Spartium
Pfriemenginster ( spartium Junceum )
The Pfriemenginster ( spartium Junceum ), also called bins broom or Spanish broom, is the only species of the monotypic genus spartium within the legume family ( Fabaceae ). He therefore does not belong to the genus of broom ( Genista ). He is one of the so-called rods shrubs that shed their leaves in early summer. Photosynthesis happens only in the green sectors, to prevent the evaporation of water through the leaves. The species is highly poisonous, poisoning cause vomiting, respiratory paralysis and kidney damage.
- 7.1 Literature
- 7.2 Notes and references
Description
The bins broom is a deciduous, 2 to 3 feet high upright and well-branched, bushy shrub with aged wide gray bark trunks. Young twigs are bins like, finely striate, glabrous, roundish and very flexible. You will later gray-brown and have green stripes. The winter buds are very small. The simple and sedentary leaves are alternate. They are green on both sides, oblong- lanceolate and 1.5 to 3 inches long and 3 mm wide. The upper leaf surface is glabrous, the midrib of the lower leaf surface is hairy fitting. You will be dropped early. Stipules absent.
The flowers are bright yellow and very fragrant. They are 2 to 2.5 inches tall and stand on 5 mm long pedicles in long, loose racemes terminal on young shoots. The cup is a single lip and pentadentate and split scheidig at the top. The flag is large and more or less bent back. The wings are shorter than the dished keel. Boat and wings are silvery hairy outside. The ten stamens are unequal grown long with each other. The single carpel is upper constant. Bloom time is from April to June. When fruits are 5 to 10 centimeters long, laterally flattened, slightly curved formed, black and brown sleeves, which narrow between the seeds. The sleeves are initially hairy silky and later glabrous. They contain 10 to 20 glossy, reddish-brown seeds of 4 millimeters in length. The sleeves are usually open until some time after seed maturity explosively. The carpels are rolled spirally, and the seeds thrown outside.
Distribution and habitat requirements
The Pfriemenginster can be found throughout the Mediterranean, in Europe it is widespread in the Iberian Peninsula, in France, on the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkans. However, it is missing on the Balearic Islands. In Asia, the range extends through Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and the Caucasus. In addition, you will find the kind in Northwest Africa to Libya. In the Crimea, on the Canary Islands and the Azores he has run wild, but also in California, Mexico and in the Andes of Bolivia. In South Africa, he is seen as a threat to local flora.
The Pfriemenginster is a characteristic plant of the maquis and garrigue of. It is found on dry slopes and rocks, roadsides and wasteland, but also in open woods and cork oak stands. It prefers dry to fresh, nutrient-rich, weakly acidic to strongly alkaline, sandy, sandy gravelly or sandy loamy soils, often you can find it on lime. However, it is missing in the Urgesteinmacchie where it is replaced by the spiny broom ( Calicotome ). The Pfriemenginster is sensitive to moisture and frost and thrives mostly on sunny hot locations.
Ecology
Pollination
Pollination is similar to Scotch broom by large bees in Central Europe mainly by carpenter bees ( Xylocopa ). An insect lands on the wings of the flower, they push on the boat, after which the shuttle begins to split by the pressure of pen and stamens. If about half of the boat split, fast five shorter stamens out and hurl it the pollen on the ventral side of the insect. When the end of the boat is split, fast out of the pen and becomes laden with the pollen on the back of the insect, and then the longer stamens also accommodate their pollen on the back of the insect. The operation can not be repeated, the pollination is done only once. Honey bees can the mechanism due to the lower weight not trigger, but they collect residual pollen that can still be in the boat itself.
Drought
The bins broom is well adapted to dry sites. The already small leaves are shed in early summer. Photosynthesis takes place then only in the green shoot axes, whereby the water loss is reduced through evaporation.
Systematics and etymology
The Pfriemenginster ( spartium Junceum ) is the only species in the monotypic genus therefore spartium. The genus is assigned to the tribe Genisteae in the subfamily of the Fabaceae ( Faboideae ).
The genus name is derived from the Greek spartium sparton word for rope, which refers to the use of the rod- shaped branches. The epithet Junceum derives from the Latin for juncus rush.
Toxicity
All parts of the Pfriemenginsters are highly toxic. Main ingredients are cytisine in all above-ground parts, and especially in the seeds, methylcytisine, Anagyrin and in the flowers sparteine . Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, kidney damage and respiratory paralysis.
Use
The Pfriemenginster is planted for its handsome flowers since the 16th century in Central Europe as an ornamental shrub, which also varieties were bred with double flowers. In viticulture climate it is completely hardy, but also proves to be in other areas of Germany as amazingly hard. Previously, the species was also used as a medicinal plant and is extracted from young leaves and seeds emetics and laxatives. The shoots were used for weaving baskets and also for shoes. From the bast cordage and ropes were made in ancient times.