Characteristics of the belozor plant, the rules for growing on a personal plot, recommendations for reproduction, the fight against diseases and pests, interesting notes and applications, types.
Belozor (Parnassia) is attributed by scientists to the family Celastraceae, also found under the name of the Tree-nose or Red-bubble. The family unites in itself a large number of species that take a liana-like, shrub form, but they also occur as small-sized trees. According to various botanical sources, the genus includes about 70 species. The natural habitat falls on all extratropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere. However, the main regions among them are the territories of the east and northwest of the North American continent. Belozors are found on the lands of Europe, the Mediterranean and Western Asia.
Preference for growth is given by these plants to wet meadow places and even often marshy lowlands, but they can grow in the highlands. If such plantings can be seen in drier places, then they become a clear sign of the presence of closely passing groundwater.
| Family name | Euonymus |
| Growing period | Perennial |
| Vegetation form | Herbaceous |
| Breeds | Sowing seeds and dividing the rhizome |
| Open ground transplant terms | Late May or early summer |
| Landing rules | At a distance of 15-20 cm from each other |
| The soil | Wet and well-drained, no nutritional value |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 (neutral) or 5-6 (slightly acidic) |
| Illumination level | Well-lit location (south, southeast or southwest) |
| Humidity level | Moisture-loving, watering more than 3 times a week |
| Special care rules | Unpretentious, feeding is needed during the period of increased growth |
| Height options | 2-30 cm |
| Flowering period | July to August |
| Type of inflorescences or flowers | Single flowers |
| Color of flowers | White |
| Fruit type | Seed four-leaf capsule |
| The timing of fruit ripening | Late summer or September |
| Decorative period | Summer |
| Application in landscape design | Landscaping of ridges and rock gardens, group planting in flower beds and in flower beds |
| USDA zone | 3–5 |
Belozor got its scientific name in Latin thanks to the taxonomy of flora by Karl Linnaeus (1707–1778), who decided to display in it the name of Mount Parnassus, sacred to Ancient Greece, located in the middle of the country. According to legend, this mountain was the home of the muses and the god Apollo, the patron saint of arts and travel, healer and predictor of the future. In addition, cattle grazed on the slopes of this mountain, which was very fond of eating the beloved. The first description as a medicinal plant was given by Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician, pharmacologist and naturalist from Greece (40–90 AD). And you can often hear how Parnassia is called "kidney herb", as it was used in the treatment of kidney disease. Among the people you can hear such nicknames of this representative of the flora as marsh stars, marsh white flowers, as well as Parnassian grass, autumn garden or decaying grass.
Belozor is a perennial with a herbaceous vegetation. The height of the stems can reach almost 300 mm. All leaf plates are grouped in the root zone into a rosette. The length of the leaves can be 2.5–10 cm with a width of about 3.6 cm. The shape of the leaves is reniform, rounded, ovate or obovate, while the apex may be pointed or round. The foliage surface is smooth, its edge is solid. The lamina is slightly compressed along the central vein. The color of the belozor deciduous mass is of a delicate or dark greenish color, but a yellowish or reddish tint may be present. There are species of belozor, in which stem leaves also grow. Then such leaf plates grow sessile, covering the stems with their sheaths.
During summer flowering, which stretches from July to the end of August, flowering stems (straight-growing or sometimes branching) of a green shade with a rounded cross-section, bearing one flower at the ends, begin to form. The height of such stalks of the belozor can vary within 2–30 cm. They are located singly or in groups. The diameter of the white beetle flower varies in the range at full disclosure of 2, 5–3, 5 cm.
Each flower on the stems has five sepals and the same number of snow-white petals, at the base of which there is a light green tone and a grayish tint there is a pattern of longitudinally running veins on the inner surface. The edge of the petals is smooth or decorated with a short fringe. Inside the corolla of the belozor flower there are five three-sided sterile stamens, each of which has drop-shaped false nectaries. It is the nectaries and the vein pattern that attract pollinating insects (flies and bees).
After flowering, when pollination is completed, fruits begin to ripen, which in the Parnassian grass looks like a single-nest box with four valves filled with small seeds.
The marsh star plant is completely undemanding, and adhering to the conditions below, it is possible to decorate your garden with such delicate plantings.
Rules for growing belozor: planting and care in the open field
- Landing place Parnassian herbs should be picked up with well-moisturized soil. If this rule is not met, and the soil is dry, then the gardener will need to water more often. It is also recommended that the location is open and sunny (south, southeast or southwest side).
- Planting soil white-nose should have lightness and good drainage, while nutritional value will not play a special role in care. The acidity values should be in the range of pH 6, 5–7, but some species require more acidic substrates (pH 5–6). Before planting, the soil is enriched with nutrients (compost, peat crumbs or complex organic agents). Clay and humus soil mixtures, which include a sufficient amount of sand, may be suitable. The best growth is shown by the planted bushes of marsh stars in a peaty, sour and damp substrate.
- Planting the white-throated carried out only if the specimen was purchased in a pot or the division of an overgrown plant was performed. Then the planting hole should be dug out of such a size that its volume slightly exceeds the root system of the seedling. For saplings of marsh stars, you need to choose a time at the end of May or at the beginning of June, and April is also suitable for dellings. When the plant is set in a hole, a soil mixture prepared in advance is poured from all sides, then it is carefully squeezed out and abundant watering is performed.
- Fertilizer it is necessary to bring in when caring for white-bore, like many other garden plants, since such preparations will stimulate the growing season. So during the growing season, you can make 2-3, it is recommended to apply complex mineral fertilizers (like Fertiki or Kemira-Universal) or organic matter (peat, compost).
- General care tips when growing Parnassian grass on a personal plot, they will not differ from the cultivation of many garden plants. In this case, periodically weeding from weeds and loosening of the soil around the belozor should be carried out. This representative of the flora does not differ in aggressive growth, therefore it will not be necessary to limit it, but if you plant next to plants that have such a feature, then the kidney grass can be significantly damaged - it will simply be clogged with them. If there is a desire to admire the flowering of the white-bore for a longer time, then you should regularly pick off the wilted flowers. When several curtains of different ages are planted close to each other, then flowering is observed almost until October, if early frosts do not hit. All this is because specimens that are grown from seeds sown in the spring of the current year, and some plants from last year's sowing, may bloom later.
- Watering when caring for a belozor, it is the most important aspect, since in nature the plant prefers even wetlands. If the soil undergoes even short-term drying, then this can negatively affect the autumn garden. Watering should be abundant and regular so that the substrate always remains slightly damp. They are performed more than three times a week, and daily in severe drought and heat.
- Wintering for marsh stars is not a problem, since the belozor will be fine without additional shelter. Parnassian grass can easily overwinter under natural snow cover.
- The use of belozor in landscape design. Since the main natural preference for autumn autumn is given to wet meadows and coastal areas near lakes and rivers, such plants will look great in lowlands or when landscaping artificial or natural reservoirs. White eyes are planted for decorating ridges, rock gardens and mixborders, used in group plantings on flower beds and in flower beds, and curbs are formed. The best neighbors of the Parnassian grass are wildflowers or ornamental grasses.
See also guidelines for planting and caring for a grouse outdoors or in a pond.
Recommendations for breeding belozor
To grow hepatic grass on your backyard, seed or vegetative methods should be used. Vegetative means the separation of an overgrown bush.
Reproduction of the white-throated with the help of seeds
Sowing seed material of marsh stars, it is recommended to carry out immediately after collection. If the purchase of seeds is carried out, then it is important that they are fresh, since germination will then be crowned with success. It is important to pay attention to the choice of the site, as too dry will require frequent moistening of the soil. When sowing, a groove or a shallow hole is formed into which the seeds are evenly distributed. Sprinkle over the crops with a thin layer of the same substrate and perform careful watering. When spring comes, in the beds you can see the shoots of the white-green, after the soil warms up. Such plants of Parnassian grass will delight with flowering already in the middle of summer.
Some gardeners are also engaged in sowing autumn seeds in the spring, but then they will have to wait until the return frosts pass, which can destroy delicate sprouts. This time starts at the end of May, or you can sow at the beginning of summer. It is clear that then most of the grown white eyes will bloom only next year.
Remarkable
It is noted that a kidney herb plant can reproduce well by self-seeding if conditions are favorable.
By the beginning of autumn, the bolls on the stems of marsh stars begin to burst and the seeds fall out, picked up by the wind. However, in order for self-seeding to be successful, conditions are necessary that are rather difficult to repeat in the garden.
Reproduction of the white-bore by dividing the bush
The most suitable time for this operation will be spring, before the vegetation processes have started yet. It is recommended to carefully remove the bush from the ground and perform the division. At the same time, it is necessary that each of the parnassian herb divisions have living buds and several fully developed roots. Landing is carried out immediately, in pre-prepared holes in the open field. After that, abundant watering is performed.
Fight against diseases and pests when growing belozor in the open field
Usually the plant is Parnassian grass, although it is hygrophilous, but the increased humidity of the environment can provoke fungal diseases. The main signs of such diseases are whitish bloom on parts of the plant (due to powdery mildew), the formation of spots of brown or black color on the foliage (various rot). As soon as these changes are noticed, all affected parts of the belozor should be removed immediately and the plant itself should be treated with a fungicidal agent (Fundazol, Bordeaux liquid or similar preparations). Also, temperature drops during the day and at night have a negative effect on the kidney grass.
When it is noticed that the edge of the leaf plates has begun to dry out and curl, then in this way the plant signals a lack of moisture. It is recommended to immediately carry out abundant soil moistening, which will definitely correct the situation.
Some types of caterpillars and ticks are distinguished from the pests that can attack the whitehead. Usually, on the leaves of a plant, due to the influence of insects, one can see characteristic damage to the leaves or the formation of a thin cobweb, which can gradually envelop the entire bush. For the fight, it is recommended to use insecticidal agents of a wide spectrum of action, such as Karbofos, Aktara or Aktellik. After 7–10 days, spraying is repeated to destroy the new individuals hatched from the laid eggs.
Read also about protecting the trillium from diseases and pests in the garden
Interesting notes about the belozor plant
For a long time, folk healers knew about the medicinal properties of the Parnassian herb. On the basis of this plant, decoctions or tinctures are prepared, using different parts of it. Such funds help with colds and cardiovascular diseases, fight inflammatory processes in the body and eliminate problems associated with the genitourinary system. Even official medicine has recognized that a tincture from the aerial parts of belozor, made on a water-alcohol basis, is a rather effective remedy in the treatment of, for example, Staphylococcus aureus due to its bactericidal effect.
All this is possible due to the content in the roots of bog stars of such active substances as alkaloids, and in the foliage of carbohydrates (sedoheptulose) and leukoanthocyanide. All parts growing above the ground concentrated not only alkaloids, but also tannins galactose, flavonoids and rutin. Old healers call the white-eyed "white liver flower" because it "opens a locked liver." As mentioned above, under its influence, the liver and biliary tract are restored, and the entire digestive tract also returns to normal. At the same time, hepatic herb juice was also used. Autumnal remedies were also famous for their hemostatic, sedative effect, the ability to affect the nervous system and reduce fever, cramps, insomnia and headache. Lotions were applied for the speedy healing of fresh wounds and cleansing of the festering ones.
Since no studies have been carried out in the field of medicine, such drugs should be used with great caution and under the supervision of the attending physician.
But if we recall the original purpose of the Parnassian grass, then it was used as feed for livestock (goats, camels and sheep). For people, the plant is poisonous (therefore, it does not have much popularity in folk medicine), but at the same time it acts as a very good honey plant.
White-eye flowers are a symbol of the Maclea clan, also well known as the Livingston clan in the highlands. Also, the flowers of the Parnassian grass were believed to be a favorite plant of Saint Molug, an Irish missionary, whose staff is held by the leaders of the clan. Liver herb, namely its flowers, is present on the Flag of Cumberland, British County, as this flower grows on the high waltzes of Cumberland.
Belozor species
Marsh Belozor (Parnassia palustris)
found under the names of the people one-leaf, student rosette or swamp heart-leaf. It is a perennial, which varies in height in the range of 8–40 cm. A rosette is formed from the leaf plates in the root zone. The length of the leaves is 10–30 cm. The leaves are whole-edged with heart-shaped outlines, attached to long petioles. In the period July-August (and sometimes until October), an erect stem with a ribbed surface begins to rise from the central part of the rosette. It has one stalk-enclosing leaf plate.
At the top of the peduncle, a single flower with snow-white petals blooms. Its inner part is decorated with almost transparent veins. Inside the corolla there are five white fringed appendages, which are modified stamens. When blooming, a honey scent spreads around, serving to attract pollinators (bees or flies).
The natural habitat of the marsh white-bore is found in European lands, as well as in the western and eastern Siberian regions, the Far East and Central Asia. Preference is given to damp and marshy meadows, the banks of rivers and lakes that are subject to waterlogging, as well as worked-out peatlands and damp ditches, this species can also grow in marshes.
Large-leaved Belozor (Parnassia grandifolia)
can be found under the name large-leaved Parnassian grass. Its natural distribution is in the central and southeastern regions of Europe, and it is also native to the southeastern United States of America. Its main habitat is open wet areas over calcareous soil such as swamps and gravel leaks. However, in the Gulf Coastal Plain, the plant has been found in swamps and wet savannah areas. The difference between the leaves in this species is their small size and more narrowed outlines of the petals in the flowers. The leaves are formed into a rosette, fastened with petioles 15 cm long.
Belozor carolina (Parnassia caroliniana)
is native to the southeastern United States of America, where it occurs in North Carolina and South Carolina, with an isolated distribution in Florida. This rhizome is a perennial herb reaching a maximum height of 65 cm. Basal leaves have rounded or oval outlines, they are attached to long stalks, and the leaves on the stem take the shape of a heart and clasp the stem at the base. The inflorescence is a single flower with five white petals, characterized by deep veins. The length of the petals can exceed 2 cm. Five stamens with yellow anthers and five triple stamens grow in the center of the corolla. The fruit is a capsule (box).
Belozor Carolina grows in humid regions in a variety of habitat types, including flat forests, savannahs, swamps, and savannahs. On the coastal plain, the plant can be found on sandy-limestone substrates with peat. This species is always associated with the presence of pine trees such as long-leaved pine (Pinus palustris) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Many of the healthiest plants are found on land owned by timber companies.
The main threats to Belozor Karolinska are timber-related activities such as logging, planting seedlings and digging ditches. After the trees have been cut down, firefighting is practiced in these areas. This prevents the natural fire regime that normally protects forests and woodlands and shrubs. The land is also drained, making it too dry to support Parnassian grass. Land plots are also lost when moving into residential and commercial development. This plant is conserved at the Moores Creek National Battlefield in North Carolina, where wetland restoration is underway.
Californian Belozor (Parnassia californica)
native to the mountains of Oregon, California, and Nevada, where it grows in humid locations such as grasslands and riverbanks. It is a perennial herb that forms an erect flowering stem from a rosette of basal leaves. A leaf up to 14 cm long with an oval or spoon-shaped shape, attached to the end of a long petiole. The flower-bearing stem can reach almost half a meter in height and consists mainly of naked pedicels with one process in the middle.
One flower of the Carolinian white-throat has five small sepals behind five white veined petals, each 1 to 2 cm long. In the center of the flower there are five stamens and five stamens with stripes of many hair-like petals.
Belozor fringed (Parnassia fimbriata)
was discovered in 1792 by Archibald Menzies in the Northwest of America, on the Pacific coast, described by Koenig in 1804. The species is native to western North America from Alaska and northwestern Canada to the southern Rocky Mountains, where it is a plant in alpine and subalpine environments. It is a herbaceous perennial, which in the summer forms an erect flowering stem. It originates from leaves collected in a rosette, in the root zone. The leaf plates have a rounded shape and are located at the end of a long petiole, the length of the leaf reaches 16 cm. The stem can reach 40 cm in height and consists mainly of bare peduncles with one tacking process in the middle.
One white-fringed flower has five small toothed sepals behind five white fringed petals, each about 1 cm long. In the center of the flower there are five stamens and five stamens with many narrow edges, with round petals.
Belozor blue (Parnassia glauca)
distributed in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Natural habitats of this plant include marshes, wetland edges, and banks and floodplains of rivers and lakes. Usually found in basic soils (high pH soils). The flower is 5-membered, with five petals and five sepals. There are also five sterile stamens, each of which is divided into three prongs near the base, giving the flower 15 sterile stamens. A small yellow spherical structure, imitating a drop of nectar, covers each sterile branch of the stamen.
Each of the five white petals of the blue beetle has green veins that can serve as landmarks for pollinators (bees or flies). The leaves are simple, with whole fields, and are found only at the base of the plant. The fruit is a dry capsule that disintegrates when ripe.
Related article: Growing Shakes or Breezes outdoors
Video about the cultivation and use of belozor:
