deep grooves.
Phenology, pollination and dispersal biology, chromosome number
The flowering period extends from April to October. The inconspicuous flowers of good Heinrichs are pollinated by the wind; they can be classified as " pollen - disk flowers ". Most flowers bloom at the same time an inflorescence. The scars will mature before the stamens. It is distributed as Anhafter ( Klebausbreitung, Epizoochorie ), by digestion propagation ( endozoochory ) and by human spread ( Anthropochorie ).
The Good Heinrich is a tetraploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 36
Ecology
The Good Heinrich is a food plant for the caterpillars of Log - Pug ( Eupithecia sinuosaria ) Gemüseeule ( Lacanobia oleracea) and Meldeneule (trachea atriplicis ), as well as for the Log - blade tensioner ( Pelurga comitata ).
Occurrence and risk
The Good Heinrich has its distribution area in Central Europe; in the British Isles and western France he is considered naturalized in recent times. You can observe this in the north to South Scandinavia, east to western Russia; in the Mediterranean region, the species is bound to the mountains. The Good Heinrich is naturalized in eastern North America.
Originally this species was native to wild warehouses of the Alps, and later she came synanthropic and brutalization of culture in the lowlands and immigrated to village ruderal. Place where it occurs in scattered weeds stocks, especially within rural settlements, roads, paths, fences, dung heaps, in the eaves of the farms and stables, as well as to livestock warehouses.
As a pioneer plant prefers very nutritious, especially nitrogen-rich soils. After Ellenberg he is a light plant with oceanic spreading, a freshness indicator, growing excessively nitrogen-rich sites and a Verbandscharakterart the Velcro corridors ( Arction lappae ).
Due to the urbanization and rehabilitation of villages, castle restoration and Mauerverfugung the Good Heinrich has fallen sharply on these secondary sites in Central Europe. In Germany he is regarded nationwide as endangered ( Red List of Threatened Species 3). In Schleswig -Holstein, Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse and Rhineland -Palatinate, he is classified as impaired, in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and North Rhine -Westphalia even as endangered ( Red List 2). In the states of Hamburg and Berlin, he is already threatened with extinction ( Red List 1).
System
The first description as Chenopodium bonus-henricus was made in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum 1, page 218 The name Blitum bonus-henricus (L.) Rchb. 1832 by Ludwig Reichenbach in Flora germanica excursoria ( Volume 2, page 582 ) was used for the first time. According to recent molecular genetic studies of the Good Heinrich is closer to the genus Spinacia used as the goose feet ( Chenopodium ) in the strict sense. Therefore parted Fuentes - Bazan et al. ( 2012) from him from the genus Chenopodium, and set him in the genus Blitum. This is grouped together with Spinacia in the tribe Anserineae.
Synonyms, based on the same type specimen, are Agathophytum bonus-henricus (L.) Moq. , Anserina bonus-henricus (L.) Dumort. , Atriplex bonus-henricus (L.) Crantz, Chenopodium bonus-henricus L., Orthospermum bonus - henricus (L.) Schur and Orthosporum bonus-henricus (L.) T. Nees. As more synonyms Blitum apply perenne Bubani, Chenopodium hastatum St. lag. , Chenopodium ruderale kit. ex Moq. , Chenopodium ruderale St. lag. , Chenopodium sagittatum Lam., Chenopodium spinacifolium Stokes, Chenopodium triangular Dulac, Chenopodium triangularifolia Gilib. and Orthosporum unctuosum Montandon.
Use
Food plant
As wild vegetables of Good Heinrich has numerous uses. The not yet flowering young plants are used like spinach, older leaves are bitter, however. About 12 cm long shoots are cooked like asparagus. In the Balkans are produced from the crushed rhizomes forth like a peanut butter tasting confections. The flowers can be similar to steam broccoli.
The ground seeds can serve as a flour additive, such as for baking bread. It is recommended to soak them overnight before eating and thoroughly rinsed to remove the saponins.
Medicinal plant
The plant contains iron and vitamin C, as well as saponins, and oxalic acid. She used medicinally for skin diseases in use. Even against worm infections it has been used ( anthelmintic ). The seeds are considered to be a weak laxative.
Other uses
The Good Heinrich can be used as Dye plant, with golden -green hues are achieved.