Phytolacca

American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) with hanging fruit stands.

The pokeweed (Phytolacca ) are a genus within the family of Pokeweed ( Phytolaccaceae ). The German trivial name pokeweed is derived from the Persian word for kermes red.

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Appearance and leaves

With Phytolacca species are mostly herbaceous plants, rarely shrubs or trees that reach heights of growth of about 1 to 2 meters. The usually erect, rarely climbing, pencil -shaped, ridged or angular stems is sometimes reddish. Apart from young stems the inflorescences are sometimes hairy, otherwise the plant parts are smooth. The roots are usually thick and fleshy. The most stalked leaves have a simple leaf blade.

Inflorescences and flowers

Five -hundred -stalked or sessile flowers are borne in terminal or opposite the leaves, racemose, or aged men zymösen inflorescences.

The hermaphrodite flowers are mostly radial symmetry and fünfzählig. There are only five to eight bloom sometimes present; they are during the flowering period usually greenish - white and enlarge and become red during fruit development. In one or two circles are usually ten ( 6-33 ) stamens; they are free or fused at their base and may protrude from the perianth or not. There are 5 to 16, rarely up to 30 carpels present; they are free or fused. When the carpels are fused then the ovary is almost spherical. There are the same number of free, pfriemförmige stylus as carpels present.

Fruit and seeds

When fruits are mostly fleshy, flattened berries, with usually six to twelve (rarely up to 30 ) seeds, formed that hold up to the same number of lobes as carpels are involved; or seeded are formed achänenähnliche fruit. The shiny black seeds are kidney-shaped and compressed with a hard, brittle, hairless Testa.

Systematics and distribution

The distribution of the genus Phytolacca is almost cosmopolitan, but most species are originally native to South America, in total there are in the New World more species than in the Old World; only a few species have their natural habitat in Africa and Eurasia. Some species are invasive plants worldwide. Pokeweed species ( Phytolacca ) are prevalent in tropical to subtropical region and wine regions. Feral species are found all over the world.

The botanical genus name Phytolacca comes in part from the Greek word φυτών ( phyton ) for " plant" and on the other from the Latin lacca for " paint " and refers to the appearance of the berries. A synonym for Phytolacca L. Pircunia Bertero ex Ruschenb ..

The determination of the species is difficult, this led to many synonyms. There are known about 25 to 35 Phytolacca species, here is a selection:

• Phytolacca abyssinica Hoffm. Homeland is Africa.
• Edible pokeweed, dining or pokeweed Pokeweed (Phytolacca acinosa Roxb, Syn. Phytolacca esculenta Van Houtte, P. pekinensis Hance ): it is, in South and Central America, China, Bhutan, India, Japan, Korea, Myanmar Sikkim and Vietnam widespread.
• American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L.; syn: Phytolacca decandra L.): History: North America.
• Phytolacca bogotensis Kunth: home is South America.
• Phytolacca chilensis ( Miers ex Moq. ) H.Walter: home is South America.
• Phytolacca clavigera WWSm. Homeland is South East Asia.
• Dioecious or pokeweed ( in South America) ombú (Phytolacca dioica L.): This tree with plant height up to 25 meters is common in South America.
• Phytolacca dodecandra L' Hér. Ethiopia (see: Endod )
• Phytolacca heptandra Retz.
• Phytolacca heteropetala H.Walter: History: Mexico.
• Icosandra Phytolacca L. ( Syn: Phytolacca octandra L.): It is distributed in the Neotropics and New Zealand.
• Phytolacca japonica Makino: History, China and Japan.
• Phytolacca latbenia ( Moq. ) H.Walter
• Phytolacca meziana H.Walter
• Phytolacca polyandra Batalin: It is the only species whose home is only China: Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan, where it thrives at altitudes 1100-3000 meters.
• Phytolacca rivinoides Kunth & CDBouché: The home is Mexico, Central and South America.
• Phytolacca rugosa A.Braun & C.D.Bouché
• Phytolacca sanguinea H.Walter
• Phytolacca tetramera Hauman
• Phytolacca thyrsiflora Fenzl ex J.A.Schmidt
• Phytolacca weberbaueri H.Walter

Invasive species

None of the species is native to Central Europe, but they count in Central Europe to the neophyte. Whether a detrimental effect on the native flora present in 2002 was not yet known. The Landauer Geoecologist Constanze Buhk warns, " according to recent studies themselves had difficulty Book, on the ground of the Phytolacca spp. is charged to be able to germinate at all. That they do then accordingly as competitive strong and so dangerous because they really could do everything flat ". "In many gardens in southern Germany you can find them now as " permanent guest ". "

Use

For mammals, they are low -toxic to toxic due to the triterpene saponins ( Phytolaccagenin ) and lectins. The concentration of the toxic ingredients takes place as follows: root, leaf, stem, fruit unripe, ripe fruit. In homeopathy extracts are used from the root in influenza, angina, and ( joint) rheumatism, as well as engorgement or mastitis.

Because of the toxins food grade products of pokeweed must be handled and prepared accordingly. The berries contain dark red to black dye that can be used as a food color. According to various sources, the re-dyeing of red wine was threatened with the juice of pokeweed with the death penalty in France at the time of Louis XIV.

The North American Indians used the juice for the coloring of wicker. To dye wool Fuchsia, the vorgebeizte with alum or cream of tartar wool is immersed in an acidified with vinegar extract the dye.

The blades have an elliptical shape. In America, young leaves of pokeweed are (English pokeweed ) similar to cooked spinach. Pokeweed is called salad in the U.S. as polk and played in the kitchen of Louisiana once an important role. Tony Joe White wrote the song Polk Salad Annie, which was also covered by Elvis Presley.

The sprouts have asparagus -like taste.

In 1989 received Aklilu Lemma and Legesse Wolde -Yohannes for their profound research into the properties of the Endod plant ( Phytolacca dodecandra ) as an inexpensive preventive against schistosomiasis and their struggle to overcome the bias of western medicine compared to the research of the Third World the Right Livelihood Award.

Swell

• Mark A. Nienaber & John W. Thieret: Phytolaccaceae: Phytolacca, pp. 3 - text the same online as printed work, In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee ( eds.): Flora of North America North of Mexico, Volume 4 - Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 2003. ISBN 0-19-517389-9 (Sections Description and systematics)
• Dequan Lu & Kai Larsen: Phytolaccaceae: Phytolacca, pp. 435 - text the same online as printed work, In: Wu Zheng -yi and Peter H. Raven (eds.): Flora of China, Volume 9 - Pittosporaceae through Connaraceae, Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 2003. ISBN 1-930723-14-8 (Sections Description and systematics)
• GJ Harden: Phytolaccaceae in the Flora of New South Wales: Phytolacca - largely taken online courtesy of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust from the printed Flora of New South Wales. ( Description section )