Description of the coarse plant, advice on planting and care in the open field, how to reproduce the humnocladus, pests and diseases, curious facts, species.
Bunduk (Gymnocladus) can also be called Gumnokladus, based on the Latin transliteration. The plant belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae), which is often referred to as the Moth. Basically, the native growing area is in the eastern regions of Asia and North American lands. Based on the data provided by The Plant List, this genus has only five varieties.
| Family name | Legumes |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Deciduous tree |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (using cuttings or root suckers) |
| Landing time in open ground | Rooted cuttings should be planted in spring or late fall |
| Substrate | Fertile, rich, loamy |
| Soil acidity, pH | 5–8 |
| Illumination | Bright illumination shaded from direct sunlight |
| Moisture indicators | Drought-resistant, but seedlings need watering |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 20-30 m |
| Color of flowers | Pale yellow |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Panicle or racemose |
| Flowering time | May June |
| Decorative time | Spring-autumn |
| Place of application | Group planting, alley planting or as a tapeworm |
| USDA zone | 5–9 |
The plant got its scientific name due to the combination of the Greek words "gymnos", which translates as "naked" and "mados", meaning "branch". This phrase perfectly reflects the state of the shoots of the bunduk tree.
Gumnokladuses are tree-like deciduous plants, the height of which is often 20–30 m, and their crown can reach 8 m in diameter. At the same time, the diameter of the trunk with slender outlines can vary in the range of 0.8–1 m. The trunk is coated with light gray or greyish brown bark, which tends to crack inward. On the branches, the color of the bark is much darker and pubescence is present. The root system, although not well-branched, is quite powerful. Through it, a dense growth is formed during the growth of the hopper. There are so many young shoots and they grow quickly that they pose a problem when grown in the garden, since it is difficult to clear the near-stem circle from them.
The outlines of the foliage are rather exotic - double-pinnate. The size of the leaves is large, sometimes it can be almost 1 meter. The surface of the leaves from above is leathery, bare. When the leaf has just unfolded, it is painted in a pinkish tint, which over time changes to a bright green. With the arrival of autumn days, the color of the foliage becomes pale yellow. Interestingly, the leaves of this tree bloom much later than other members of the legume family.
When a tree blossoms, a bundle of buds forms inflorescences that have a racemose or paniculate shape. Petals in flowers are smallish, white-yellow. During the flowering process, a very strong lemon scent is heard near the plant. The flowers are bisexual: from the female buds, racemose inflorescences are formed, crowning the tops of the shoots, the length of such inflorescences reaches 30 cm. The male flowers themselves form panicles, which do not exceed 10 cm in length. The gumnokladus will bloom for 10 days.
When fruiting, beans appear, which are covered with a woody crust and measure 25 cm in length. The color of the surface is reddish-brown, which turns into bluish-black as it ripens. The seeds placed inside the fruit are glossy, brown in color, surrounded by a greenish liquid with a jelly-like consistency or sticky brown flesh.
It is fashionable to use such a substance like soap, therefore, among the people there is another name for the coarse plant - a soap tree. Seed material is used as a substitute for coffee beans, so you can hear how the gumnokladus is called in America - the Kentucky coffee tree. Since this legume easily tolerates not only drought, but also frosts (according to some reports, it perfectly survives a temperature drop to -35 degrees), they like to grow it in gardens and parks as a specimen tree or form group plantings.
Growing a hopper, planting and caring for the garden
- Drop off location light is selected, providing protection from cold winds and drafts. It is good if there is a wall or other structure nearby (but not very close). When the gumnokladus is in too strong shade, then it tolerates this condition only at a young age. But as he gets older, his need for bright light will increase. If this condition is not met, then this will have a detrimental effect on growth. At the same time, the plant loves warmth, but the Canadian bunk type can survive a decrease in the thermometer column to -30 frost (not lower, otherwise it will freeze out).
- Priming. In this regard, such a tree is completely unassuming, but it is natural that a fertile, rich, loamy substrate is preferable for it. However, it shows good growth on poor sandy soil. A soil with weak acidity (pH 5-6) or dry alkaline (pH 7-8) may be suitable. If the soil mixture is characterized by waterlogging or it is very heavy, then it will not work for the hopper.
- Landing. Until the buds on the plant begin to bloom in the spring, you can plant it in April or pick up the time in October-November, when the dormant period begins. But during the autumn planting, you will have to use a shelter, since freezing is possible, since the hopper has not yet had time to harden enough. The size of the pit is 80x80, since the gumnokladus will begin to build up the root system and it will need a lot of space. At the bottom of the pit, a drainage layer is needed to protect the roots from waterlogging due to melt water or heavy rains. It can be crushed stone, medium-fraction expanded clay and broken brick. A little prepared soil mixed with fertilizers is placed on the drainage. The roots of the seedling in the pit are straightened, and then sprinkled to the top with the same substrate. Watering is needed with warm water, and the near-trunk zone is mulched.
- Watering. The humnokladus is, in principle, drought-resistant, but it will still need rare soil moisture, especially at first, while the tree is still young and not sufficiently adapted.
- Fertilizers. It is recommended to feed the hopper twice a year. Usually, the first time the drugs are used in the spring (approximately in March), you can feed with universal mineral complexes (like Kemir-Universal) or add organic agents (mullein or manure solution).
- Pruning. For sanitary purposes, as well as for shaping the crown of a tree, it is necessary to cut branches: those that are very elongated, froze over the winter or get sick. The right time is February or March, while the tree is "sleeping".
Recommendations for breeding a hopper
If you want to get a new plant with nuts, resembling pine nuts, you can sow seeds, rooting cuttings or planting root suckers.
The first method is considered the most common. It is not required to stratify (keep in cold conditions for some time) inoculum, but because of the hard shell, they are scarified. In this process, the destruction of the woody seed coat occurs. This is done very carefully so as not to damage the surface of the inner part. A sharpened knife or sandpaper is used for scarification. Often, instead, they use soaking for about a day in warm water, which is periodically changed so that it does not cool down until the seeds swell well and begin to hatch, or sulfuric acid is used, in which the soaking time will be reduced to 1.5-2 hours (if the product is concentrated, then just 10 minutes is enough).
After the seeds are soaked, they are washed well under running water, dried a little and then planted in pots filled with peat-sandy soil. The planting depth will be 7–10 cm. Or, with the arrival of April-May, when the soil in the garden warms up well, you can sow the seeds of the buns in the open ground. However, do not expect a quick result, since it will take a long time until the sprouts are visible.
Young seedlings are transferred from pots to open ground only during a period of dormancy, which should not fall on flowering or fruiting. At the same time, the soil must be fertilized with organic means.
There is evidence of sowing the seeds of the bundle in the dendrological nursery belonging to the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, when their stratification was carried out. For two months, the inoculum was kept at a heat of 0-5 degrees, after which there was a simultaneous almost 100% pecking of the shoots. To avoid rotting during stratification, the seeds are thoroughly mixed with coarse dry sand and try to prevent them from touching each other. At the same time, it is important to maintain the height of the sand layer mixed with the seed no more than 30 cm. Seeds are also sown late - the end of April or in May, depending on the condition of the soil, it should be well warmed up.
Cuttings can be cut in early spring. In this case, the length of the workpiece should be 10-15 cm, the lower cut is made obliquely. After that, it is treated with a root formation stimulant and placed in a vessel with water, covered with polyethylene. It will be necessary to air the branches every day, and periodically the sections are washed with clean water in order to remove the mucus that may form there. After some time, the cuttings develop roots and then you can plant them in a pot with a substrate consisting of peat and sand, taken in equal parts. Until the cuttings take root, they also maintain high humidity and make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out. When May comes, you can pick up a place in the garden and, after preparing the soil, plant the seedling of the cooper in a permanent place of growth.
The shoots of this plant can be dug up for transplantation with the arrival of autumn, the period from September to the first ten days of October is suitable, and they also do this in March, until the juices begin to move and the buds remain unopened. Young seedlings are selected, formed next to biennial plants, which are distinguished by their strength and powerful root system. Typically, such cuttings grow well at a distance of 2-3 meters from the mother tree of the hopper. When jigging, the root system is dug up, the stem roots, which connect the cuttings with the parent plant, are chopped off, and the root shoots on both sides of the seedling are also chopped off.
Usually, in root shoots, the root system is still poorly formed and has not many branches. Then it is recommended to plant such seedlings in a greenhouse in the spring, so that they grow normally until autumn. Before planting, the entire root system must be soaked in a rooting stimulator (for example, in heteroauxinic acid). All summer months, the care of the planted shoots is carried out, consisting in watering, fertilizing and loosening the soil in the near-trunk zone. And in September, you can already transplant young bunches to a permanent place in the garden.
Diseases and pests of the cooper
Since the plant is very poisonous, there is no information about its defeat by both diseases and harmful insects. However, for prevention, spraying with insecticidal preparations, for example, Aktellik, can be carried out in early spring.
Curious facts about the hopper
A viscous liquid that resembles the jelly contained in the beans of the coarse tree is used not only as a soap, but also as a kind of shampoo. It is important that the viscous substance does not contain surfactants, which are many in our usual hygiene products, then it is very useful for hair and skin. But there are such features:
- Foaming does not occur (which some people do not like), although the substance lathers perfectly and with its help you can easily remove impurities: wash your hair and body (swim), wash children's clothes, it is recommended for allergy sufferers.
- Although it does not harm the layer of bacteria on the skin, it copes well with the immune and barrier function, the skin does not become overdried.
- The soap gel from the bunk can be easily dissolved in water.
- With the arrival of August, the jelly-like substance in the fruits dries up, but to dissolve it, you just need to place the fruit in cold water for about 5-10 minutes.
Drinks made from coarse seeds, like coffee, will help to increase libido, strengthen immunity and stimulate the brain. The seeds of the plant have another interesting function, if they are crushed, they will help to cope with such domestic pests as cockroaches or bedbugs. It is also used by people struggling with the habit of smoking.
In culture, the coarse tree has been grown since 1818, and in the formation of landscape design, it can be combined with oaks and ash, combined with chestnuts and gleditsia, and it also looks good next to silver maples and a frame (deciduous tree).
Important to remember! All parts of the coarse tree are poisonous. Since there is a poisonous substance cytisine, which does not lose its properties during drying, but decomposes at a temperature exceeding 260 degrees. To eat seeds, it is necessary to thoroughly fry them, otherwise there is a possibility of poisoning, and the outcome can be fatal. But when using the viscous substance from the beans, nothing bad will happen.
Description of plant species coarse
Cooper (Gymnocladus dioicus)
can be found under the name Canadian Bunduk, soap tree, Kentucky coffee tree, or Gymnocladus dioecious. The trunk of this tree can reach a height of 30 m and is distinguished by slender outlines. The crown is luxurious, rounded, it can measure 7–8 m in diameter. The bark on the trunk is light grayish. Its surface is covered with deep cracks. Shoots with a darker color of the bark, pubescence is present.
The leaf can reach 1 meter in length, its shape is double-pinnate. From the very opening, the color of the foliage with a pinkish tint, then it becomes bright green, and with the arrival of autumn it acquires a pale yellow tone. From flowers, racemose (from female) and panicle (from male) inflorescences are formed. The length of the females is about 30 cm, and the males reach 10 cm. During flowering, which occurs in May-June and lasts 7-10 days, a lemon scent is heard. The plant is an excellent honey plant.
The fruits are dense, woody beans with a reddish-brownish color. When fully ripe, they will turn black with a blue tint. The length of the pod is 20 cm. The seeds are brown, shiny, surrounded by a viscous pulp.
Chinese Sheep (Gymnocladus chinensis)
… From the name it is clear that the homeland of this species is the Chinese lands. The trees are just as tall. The foliage, in comparison with the previous variety, is smaller in size, and the fruits ripen not so large, their length reaches only 7-10 cm. During flowering, buds with violet-purple petals open. It prefers to grow in nature in mountainous regions, in culture it can be found in the Carpathian region, when grown in the Kiev region, it is prone to freezing. It can be cultivated in the Caucasus or Central Asia.
Video about the tree bunut:
