Cardiospermum halicacabum

Balloon ( Cardiospermum halicacabum )

The Balloon Plant ( Cardiospermum halicacabum ), also called heart seed, belongs to the family of Soapberry ( Sapindaceae ). It is native to tropical and subtropical Africa, America, the Indian Subcontinent and Malacca.

• 6.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The Balloon is a highly proliferating, annual, rarely perennial herbaceous climbing plant that can even become woody at the base of something. You may already blooming with plant height of about 25 cm, but usually grows much higher up to 3.5 meters. The slender, grooved stems are hairy hairless to sparsely fluffy.

The bodies distributed on the stem, 5-6 cm long, generally triangular leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade fiederteiliger. The petiole is ( 0.5 ) 1.5 to 3.5 cm long and the rachis is 0.4 to 2 cm long. The constant against Frond are 1-2 cm long and the terminal leaflet is 4-6 cm long. The leaf edges are sawn cut. The stipules are tiny, reduced early sloping shed.

Generative features

Page Constantly on a 5-9 cm long, sparsely hairy fluffy inflorescence stem are in a zymösen inflorescence two 1 mm long bracts, two circular coiled tendrils and three to seven flowers.

The functionally unisexual flowers are zygomorphic and cruciform with a double perianth ( perianth ). Of the four free, concave, durable sepals are the outer two circular, 2 mm long and ciliated, while the inner two oblong- ovate, 3-4 mm long and bare. The four white to yellowish petals are obovate and about 3 mm long, the two are each adorned with a woolly scale upper and lower have the two large, leaf -shaped scales and two glands. In the male flowers two circles, each with four free stamens and rudimentary stamps are available. The compressed stamens are hairy and about 2 mm long and the anthers are about 0.5 mm long. In the female flowers 2-3 mm long and hairy, insulated draft tube ovary with a short fluffy hairy stylus, which ends in a three-part stigma, and eight staminodes are obovate, available.

The striking, membranous, nearly spherical or broadly pear-shaped fruit capsules have a diameter of 3 to 5 cm, initially fluffy hairy, light green when ripe brown " balloons ". In each of the three seed chambers is only a seed. A striking feature of the individual grains is a large, bright heart-shaped spot on the otherwise almost black seeds. The kidney-shaped seeds have a diameter of about 6 mm and at its base a white about 5 mm wide, heart-shaped aril.

Dissemination

The balloon vine native to the tropics and subtropics, but is now also grown in southern Germany.

System

The scientific name Cardiospermum halicacabum was first published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 1, pp. 366-367. The genus name Cardiospermum, translated into German "heart seeds ," she was reminiscent of a stylized heart due to their large, black seeds, whose white time. The specific epithet comes from the Greek word for halicacabum salt barrel and refers to the inflated fruits, which were also the German trivial name is derived Balloon.

There are at least two varieties:

• Cardiospermum halicacabum L. var halicacabum
• Cardiospermum halicacabum var microcarpum ( Kunth ) Blume

Ingredients

Triterpensaponine, Halicarsäure, Catechingerbstoffe, terpenes, phytosterols, flavonoids, quebrachitol

Use

Especially in homeopathy the Balloon is used for treating eczematous skin. For this, a tincture is made from the flowering parts of plants. This is further processed into creams and ointments.

The green plant parts are eaten as a vegetable. The underground parts of plants and seeds are used medicinally.

The Balloon is used as an annual ornamental plant.

Swell

• Priscilla Abdulla: Cardiospermum halicacabum in the Flora of Pakistan: Online. (Section Description and Use )
• AW Exell: Sapindaceae in the flora Zambesiaca, Volume 2, 1966: Cardiospermum halicacabum - Online. ( Description section )