Fumaria officinalis
Common Fumitory ( Fumaria officinalis)
The Ordinary Fumitory ( Fumaria officinalis), also known as Common Fumitory, is the most common in Central Europe species of the genus Fumitory ( Fumaria ).
Features
It is an annual herbaceous plant that grows erect to ascending, but not crawling or climbing. Their stems can reach lengths between 10 and 50 cm.
The leaves are feathery assembled with blunt lance-shaped leaflets, which are narrower than in most other Erdraucharten. As the stems are also the leaves bald and bluish- green. Thus, a stock from a distance looks " smoke-like " ( hence the name ).
The racemose inflorescence is 20 - to 40 - flowered and including the inflorescence stem 3-7 cm long. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic. The two sepals are 1.5 to 3.5 mm long and 1 to 1.5 mm wide, but fall off easily. Four petals form the crown, the pink to purple at the tip often dark red to black crowned and is usually 8-9 mm long. The spur has a length of about 2.5 mm. The flowering period extends from May to November.
Toxicity
The Ordinary Fumitory is toxic in all its parts. Main active ingredients are alkaloids such protopine, Sinactin, Cryptopin and some other part still unknown alkaloids.
Ecology
When ordinary Fumitory thigmonasty exists ie the petioles are irritable when touched; thus they can be based on a document or even entwine. A wax coating on parts of the plant acts as a water repellent. Water surpluses but that by nighttime water delivery dissipated by guttation. The plant roots 20-60 cm deep.
The hermaphrodite flowers are pollinated by insects in general, but also a self-pollination is possible.
Instead of the typical for the Fumitory family pods 2 (-3 ) mm are here seeded, formed long nut fruit on an upright stem. This initially subject to gravity spreading and can then be carried away as Regenschwemmlinge. The seeds are spread by ants ( Myrmechorie ).
According to the ecological indicator values according to Ellenberg, the part shade plant out on Warm temperate maritime climate and even slightly damp areas. In addition, they can be on weakly acidic, nitrogen-rich soils close.
It is in this kind of a cultural companion since the late Stone Age ( archaeophyte ).
Occurrence
Originally this species was native to the temperate and Mediterranean zones of Eurasia. Today, it is almost cosmopolitan.
This species is regarded as a nutrient indicator. It grows on nutrient-rich, machined ground and in gardens, fields or vineyards or in waste places where it is everywhere common. They occur in small groups or as single copies.
Subspecies
One knows from the ordinary Fumitory In Europe and in the Mediterranean at least three subspecies:
- Subsp. cilicica ( Hausskn. ) Lidén, is found in the Near East
- Subsp. officinalis
- Subsp. wirtgenii ( WDJ Koch) Arcangeli ( syn. F. wirtgenii WDJ Koch), is found in Spain, Portugal, France in the former Yugoslavia and Morocco
Use as a medicinal plant
As a medicinal drug, the dried flowering plant are used.
As ingredients are known: benzylisoquinoline Alakaloide as scoulerine, protopine (also called Fumarin ) and Fumaricin, which is partially bound to fumaric acid; continue Caffeoyläpfelsäure and flavonoids.
Erdrauchkraut as tea is used as an antispasmodic for cramp pains in the upper digestive tract, especially in the area of the gallbladder and biliary tract. This next anticonvulsant also regulating properties are specified on bile flow for the drug. Laxative effects have always been used in folk medicine for constipation and some diuretic effect in chronic skin diseases.
This application was taken up in the traditional medicine and led to the use synthetically produced ester of fumaric acid in the ( carried out under medical supervision ) the treatment of psoriasis.
Pictures
Swell
- Description in the Flora of North America. (English )