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Podophyll Emoda |
The Barberry family (Berberidaceae) everyone knows from the widespread shrub in the culture - barberry (Berberis). Few will name other arboreal representatives of this family. And almost no one knows that there are a lot of herbaceous plants among barberry plants. Moreover, these herbs are so diverse that it is difficult even to imagine how they can be combined into one group. Nevertheless, this is so, because the peculiarities of the structure of the flower lie at the heart of family ties. The family includes 650 species and is distinguished by a wide variety of life forms. Of the shrubs, the largest genus of barberry contains 500 species. Another rather large genus is Mahonia (Mahonia) - has 110 species. Representatives of this genus are similar to barberries, but with feathery leaves. But the clan of Nandin (Nandina) - monotypic, that is, represented by a single species. It is a small tree with heavily dissected leaves. The homeland of the Nandina is the Japanese-Chinese floristic region. We know nandina as a greenhouse or houseplant. The rest of the species in this rather extensive family are herbaceous plants.
Some herbaceous barberry are typical forest dwellers, for example, the mountain goat (Epimedium) or podophyll (Podophyllum). Others are common in regions with seasonal climates with hot and dry summers such as the Mediterranean or Central Asia. Under such conditions, these plants develop tubers, for example, bongardia (Bongardia), gymnosperm (Gymnospermium), leontitsy (Leontice). Some of them can grow up to 15 cm in diameter and are eaten boiled and even raw. The development of tuberous plants occurs according to the life cycle of ephemeroids - they vegetate and bloom in early spring, and fall into a state of dormancy in the summer. The fruits of barberry are most often berries. A typical example is barberry. In podophyllum, the berries are large and resemble the color and size of the Ladies Finger tomato variety. In herbaceous barberry fruits, they are often in the form of various bolls. For example, in the leontica, the capsules look like bubbles with thin walls and reach 5 cm in diameter. Inside these bubbles, seeds ripen, similar to small peas.
