Characteristics and origin of anaphalis, growing conditions in a flower bed, advice on transplanting and reproduction, problems with cultivation, interesting facts, species. Anaphalis (Anaphalis) belongs to the family Compositae (Asteraceae). All members of this family are dicotyledonous plants in which the seed embryo has two opposite cotyledons. This family is very extensive, since it includes more than a thousand genera, while the Anafalis genus itself contains about 35 varieties. The plant can consider the territories of eastern Asia to be the homeland of its origin, but it is not a rare guest on the lands of the former CIS, where up to 12 species have settled. European countries are also not deprived of the attention of this unpretentious flower, where it grows successfully in areas with moderate climatic conditions, it is found in regions of North America. All this is possible because the herbaceous representative can successfully tolerate frosts and is sufficiently resistant to dry periods. In its natural environment, the plant likes to settle in coniferous or deciduous forests growing on mountain slopes, on dry and rocky soils.
Among the people, anafalis often bears the name of "immortelle". However, the origin of the plant's name is not clear, since there are several versions according to which:
- in the first case, the etymology came from the fusion of the Greek words "ana" and "palos", which in translation mean, respectively, "up, higher, high, in comparison" and "white, shiny";
- secondly, the ancient Greek name of the plant "Gnaphalium" plays a role, and perhaps a bad anagram of this word occurred here.
Anafalis has a herbaceous form of growth and has a long life cycle. The rhizome over time acquires a woody appearance and quickly gives rise to lateral root processes. Because of this, the plant is very resistant to weeds and can be considered a true "protector" of garden plantings. With each new growing season, the length of the rhizome is increasing more and more, the annual growth is up to 30 cm, and therefore flower growers artificially limit the growth of anaphalis by digging metal fences into the soil of the flower beds, beyond which the roots will no longer make their way.
Stems grow erect, solitary, tall, very brittle, do not have branching. Their sizes can reach meters in height, but most often they grow compact varieties, the stems of which are 20-30 cm in size. Some varieties have pubescence along the entire length of the shoot, and because of this, the shade of the plant is very interesting (whitish, ash or pearl) …
The leaf plates are pubescent, their surface is leathery. In shape, they grow linear, three-toed or linear-lanceolate. On the reverse side, the leaf has a grayish tint or pressed brick-brown pubescence. By flowering, the leaves located on the stems from below wither, they have a dull shape. Those leaf plates that grow on stems higher in length reach 10 cm, but with height their size decreases and they become narrower.
From small flowers, corymbose inflorescences are collected, which are usually located at the tops of the stems. The buds are colored in silvery, pearl, gray, whitish or pinkish shades. The shape of the flowers is tubular, the buds have no aroma, but the type of anaphalis is very decorative because of the inflorescences, which form flowers similar to the outlines of "baskets" of dry petals. The diameter of the bud reaches 8 mm. Each bud is surrounded by a multi-layered bracts, dry, rustling, painted in white, cream, silver or pinkish colors. The plant is dioecious: the corolla of pistillate flowers has a filamentous-tubular appearance, but the staminate buds have a bell-tubular corolla in shape. The flowering process occurs in the summer and lasts until September.
After flowering, the process of maturation of dusty seeds takes place. The achene has ribs and is small in size, only 7 mm. The plant is completely unpretentious for growing in flower beds as a decoration for a garden plot. In central Russia, you can most often find a variety of pearl anaphalis, which is loved by flower growers because of its fluffy inflorescences.
Anaphalis Care Tips
- Landing Plants on a personal plot are carried out in most cases in a sunny place so that there is no stagnation of moisture, since an increased-moistened substrate is harmful to anaphalis, although there is information that it grows well in the shade. The plant should be planted on a flower bed in the spring or autumn.
- Soil selection. To achieve abundant flowering, you will need to carefully select the substrate in which the flower will grow. A poor soil well mixed with sand is required, this will help moisture, even with heavy rains or an abundance of snow, to seep through and not stagnate. However, the nutrients must also be in the substrate, that is, the addition of humus will be required. Before planting anaphalis, it is recommended to dig up the substrate and mix compost fertilizers into it. The distance between the bushes will need to be maintained at least 30 cm. In the summer, you can mulch the soil under the plant with fine gravel and periodically loosen the ground.
- Watering. Anafalis perfectly tolerates drought, and if you have to water it, then only when these periods drag on, but here, too, moderation is required. When the specimen is already an adult, it is enough to moisten the soil once a week.
- Pruning and leaving. This is what distinguishes anaphalis - it is the aggressiveness of growth. It easily grows its rhizomes and drives out all weeds growing nearby, however, less hardy garden plantings may suffer. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the growth of shrubs by installing metal fences directly into the soil of the flower bed, preventing the rhizome from filling large areas. It will also be necessary to prune the plant near the soil itself in the autumn, leaving very few stems above the surface.
- Transfer. Once every 7 years, it will be necessary to change the place of the plant to a new one, while carefully shortening the root system.
- Fertilizers for anaphalis, they are added extremely rarely and it can be organic dressings.
- Wintering. Only some varieties will require shelter for the winter (such as Nepalese Anafalis), then agrofibre can be used here. Basically, the plant is not afraid of frost.
The use of anaphalis in the garden landscape
The plant looks very interesting in the garden and can favorably set off the beauty of rose bushes or gladioli plantings. Garden designers often use anafalis for zoning the area and creating a pleasant backdrop, planting it in stone gardens.
Planting and reproduction of anaphalis
You can get new bushes of anaphalis using the vegetative method, dividing the root or sowing seeds.
The plant propagates easily by cuttings, this method is the best, as it makes it possible to get young stems faster. It is carried out from late spring to mid-autumn, and a stalk with a length of at least 5-7 cm is selected for rooting. If the soil is very dense during planting, then a little sand is mixed into it to increase water permeability.
Twigs are planted on a flower bed from each other at a distance of 30–40 cm, when a hole is dug for planting, then it should be twice as large as an earthen lump with a rhizome. The roots must be straightened and placed in a depression, then they are carefully sprinkled with earth and lightly tamped. It is recommended to water the planted cuttings thoroughly, and the next time, the soil is moistened after a few days.
It is also possible to propagate anaphalis by sowing seeds. Usually this operation is carried out already in the middle of March, the seed material is not even embedded in the ground, but it must be mixed with river sand. This composition is placed in a container and sprinkled with water from a spray bottle, then the container is covered with glass or wrapped in a plastic bag to create conditions for a mini-greenhouse, with increased moisture and heat. When the sprouts appear, the shelter is removed and only when the plant grows stronger, then it is possible to transplant into open ground on a flower bed. Usually this time falls in September, but many flower growers withstand another year before such a transplant.
Also, an anaphalis bush can be divided - this breeding method is the simplest and most problem-free. The time is selected during the spring or already in the fall. The bush (or part of it) must be carefully dug up. Then it is divided into parts, so that each division has a sufficient number of roots and shoots. These parts of the anaphalis must be immediately planted in a permanent place and at least temporarily buried in soil; it is not recommended to leave them in the air.
Difficulty growing a flower
Anafalis is a fairly resistant plant and is rarely affected by pests or diseases. The only thing that can bring tangible harm to it is too moist soil. Then the root system of the herbaceous representative begins to rot, and the leaves gradually die off.
Adult plants will require watering only during particularly dry periods of growth; when planting, it is necessary to take into account the increased drainage of the soil and not plant the flower in the lowlands.
Interesting facts about anafalis
Most often grown and considered the most common type of pearl anaphalis. Its properties have been known to people since ancient times. Even the American Indians first of all perceived this plant only as a medicinal and only in Europe, somewhere in the 16th century its decorative properties were appreciated.
Preparations based on pearl anaphalis are used as a laxative and for severe poisoning. There is also information that the plant can help with headaches, skin problems (eliminates tumors, bruises and the consequences of burns). To do this, it is advised to use angafalis flowers, and tinctures and decoctions are made on their basis.
In scientific medicine, the plant has not found use, but it is customary to use it in everyday life and in folk medicines. If men take freshly obtained juice from the leaves and stems of anaphalis, then it stimulates sexual function in impotence. Dried foliage serves as a raw material for the preparation of soothing decoctions, especially among the Indians of the USA and Canada, and also such preparations have an antiseptic, astringent and expectorant effect.
If you take anaphalis tincture, you can cure diarrhea, dysentery, and some manifestations of pulmonary infections. Poultices from the flowers of the plant will serve as an excellent remedy for relieving the problems of rheumatism of the joints, bedsores, and ulcers on the skin. Such drugs are prescribed for housing and communal services problems.
Anafalis has been used since ancient times by shamans - they fumigated old people and children with dried herb to calm them down. In Kamchatka, it is customary to use flowers in the same way as the buds of the sandy immortelle, and in Russia and Ukraine it has long been used as a mild choleretic drug, and also treated some liver diseases.
It is interesting that anaphalis (its aerial part) is a raw material for obtaining dyes for dyeing fabrics. When the foliage is still very young, it is edible and was often used to prepare national dishes among the North American Indian tribes.
From the herb of anaphalis, multiple flavonoids, as well as coumarins and even rubber, have already been isolated. And the roots carry triterpene saponins and polyacetylene compounds.
There are also contraindications for using the plant - pregnant women or children do not use anaphalis essential oils, the drug must be checked for individual tolerance.
Types of anaphalis
- Anaphalis pearl (Anaphalis margaritacea) found under the name "Pearl Paws", "Immortelle", in England it is called "Western pearly everlasting", in Korea they gave it the name "Bul-geun-no-ru-sam", and the Japanese call this grassy inhabitant of the planet "Yama haha -ko ". This variety is the most common variety in horticulture. A herbaceous representative of the family, which can reach a height of 30–40 cm, but the stems are also 70 cm high. The stem is upright, branches only from above, completely covered with whitish-gray tomentose pubescence. The shape of the leaves is lanceolate or linear-lanceolate. The upper surface of the leaf plate is covered with a gray cobweb bloom, and the reverse is distinguished by a strongly pressed brown fluff. The dimensions of the sheet are 5–10 cm in length and up to 3–12 mm in width. Inflorescences grow on the tops of the stems in the form of scutes and are collected from flowers, resembling baskets in shape. Their diameter does not exceed 8 mm. The color of the petals of the buds is white or grayish-white. Flowers are surrounded by multi-row bracts, they are dry and shaded with pearl color. This variety is quite frost-resistant, its growth is very aggressive and requires containment. The entire aerial part is used in medicine. The plant was first described by Karl Linneev in the middle of the 17th century.
- Anaphalis nepalensis (Anaphalis nepalensis) - a perennial herb, reaching a height of 30 cm. Leaf blades devoid of petioles have pubescence. Those leaves that are located in the root zone are oval or spatulate, and the stem ones grow elongated, narrow or lanceolate. They are pubescent, with pointed tops. The color of the flowers varies from white, cream to beige. From 5-15 buds, inflorescences are collected, located at the tops of the shoots. The flowering process stretches from mid to late summer. If the variety is grown in cold climates, then shelter will be required during winter. Prefers shaded places and this differs from other species. The native habitat of growth is meadows located in the mountainous regions of Nepal and China.
- Anaphalis velvety (Anaphalis yedoensi). The plant can be considered its homeland in the regions of the Tien Shan, that is, in the regions of Central Asia. It is a semi-shrub and a rather rare species. The stems do not have tomentose pubescence. Flowers in diameter are the largest of all varieties - 2 cm in diameter.
- Anaphalis three-veined (Anaphalis triplinervis). Native territories of growth are the Himalayan mountains and settles in meadows located at an altitude of 1000–5000 m above sea level. Perennial, the stems of which can grow to half a meter in height, densely branched. The growth form is bushy. The leaf plates are numerous and have a three-lobed shape, and leaflets with lanceolate outlines grow, their size is large. The foliage and stems are painted in gray color, with pubescence. The shade of flowers is pearl with a silvery sheen, in shape they resemble stars. There is a garden variety that has a pink-toned flower petals. From the buds, inflorescences are collected, which are located at the tops of the stems. Likes to settle in well-lit areas and on well-drained soil. This variety is used to decorate stone gardens. Flowering extends to the end of July and August.
- Anaphalis cystic (Anaphalis racemifera). Semi-shrub variety that originates from the territory of the Tien Shan. The inflorescences are large, reaching up to 1.5 cm in diameter.
What anaphalis looks like, see this video: