General characteristics and advice on growing hillene, plant propagation, difficulties in cultivation and ways to eliminate them, interesting facts, types. Gillenia (Gillenia) is a representative of a small genus of flowering plants, which are ranked in the family, bearing the name Rosaceae. You can also find the following synonymous name for this specimen of flora in the botanical literature - Porteranthus. The main areas of growth are in the lands located in the east of North America. In the north, this border ends at the Canadian province of Ontario. This gentle green inhabitant of the planet can be found in ordinary mountain forests. Since it perfectly tolerates cold temperatures and frosts, it can be successfully cultivated in central Russia. But while the plant is not too well known to our flower growers and garden lovers, let's take a closer look at it.
Its scientific name is Hilllen, and the whole genus bears thanks to Konrad Mönchom, who in 1802 decided to perpetuate the memory of the botanist from Germany Arnold Gillen, who lived in the 17th century. Since the flowers have very delicate contours and pleasant pastel tones, it seems that a lot of butterflies are hovering over the bush and therefore the people call the Gillia - the Breath of a faun (Fawns Breath).
The plant is a perennial specimen of flora that has a herbaceous, bush-like form of growth. The outlines of such a bush are quite compact and not prone to falling apart. The stems are firm and reddish in tone. Depending on where the hillia is grown, the height of its bush during the flowering period can vary from half a meter to a meter and twenty centimeters. There is also a developed rhizome.
The sheet plate is divided into three parts, and in these divisions the edge is jagged. The petioles are short. The leaves located at the top of the stem are most often sessile, that is, the petioles are absent. In shape, the leaf lobes are lanceolate with a hard surface. In the summer months, they are painted in a green color, and over time, closer to frost, the leaves will gradually acquire bright yellow with a red patina, orange or reddish shades. The foliage will last until the first frost, and will compete with rowan in beauty.
The flowers appear bisexual, that is, the plant has both female and male buds. They are attached to long pedicels. From the flowers are collected inflorescences-brushes of a complex panicle or shield-like shape, which are placed at the ends of the stems. Inflorescences are loose and delicate. The flower measures 2–2.5 cm in diameter. The cup in the bud is divided into 5 parts that overlap each other. The corolla includes 5 whitish and the same number of light cream or pinkish petals. Each bud has up to 15 stamens and 5 free pistils. The ovary contains more than a pair of ovules. Flowers appear until late autumn, starting in June days.
After flowering, a greenish fruit ripens in the form of a leaflet, inside which rather large seeds are placed. Their number varies from one to four. The diameter of the fruit does not exceed 0.5 cm. Fruits do not lead to a decrease in the decorative effect of the hillene. If there is a desire, then you can trim the bush, on which the flowers have already peppers, a little, giving it the contours of the ball.
The plant does not require particularly difficult care and is distinguished by its originality, since its flaming leaves can only be equal to the fruits of our mountain ash. Usually, only two favorite species are grown in gardens - this is Gillenia stipulata and Gillenia trifoliata, there is also another very decorative variety called "Pink Profusion", in which the petals in the bud are cast in a pink color, but this shape very rare. But we'll talk about these plants a little later. Let's figure out how to grow and propagate this unpretentious specimen of the natural world.
Hillene planting and home care
- Lighting and selection of a landing site. A bright place or with some shading is most suitable for a plant. However, in a sunny place, it will be necessary to carry out additional watering of the soil on especially hot days. You can plant a plant under the crowns of fruit trees in the garden, such as cherries, plums and the like.
- Content temperature. Since the plant in the spring begins to grow rather late than other representatives of garden plantings, then return frosts will not harm it.
- Soil moisture. Hillia will grow best in moist areas that are similar to its natural conditions. However, she will also endure drought without harm to herself.
- General care. Pruning for hilling is not too required, but if this is not done, the bush can fall apart a lot on the sides and then you will have to build supports for the stems. Wintering on our territory is not terrible for the plant and it will perfectly tolerate frosts without shelter. With the onset of late autumn, shoots that have already died out should be cut off, leaving only 8-10 cm from the soil surface. This is necessary because the stems are lignified and do not themselves bend to the ground.
- Transplantation and selection of soil. The plant is not demanding on the composition of the soil, but it is better that it is rich in nutrients, has a lightness and a slightly acidic reaction. Loams that retain moisture are suitable. The plant grows slowly and does not need frequent replanting. However, it is recommended to add fertile soil to the base of the stems annually.
Recommendations for self-propagation of Hillian
You can get a new plant of "fawn breath" by dividing an adult bush or sowing seeds before winter. If you sow them on spring days, then you must first perform stratification (holding the seeds at low temperatures of about 5 degrees for 4-6 weeks). Sometimes cuttings are also used with the help of young stems.
Dividing the bush will be difficult due to the structure of the root system in Hillene, therefore this method is rarely used. If reproduction is carried out by this method, then there is no need to dig out the mother bush. It is dug in and the necessary part is cut off with a sharpened garden tool. However, after dividing, the plant is sick for a long time and cannot leave in any way, so it is easier to grow a new one using seed material.
Stratification for seeds is necessary to stimulate their germination, which they would be deprived of if they were in the soil in winter. To do this, the seed material will need to be sown in a special (seedling box) and sprinkled with a layer of soil, which in thickness will be commensurate with the size of the seed. The substrate is taken from peat-sand. The box will need to be dug into the snow, and with the arrival of spring time, the seeds in it will begin to sprout in unison. At the beginning of the summer period, young plants will need to dive so that the area on which they grow is increased. This will give the young Hillies more nutrition and stimulate the formation of a branched root system. You will need to carefully look after the "young": to maintain the necessary soil moisture; arrange for them to shade from the midday rays of the sun in the summer heat; keep away from snails and slugs that want to spoil the young foliage.
After a year, in the spring months, it is necessary to plant the grown plants in a permanent place for their growth at a distance of 40 cm from each other. This summer it will already be possible to rejoice at the blooming of the Hillene.
Hillene diseases and pests, methods of dealing with them
The plant is very pleasant to grow, as you can not be afraid that it will be affected by harmful insects. Hillene has such a hard surface of leaves that no pest shows a desire to feast on them. True, when a plant is propagated by planting seeds, when young sprouts do not yet have such an "unkillable" foliage surface and the first pair of leaves appears, snails and slugs like to "bite" with them. Therefore, it is recommended to cover the fragile gillie with a cut plastic bottle. She does not suffer from diseases.
Interesting Hilllen Facts
The plant bore its name, obtained in 1802 from Konrad Mönchom until 1894, when botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton decided to change the name of the entire genus to Porteranthus, while immortalizing the name of the American botanist Thomas Konrad Porter. The reason for this action was that the Latin name of the plant Gillenia, or rather its spelling interpretation - Gillena, in 1763 was already used in order to give a name to the genus Cletra and Cletra herself by the American Michel Adanson. However, in 1982, the term Gillenia MOENCH was decided not to be used anymore and Gillena ADANS remained. But, despite this, in 1988, in the International Association for Taxonometry of Plants, the name for the shrub, given by Adanson, was invalidated. Thus, today the term for Hillene - Porteranthus BRITTON is unrecognized and erroneous.
Since the white color is relatively neutral, this shrub goes well with plants that have buds, the petals of which are painted in bright and rich tones: yellow corydals, highly decorative and bright gravilates, as well as Gaillardia. Until late autumn, the hillia pleases with its leaves and already in September begins to change the color of the leafy parts to a shining yellow color with a red patina and its bush directly "burns" on the garden plot decorating it no worse than the well-known mountain ash.
Even more unusual names of this plant can also be found: in England you can hear - Indian physic or Archer's root (Bawmans root). But all these names under themselves have a rather simple explanation - the first white settlers called the Indians "archers", for whom the bow was almost the main weapon. The same ones, in turn, used the thick and fleshy rhizome of Hillene for medicinal purposes. On the basis of it, decoctions were prepared, which had a strong laxative effect and could provoke vomiting. It seems, why such extremes? But in those distant times, the tribes of the Indians living in America had specific rituals, during which they purified their body in this way.
There is also evidence that the dried root bark also has a diaphoretic effect, which was used by the Indians in the treatment of colds, chronic diarrhea, constipation, asthma and other bronchial complications. The roots were still quite good for rheumatic pains, if you use decoctions as lotions. The Indians, chewing on the roots of Hillene, relieved the effects of bee and insect stings. It was customary to collect the roots of the plant in the fall, remove the bark and dry it for later use. Tea prepared on its basis had a tonic effect on the body. Minimum doses of tincture based on this bark have helped with indigestion and even cured hepatitis. Poultices have been used to relieve leg swelling as well as toothache. All recipes are used only with the recommendation of a doctor.
Hillene types
Gillenia trifoliata (Gillenia trifoliata) may be referred to under the old name Porteranthus trifoliatus. Homeland are the territories of North America. There she can be found in forests and thickets of shrubs.
It has a long-term life cycle, and at the same time it reaches a height of half a meter to a meter. Stems grow erect, colored red, or can lie down to the soil. The leaf plates are trifoliate, and each leaf part has a lanceolate shape. Flowers always have five petals of a whitish or pinkish color scheme. Their diameter does not exceed 2–2, 5 cm and in some way the flowers resemble gaura buds. Inflorescences collected from buds are rather loose, with openwork outlines, paniculate. The flowering period occurs in the middle of the summer season and is quite abundant. With the arrival of autumn, the foliage takes on a reddish tone.
With the end of flowering, a fruit with a leathery surface ripens - a dry leaflet, in which there are large seeds, their number does not exceed 4 units. The fruit has some pubescence. These leaflets adorn the plant with their star-shaped outlines even in winter. They can hang on a bush until spring.
The plant loves to grow in a bright place with light shading, combining well with decorative herbal representatives of the flora.
In the Pink Profusion variety, the flowers bloom in pink color, and the foliage acquires a bronze tint by autumn, especially if the bush grows in a sunny place. The height of this subspecies ranges from 75–90 cm.
In 1820, three-leafed helium was considered a medicinal plant, and was included in the lists of such representatives of the flora of the American Pharmacopoeia. The raw material for the manufacture of medicinal products are rhizomes, or rather the bark from them of a red-brown hue. These agents can easily induce vomiting or diarrhea, produce expectorant, tonic, and mild diaphoretic effects. Often the Indians used all parts of the helium as an emetic, and also when an antidote was needed.
Gillenia stipulata (Gillenia stipulata) can be found under the name American ipecac or American ipecacuanna or "Vomit root". From the old - the synonymous name Porteranthus stipulates. A fairly hardy variety, and can be cultivated in gardens of zone 5. Soils like loamy or clayey (heavy) and moist.
In its natural environment, it grows in eastern North America - New York, Indiana and Kansas, southern Georgia, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Most often found in woodlands, in thickets of bushes and on rocky slopes.
In terms of its height, the plant can approach the indicators of 1, 2 meters. It has erect stems, with a bare surface, branching. At the base, the color is green, but with height it changes to reddish. A branched rhizome is also present. The leaf blades have short petioles and three-lobed division. Stipules are large, leaf-like, with a serrate edge, ovate. Their length ranges from 2.5 cm. The leaf lobes themselves are sessile, linear-lanceolate, with parameters in length of 9 cm and a width of up to 2 cm. Wide, with a serrated edge. Pubescence occurs below, the upper side of the leaves is pubescent more rarely, the central lobe is slightly larger than the lateral leaves. In leaves located at the very base, the leaf lobes are pinnately incised.
Flowering takes place from May to June. The flowers are bisexual and pollinated by insects. The inflorescence of the buds is collected in the form of a panicle. Each part of the inflorescence is "constricted" by a deciduous bracts growing from below. The flowers have 5 snow-white petals, which are pointed towards the apex, their length is 1, 2 cm and a width of only 3-4 mm. There are up to 20 stamens, filaments, whitish, naked, reaching 2mm in length. In the leaflet fruit, up to 3 naked seeds ripen, with a length of up to 8 mm.
The plant got its unsightly name due to the properties of causing an emetic and laxative effect, which the aborigines of America knew and actively used.
See this video for what a hillennia looks like:
