Iresine herbstii

Iresine herbstii

Iresine herbstii is a plant from the family of Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). The first publication of Iresine herbstii took place in 1864 by John Lindley: The Gardeners ' Chronicle, 654 The original home is located in a tropical climate in South America ( Brazil).

Description

Iresine herbstii grows as an evergreen, perennial herbaceous plants and can reach stature heights of 1 to 2 meters; in culture is supported it on stature heights of a few tens of centimeters. All parts of plants may be more or less reddish, depending on the variety. The plants are hairy with multicellular trichomes. You fleshy, usually reddish stems are branched and upright to creeping. The leaves are stalked towards permanent and easy. The petioles are 2-3 cm long. The circular, oval to heart-shaped leaf blades are 2-6 cm long. The leaf veins are often brighter than the rest of the leaf area, thus some varieties have a beautiful leaf drawing. The blade tip can be pointed to two columns. The leaf margin is smooth.

Are iresine herbstii dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). It can be formed with many flowers terminal and pendant, overall composite inflorescences, which are composed of aged men part inflorescences; they are up to 20 cm long. The membranous, shiny hub and shroud leaves are ovate and 1 to 1.5 mm long. The very small, sessile flowers are unisexual. There are only five membranous, about 1 to 1.25 mm bracts present; They are usually white, yellowish - white or greenish. In the male flowers five fertile stamens are usually present. The stamens are fused at their base. The globular, slightly compressed acting ovary contains only one ovule. It is more than a short ( about 0.2 mm) pen available. The fruits are globose to compressed and contain only one seed.

Use

Because of their leaves it is popular as an ornamental plant. There are sometimes green colored varieties such as Iresine herbstii aureoreticulata incident, but the plant is mostly purple. Often they can be found in the gardens, but they can not tolerate cold winters and cool in the apartment or in the greenhouse. Most often they can be seen as a pot plant for the windowsill. Suffers Iresine herbstii drought, it may significantly more sensitive than other plants and extremely feeble, but it finds its turgor pressure again as soon as she again has water available.

There are many varieties whose leaves or most parts of the plant are green through red to purple, and mixed colors are available. But you will not survive frost and cold winters in the apartment or in the greenhouse. It can be well bred from cuttings. They also reflected in a glass of water quickly roots (not just at wound dry, but at various points of the stem ). It is often cultivated annuals and over again redrawn.

Swell

• Bojian Bao, Thomas Borsch & Steven E. Clemants: Amaranthaceae in the Flora of China, Volume 5, page 426: Iresine - Online.
• CC Townsend: Amaranthaceae in the Flora of Pakistan: Iresine - Online.