Typical differences of the Avran plant, recommendations for growing in open ground, steps for breeding graziola, possible difficulties in leaving, notes for flower growers, species, photos. Avran (Gratiola) is a member of the Plantaginaceae family. It is a perennial with a herbaceous form of growth and poisonous properties. Places of natural distribution fall on lands with a temperate climate - the steppes and forests of the European part of Russia, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Central, as well as the western regions of Siberia. It can be found naturally in Europe or on the North American continent. Prefers to settle in damp areas along the banks of large and small river arteries, preferring wet sandy soil or flooded meadows. Scientists have counted up to 20 different species of these plants.
Often Avran is named in accordance with the transliteration in Latin - Graziola. Because of its medicinal properties, the people called it grace, bloodstone, horse tinder, feverish grass or mock. The name of the plant entered the Slavic language from the Türkic dialect, where it was translated as "to hurt".
| Family name | Plantains |
| Life cycle | Perennial or one-year |
| Growth features | Erect herbaceous |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (cuttings or division of the rhizome) |
| Landing period in open ground | Summer period |
| Substrate | Any neutral, loam, sandy soil |
| Illumination | Sunny place or partial shade |
| Moisture indicators | High |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 0.05–0.3 m, sometimes up to 0.5 m |
| Color of flowers | White or yellow |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Single flowers |
| Flowering time | June July August |
| The smell of flowers | Does not have |
| Decorative time | Spring-summer |
| Virulence | High |
| Place of application | Near artificial reservoirs |
| USDA zone | 3, 4, 5 |
Avran is an annual or perennial plant that grows in the form of a grass. Roots have a scaly surface and creep properties. The location of the roots is in a horizontal plane, strongly spreading in width. Because of this, this representative of the flora with great aggressiveness and speed, spreading over the territory, next to the parent specimen. Its stem is bare, in section it has four edges and can reach almost half a meter in height. Opposite leaves are formed on it. The leaf plates are solid, with an acute lanceolate shape, sessile, attached to the stem by means of petioles. The color of the foliage is rich, bright green. Foliage contains poisonous substances.
During flowering, the formation of single buds occurs, which originate in the leaf axils. The corolla of flowers is distinguished by the appearance of an elongated tube, which has a short and indistinct limb. The latter has two pronounced lips, and the outlines of the upper one can be solid or with a notch, and the lower one consists of three blades of equal size. The pedicel is elongated, the flowers themselves are large. The color of the flowers of the Graciola is snow-white, pink or yellowish. Inside the corolla there are two pairs of stamens, two of which are more elongated and sterile. On the surface of the corolla there are not frequent pinpoint glands. Graziola flowers are devoid of aroma. After pollination, the fruits ripen, which take the form of an egg-shaped capsule filled with many seeds. The color of the seeds is brown or brown. Fruits ripen by the end of July.
The plant is popular with those flower growers who prefer to grow medicinal herbs in their summer cottage and use them for treatment, as an alternative to medicines.
Recommendations for growing avran in open field conditions
- Lighting and selection of a landing site. For Graziola, it is necessary that the duration of daylight hours is up to 10 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to select a place for planting a plant of an eastern, western and southern orientation. But it should be remembered that when grown in a too lit area in water, algae grow rapidly, which ultimately drowns out this grass and deprives it of its decorative effect. Usually avran is used to decorate artificial reservoirs in the garden, but the plant becomes an excellent decoration for any backwater. If planted away from such moist soil, then you will have to regularly water the graciola.
- The soil for Gratiola. The substrate for the comfortable growth of this herbaceous representative of the flora must be well moisturized and better so that it is silty. The composition of the soil mixture should be characterized by increased fertility, since it prefers to grow on sandy and loamy soil. Acidity indicators are selected neutral - pH 6-7. Such soil can be provided on the banks of river arteries, in swampy areas or near lakes.
- Watering. If the soil is not too moist or the plant is not near a pond, then you will have to water it periodically - about once every two days so that the substrate does not dry out, and on especially hot summer days, you need to moisten the soil daily. Watering is performed in the evening or morning hours, so that by noon the drops have time to dry out and not cause sunburn to the leaves. The moisture content of the substrate is especially monitored in the first few weeks after planting young plants. Otherwise, drought will simply destroy them, preventing them from rooting normally and adapting. When it is noticed that rooting has occurred (for example, the growth of young shoots or the formation of new leaves is noticed), then the frequency of watering can be reduced.
- Fertilizers for Avran. Like many plants from the wild, but grown in summer cottages, so the graziole needs mineral and organic fertilizers. Usually, once a month, it will be necessary to add compositions with micro- and macroelements to the soil, which will ensure the formation of carbon dioxide, which is so necessary for the plant.
- General requirements for care. Since Gratiola has the peculiarity of growing very quickly, occupying more and more territories, through its branched root system, it is recommended to track its growth during cultivation and engage in regular restriction. In this case, you need to remove the side shoots. In order not to constantly engage in such an operation, many growers prefer to keep the plant in garden containers. It will also protect other flowers and orchards that might be drowned out by aggressive rhizome growth.
Also, while young plants are not yet too strong, shelter with agrofibre will be required in the cold season, although there is an opinion that Gratiola is frost-resistant and in the future such measures will not be needed. The same shelter will be needed for protection and from bad weather.
Steps in breeding avran
To get a new Graziola plant, it is necessary to sow the collected seeds, root cuttings or divide an overgrown specimen.
For sowing seeds, seedling boxes are used, filled with a loose fertile substrate (for example, a peat-sand mixture). Sowing time is selected in the middle of spring. The soil is moistened and the container can be covered with plastic wrap. When the seedlings are formed, the shelter is removed and the seedlings are expected to grow a little more, and then they are engaged in picking the seedlings. When summer time comes, then the seedlings of Avran are transplanted into open ground.
When the plants are already rooting and growing, then for the next spring-summer period, propagation can be carried out using cuttings and division. Since graziola has the ability to quickly spread throughout the territory due to its creeping and elongated root processes. With the help of a sharp shovel, an overgrown specimen is divided. Then, using a garden pitchfork, the cuttings are removed from the soil, and the remaining soil is separated from the roots. After that, a landing is carried out at a new chosen place for the Avran units. When dividing, you should not make them very small, the main thing is that each of the divisions has growth points and a sufficient number of roots and stems. Otherwise, the plants may not take root.
Possible difficulties in caring for Graziola in the garden
Since the parts of Avran contain poisonous substances, neither pests nor diseases pose a threat to the plant.
Growing problems can arise from the carelessness of the grower. So, for example, forgetfulness in moistening the soil, if the plant is planted far from water. Sunburn occurs when watering occurs at midday on hot summer days.
Notes to flower growers about Avran, photo
A variety of this representative of the plantain family - Avran officinalis (Gratiola officinalis) is of interest to summer residents. This plant has long been familiar to healers, which is used in homeopathy to treat various diseases, such as:
- disturbances in the work of the gastrointestinal tract and liver;
- headache;
- elimination of skin rashes;
- excessive nervousness;
- rheumatic pains;
- too short periods;
- scabies, hemorrhoids and gout.
If a decoction is made on the basis of a herb with flowers, then this remedy is used as a potent laxative. This medicine also has diuretic, emetic and anthelmintic properties. When graziola juice is mixed with fat, then this drug is applied to various wounds, manifestations of eczema or the skin affected by scabies. If Avran is used in a very small dose, then the perception of green shades in the human eyes increases. However, an overdose of the drug leads to the fact that this color will not be perceived by the eye at all. That is why an overdose of such drugs is especially dangerous for people driving.
Important
Any actions or collection of Avran herb must be carried out with gloves due to its high toxicity. It is also worth planting the plant in such a place that it is inaccessible to children or pets. Usually, animals immediately recognize a poisonous plant and try not to touch it themselves. But when feeding horses and cattle, this grass can get into the dried hay, so it can be offered to them unintentionally.
It is recommended to dry the material in the attic or where there is constant air ventilation. Graziola grass is applicable, which is required to be collected during the blooming period (summer months), and rhizomes can be dug out with the arrival of autumn.
You should not use Avran-based drugs on your own, since there are a number of warnings, and an overdose can also occur, leading to cardiac arrest and death. Signs of grass poisoning are increased salivation, nausea and then vomiting, which are replaced by diarrhea with blood inclusions. Then colic may occur, and in the future, if measures are not taken, kidney damage occurs, followed by convulsions and disturbed heart activity, causing collapse and respiratory arrest.
If the first symptoms are noticed, it is recommended to induce vomiting (for example, with the help of potassium permanganate), take activated charcoal, call an ambulance or go to a medical institution for help.
Therefore, you should consult your doctor before taking it. Since contraindications are pregnancy, enterocolitis and colitis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, as well as irritable bowel.
A mention of this plant is found in different legends of many cultures, which was used in witchcraft and magical rites. In Egyptian manuscripts, there are records that when the plague raged in those lands, it was thanks to Avran that people were saved from this scourge. And the historical data of Ancient Greece confirm the fact that this herbaceous representative of the flora was used as a means to help cleanse a room and a person from ailments or evil spirits.
Description of plant species avran
Japanese Avran (Gratiola japonica). The height of the stems of this species is small, the shape of the root system is bundle-shaped, connected from small root processes. The stem is fleshy in outline with weak branching. On it, oppositely and very densely, leaf plates of an oblong appearance, whole-edged, grow. The flowers are small, with a snow-white corolla, sitting on an elongated peduncle. When fruits ripen, rounded or ovoid capsules appear. There are more brown seeds inside. The native lands of growth are in China, the Far East and the Japanese islands. Prefers to settle in shallow water, preferring silty soil. The plant is also well known to homeopaths, as the remedies made on its basis have successfully cured diseases of the heart and gastrointestinal tract. Because of this, the local population refers to it as "heart root".
Avran officinalis (Gratiola officinalis) is found under the name Avran apothecary. The area of natural distribution is quite wide, it includes the territories of Eurasia and North America. If we talk about Russia, then this species is not uncommon in the steppes and southern regions of its European part, where there are forests. This "pharmaceutical herb" is not a rare guest in the Ciscaucasia and the southern regions of Western Siberia, but the closer to the northern parts, it grows only on wet lands, which are located in the valleys of large river arteries (for example, Irtysh or Ob). Prefers silty substrates and moist sandy soil.
Perennial with a herbaceous form of growth, which, with its stems in height, can vary in the range of 15-60 cm. The rhizome is creeping, segmented, its surface is covered with scales of brown color. These scaly formations are highly reduced leaves. The stems are erect, simple or branchy. In the upper part, in section, they have four faces. Foliage grows oppositely. The leaf plates are sessile or semi-embracing, their shape is lanceolate or broadly lanceolate. The length of the leaf is 6 cm and the width is 1.5 cm. The leaves are sharp, in the upper part they have teeth or serrated outlines. On the surface there are three veins of an arcuate contour, covered with rare glandular-point formations.
When flowering, single flowers are formed from the axils of the leaves. Pedicels have a thin appearance, they have a pair of elongated bracts, which are located in the base of the calyx. On the surface of the sepals and bracts, there are rarely located pinpoint glands. The calyx has five lobes, with linear-lanceolate outlines. They are 2–3 times shorter than the length of the flower corolla. The corolla measures 2 cm in length. Its tube expands to the apex and opens a limb with two lips. The corolla is yellow. The color of the limb is white, but rarely placed veins of violet color are present. The upper lip of the bend has a recess, at the lower one there are three lobes. The flowering process stretches from early summer to September.
The fruit is a box. Its outline is ovoid, with a sharpness. Its color is brownish brown, there are multiple seeds inside. The length of the fruit is equal to the size of the sepals. Seed material is small, with three edges with a brown or brown tint. The surface of the seeds is reticulate and wrinkled. Their length is 0.8 mm. The seeds ripen completely from the middle of summer.
