The ancestors of this plant were of great importance to people, they carried knowledge. And this is impressive, although among others it does not stand out anything special. This amazing legendary plant is a swamp papyrus, akin to our usual sedge.
What does a papyrus plant look like, what are the features of caring for it? What is its history and significance in people's lives? You can learn about all this by reading this article.
general information
This plant greatly influenced the development of the entire civilization. Writing material was made from it. What can a person imagine hearing the word “papyrus”? Egypt - the hot sands of the desert, caravans of camels, pyramids, sphinxes, pharaohs, hard workers, Egyptians and many others. etc. And among all this is the image of the clerk, writing something under the dictation of his master. All this is Ancient Egypt.
The word papu, meaning "royal", is of ancient Egyptian origin. It was from him that the ancient Greek papyrus was formed, which is the name of the writing material known to everyone (papyrus).
The birthplace of the plant is Egypt. There it was considered royal.
A bit about ancient writing material
The papyrus (plant) was of great benefit. Pictures and letters made on such material entered the history of Egypt and became exhibits of many museums in the world.
The word "paper" also owes its origin to the papyrus. In German, paper is papier, in French is papier, and in English is paper. Karl Linnaeus used a variant of the word latinized as the name of this plant - papyros.
The oldest of all known papyrus manuscripts are dated to the beginning of the third millennium BC.
Papyrus (plant): photo, description
Papyrus (raw papyrus) - a perennial herb (sedge family), mainly found in Africa. There are other names for this plant - paper reed, papyrus sedge.
Mistakenly, sometimes a papyrus can be called a synergy. This is a common hothouse or ornamental houseplant.
A dwarf relative of papyrus reaching a height of one meter is Cyperus nanus or Cyperus profiler.
Natural papyrus is a plant of huge sizes (up to 5 meters tall, up to 7 cm in diameter) with almost leafless shoots. Its triangular-shaped stems grow from a tree-like thick rhizome, and at the base of each stalk there are brown, scaly, underdeveloped leaves. At the end of the stem there is a large inflorescence in the form of an umbrella, which has the shape of a feather panicle in a young plant for brushing dust off furniture.
The bunch at the end of the branch has bright green stems up to 30 centimeters long. Each of them branches into 3-5 rays of the 2nd order, equipped with drooping narrow covering leaves. At their top are green-brown ears up to 2 centimeters long. Papyrus flowering usually occurs in late summer. The brown colored fruits are very similar to nuts.
Pollination of papyrus, like most sedge, occurs with the help of wind, not insects. Ripe fruits spread through the water.
The inflorescences of this amazing plant are a great place for nesting birds of various species.
Where does the papyrus plant grow in nature?
The geographical spread of the plant is the most diverse. These are subtropical and tropical deserts, moist forests with annual temperature ranges from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius and a hydrogen content in the range of 6.0-8.5 pH. For successful flowering, a good factor is good sunlight. Papyrus, like many tropical plants, is very sensitive to cold.
Large thickets of this plant are mainly found in swampy areas, on shallow lakes and along river banks of the most humid areas of Africa. Today, papyrus is less and less common in the Nile Delta. In deeper waters, it is the main component of the huge masses of floating plants called Sudd.
This plant can be found in the Mediterranean regions (Levant and Sicily), and in Madagascar.
About the decorative plant papyrus
Tsiperus (papyrus) is a houseplant, hygrophilous, similar to a small palm tree and an umbrella. It, unlike relatives growing in natural conditions, can feel good even in the shady part of the room, among other domestic flowers or in interior water bodies.
On the grassy stem of the plant are nodes, from where the narrow leaves grow, forming an umbrella.
Famous cyperuses grown at home, only a few species. Umbrella grows to one and a half meters. It has very narrow long leaves of linear shape (length 24 cm). These cyperuses are found with leaves that have a white stripe. From their sinuses panicles of yellow inflorescences appear.
The lowest representative of the family is sprawling cyperus with stems up to 90 centimeters high and with many leaves up to 30 cm long. This is the most common species among home gardening enthusiasts.
Care
Tsiperus (papyrus) is a plant that is very unpretentious in cultivation. At the same time, it nevertheless acquires a special decorative effect in a room that is more light and protected from direct sunlight during the hot season. This plant does not like heat at all. The optimum temperature for it in the summer is 20-22 ° C, in winter - at least 12 ° C.
Water the cyperus through a pan, as the roots should always have access to moisture. For him, humidity is also very important, therefore, its leaves should be sprayed more often. The plant should be fed with complex fertilizer in the summer and spring twice a month.
The appearance of cyperus care is reduced to the removal of dried and yellowed leaves. You can transplant the plant throughout the year, as it grows, when the roots become very crowded.
The basis of the substrate should be peat bog land, and the drainage layer should occupy at least a quarter of the pot. In connection with the latter condition, the pot for this plant needs a deep and not very wide one. To reduce evaporation from above, the soil should be covered with a small layer of sand.
Conclusion
Papyrus (plant) went down in history mainly as a raw material for making fine writing material. Many libraries and museums around the world store the oldest papyrus. In Cairo, there is a museum in which one of the oldest papyrus scrolls is an exhibit. The Museum of Britain has an artifact from the tomb of Egypt - a papyrus calendar. He is 3,000 years old. Papyrologists, thanks to these amazing finds, continue to reveal new secrets of life throughout the ancient world and Ancient Egypt.
As for indoor cyperus, it is known that it helps people with constant headaches and with insomnia. In addition, this plant should be kept in the house for people who are unsure of themselves, indecisive and aggressive. Cyperus will help normalize the situation.