Ptelea trifoliata

Native to North America ( Ptelea trifoliata )

The native to North America ( Ptelea trifoliata ), also called leather bush is a deciduous shrub or small tree with a broad crown. It is native to North America.

Description

The small tree or large shrub has multiple divergent strains. He has thick fleshy roots. The bark is reddish - brown to gray, has short horizontal lenticels and warty korkige increases, which are slightly scaly.

The branches are rather thin, brown, and possess deep U-shaped leaf scars and short light brown, fluffy buds. The leaves are alternate, 5-18 cm long, and consist of three (rarely five) leaflets, each 1-10 cm long, toothed little to continuous, shiny dark green on top and paler on the underside. The western and south-western forms have for climatic reasons, smaller leaves (5-11 cm) than the eastern variants ( 10-18 cm).

The flowers are small, 1-2 cm in diameter, with 4-5 narrow, greenish- white petals and appear in spring in groups at the end of the branches. Some of the odor is uncomfortable, while others perceive it as beautiful. The fruit is a round disc-shaped Samara with 2-2.5 cm in diameter. It is light brown and ripens in summer. It is surrounded on all sides by a thin wing, remains on the tree and is spread by the wind ( Anemochorie ). It smells pleasantly of citrus.

Dissemination

The native to North America comes from southern Ontario, Canada southeast to Florida, USA, west to southern California and south to Oaxaca in southern Mexico before.

Of course, the species occurs in shady locations along forest edges, especially on the rocky slopes of the Mississippi Valley. It prefers moist, well-drained, fertile soils. It is quite drought tolerant.

Use

De native to North America is grown in gardens. It is one of the few American small trees that tolerate full shade.

The bark has an unpleasant odor and bitter taste and is used in herbal medicine of the Indians for various applications. In homeopathy it is used.

Taxonomy

Although usually regarded as a type of which several varieties, go some botanists by a group of four or more closely related species from:

• Native to North America Eastern P. trifoliata var trifoliata ( P. trifoliata, sensu stricto )
• Florida native to North America P. trifoliata var baldwinii ( P. baldwinii )
• Western native to North America P. trifoliata var crenulata ( P. crenulata )
• Narrow- native to North America P. trifoliata var angustifolia ( P. angustifolia, P. lutescens )

Ptelea is the ancient Greek name for the elm and was transferred by Linnaeus because of the similar fruits in this genus. The Style epithet trifoliata refers to the three-part Leaflet.