Representatives of the clove family (Caryophyllaceae) are found literally in all corners of the globe. Such plants grow, including in our country. In the forests and steppes of Russia, you can find forest slumber, dioica smolevka, cuckoo color, etc. Of course, Gvozdichnye is a family whose representatives are often grown in suburban areas. They are used in gardens and kitchen gardens mainly as ornamental plants.
general characteristics
The main distinguishing features of all representatives of the clove family are:
paired simple opposite leaves;
bisexual flowers with a cup and a nimbus;
dry, in the form of a box, cenocarpic fruit;
small smooth tuberous seeds.
Clove - a family of 86 genera and about 2,000 species.
Spread
These plants grow unevenly across the continents of the Earth. Most of them are found in East and Central Asia, as well as in the Mediterranean countries. Various kinds of cloves can be found in forests and steppes, deserts and in the tundra. One of the species of this family - the creeping littlester - was even found high in the mountains (6000 m).
Flower structure
The clove family, or rather, its representatives, are distinguished by the fact that their corollas have five or four petals. Stamens in each of them are usually 8-10. They are located in two circles of 4-5 pieces. The ovary of the flowers is upper with numerous germs in each nest. In most cases, flowers in representatives of the clove family are protandric. That is, the pollen in them gets enough sleep before the stigmas of the pistils ripen.
Flower nectar is usually plentiful. They are pollinated by bees, butterflies, etc. The flowers of the clove family in the majority of cases have a sprawling shape, and therefore are not specialized for pollination with any specific insects.
Classification
All cloves according to the system of F. Pax are usually divided into three main subfamilies:
They can differ in the absence or presence of stipules or the structure of the flower.
Carnation family: importance for the national economy
Cloves can be used:
Cloves - a family that includes, among other things, weeds, which you have to deal with when growing various kinds of agricultural and ornamental crops. Poisonous species of Caryophyllaceae also exist in the wild.
Carnation family: representatives of decorative value
Many species of the Caryophyllaceae family have been growing in gardens for quite some time. The most popular decorative cloves include, for example, representatives of the genera Mylnianka and Smolevka. Very often in suburban areas you can also see beautiful gerbils and minarets.
Mylnianki (Saponaria): general description
The main distinguishing feature of representatives of this genus is their unpretentiousness and rather high decorative qualities. Most soapwort, since these plants are compact, is grown on alpine hills. The genus Saponaria has more than 30 different species.
More recently, the soap dish could be seen in almost all gardens. Today, this plant of the clove family has somewhat lost its popularity. It's all about his increased ability to root formation. This decorative (and medicinal) culture grows almost instantly, and therefore, very quickly turns into a weed.
The most popular representative of this genus today is another soap dish - basil leaf. In the wild, this plant grows mainly in the mountains of Western Europe. The shoots of the soapwort form a basil-leaved, lodging, and the color of the flowers is bright pink. Caring for this plant, as well as for all representatives of the genus, is very easy. However, to maintain compactness, the soap-bearing basil-leaves should be cut to a third of the height after repeated flowering (in late summer).
Very often in the gardens and kitchen gardens of Russian summer residents you can also see a soapy turf. The birthplace of this species is the Pyrenees. The flowers of this compact (5-6 cm) plant have a very beautiful pink color.
All of the soapwort listed above can grow in one place for many years. These plants do not require any special soil preparation. However, a place under them should be chosen sunny, sublime. It is very good to arrange drainage on the flowerbed.
Smolevki (Silene): distinctive features
It is also quite popular among the owners of summer cottages clove genus, numbering more than 400 species. Smolevka is used mainly in small flower gardens and on stone slides. The most common representative of this genus is seaside tar. This rather small plant (up to 25 cm) forms a very interesting and beautiful gray-blue “pillow” on a flower bed or a hill. Primorye smolevka blooms almost all summer. There are several varieties and forms of it to date. For your garden, you can choose a variety with white flowers or pink.
Alpine tar - also quite a popular member of the genus - forms loose "pillows" up to 20 cm high. Its shape with terry lush flowers is considered especially beautiful. Also, sometimes gardeners grow stemless, Argos and Kantzinsky formations in their suburban areas.
Description of clove Lychnis (Lychnis)
This common genus is also characterized by rather high decorative qualities. It includes 35 species, but its most popular representatives are Lychnis arkrajta and koronchaty. The first forms a compact bush with a height of 35-40 cm and delights gardeners with spectacular orange-red flowers, the diameter of which can reach 3 cm.
Crowned lichen is a herbaceous plant of the clove family, capable of growing even on low-fertile soils. In height, it can reach 45-90 cm. The color of the flowers in this representative of the genus Lychnis is white or pink.
Gerbils (Arenaria) and Minuartia (Minuartia)
Representatives of these genera are very similar to each other. To such an extent that they are often even confused with each other. The most popular gerbil is mountain. This plant is able to reach 10 cm in height and grow up to 50 cm in width. Flowers at the mountain gerbil are white, large.
The most common mination is juniper. This spectacular plant reaches a height of only 15 cm and looks great both in single plantings and in combination with other decorative crops, for example, alpine cloves or ferns. The inflorescences of the minaretia are juniperous racemes, and the leaves are pointed.
Medicinal varieties
Clove - a family, many of which can be used, including in folk and official medicine. First of all, these are plants such as:
These plants can be used to cure various diseases due to the high content of physiologically active substances in their tissues: alkaloids, flavonoids, vitamins, saponins, essential oils and organic acids.
Thistle (Acanthophyllum): Description
The clove family is distinguished by its adaptability to a variety of environmental conditions. Representatives can also grow in the foothills. It is in elevated places that you can find medicinal thistle. A distinctive feature of this plant is the absence of a stem. The leaves of Acanthophyllum are notched, prickly on both sides, collected in a socket (40-50 cm in diameter). In the middle of the latter there is an inflorescence-basket, at the bottom of which tubular flowers are attached.
For medicinal purposes, only fleshy thistle roots are used mainly. Among other things, they contain essential oils, tannins, insulin, and tarry substances. Prescribing tincture of thistle can be used to treat helminthiasis (animals), get rid of chirii, as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent.
The hernia is smooth: what kind of plant?
This groundcover perennial is also included in the clove family. A photo of him can be seen just below. Its smooth creeping stems are completely covered with small oval leaves, in the axils of which tiny yellow flowers are gathered in tangles. In the wild, smooth hernia grows mainly on pastures, rocky wastelands and along roads.
Useful infusions and decoctions from this nondescript herb can be with cough, jaundice, diseases of the bladder and kidneys. They can also be used for baths with poorly lasting wounds.
Rod Kachim
Another name for this genus is gypsophila. These are very common plants in the clove family. At present, about 150 species of this genus are known. But of course, not all of them are medicinal. Most often, in order to cure various diseases, we use paniculata paniculata. It is a perennial herb with a long rhizome and a branched spherical stem. In the wild, kachim paniculata grows in Western Siberia, Central Asia and the European part of Russia. Its green parts can be used as an antimicrobial, analgesic, laxative, or emetic. Also, the infusion of this herb is often used for pain in the liver.
Weeds
Many representatives of the clove family can add complexity when growing various kinds of agricultural and garden crops. But the most malicious weed is the middle stellate, or wood lice. The life cycle of this plant is only 40 days. And therefore, in a season it can give up to 3 generations. The lower part of the stems of woodlice, as well as its autumn shoots, easily overwinter and spring in early spring immediately after the snow melts. After flowering, each plant can give seeds up to 25 thousand. At the same time, they retain their germination for up to 8 years.
Poisonous cloves
The most famous plant belonging to this group is common cockle. This fairly common weed has a long stem root. The stem is quite high (up to 1 m), knotty, slightly branched. The leaves of the cockle are narrow and sharp, and the flowers are single violet-red. The green mass of this plant poses no danger to human and animal health. Only cockle seeds are poisonous.
Forage grasses
On pasture meadows and in the steppes, a variety of different cloves grow. Almost all of them can be eaten by cattle. However, the most valuable as fodder plants are nevertheless carnation, grass, and waterwax. The first is a perennial herb up to 45 cm tall with opposite long leaves. The stems of this variety can be of two types. Non-flowering densely leafy. However, they do not grow too long. Flower stalks are very high and forked in the upper part. Clove propagated by grass seed. It usually grows on rocky wastelands, in grass thickets, in meadows and fields.
The aquatic softweed - a valuable forage grass of the clove family - is a perennial, the height of which can be 20-70 cm. Its stems are pubescent in the upper part and bare in the lower part. The leaves of the softworm are ovoid, and the inflorescences are a semi-umbrella. Under natural conditions, this plant is found in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Far East, and Siberia.
The above characteristic of the clove family allows us to judge them as very useful for the national economy. Of course, this group includes weeds, and even poisonous plants. However, many cloves are also valuable as ornamental plants that can become a real decoration of yards, gardens and city streets, both as medicinal and fodder.