Many of us look forward to the arrival of spring, because the appearance of buds, green leaves and flowers in itself is already uplifting. Some plants that grow in our forests form young shoots, the so-called primroses, even under the snow. In early April, you can watch goose onions, backache, anemone, chistyak and, of course, corydalis bloom. You will see photos of the most common types below.
Description
The western and central regions of China are considered the birthplace of Corydalis, the flower grows mainly in deciduous forests, creating dense curtains. There are more than 300 species in the genus of these undemanding perennials. However, many of us do not even know what a Corydalis flower looks like. Outwardly, it is very similar to a delicate fern, the height of the plant reaches 30 centimeters.
During the flowering period (mid-spring or early summer) you can admire yellow, pink, white, red and lilac flowers developing on bare erect stems. Wooded areas, stone gardens are suitable for growing a flower, and the plant also feels good near water bodies. Corydalis grows in nature in the forest, some of the species can be found in European Russia and Southern Siberia.
Representative of the Dymyankov family
The corydalis plant belongs to the family of dicotyledonous plants, close to poppies. The genus contains about four hundred species. Many of them grow in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The name comes from a Greek word meaning "helmet" because of the shape of the flower.
A perennial herbaceous plant has a tuberous root system. Leaves basal with a bluish bloom, strongly dissected. Racemose inflorescences slightly rise above the foliage. The flowers are small, yellow, pink and bluish-purple in color.
Corydalis, like snowdrop, tulip, blueberry, crocus, is an ephemeroid plant, since its growing season is short. These plants delight us with their flowering in early spring, when nature has not yet pampered the central strip of Russia with greenery. As soon as the seeds ripen, yellowing begins, and later the death of the above-ground part of the plant.
Development Features
Before you breed Corydalis, you need to find out how the plant develops. After flowering (this happens approximately in April-May), the aerial parts quickly die off, and the ripened seeds fall to the ground. In the soil, tubers with accumulatednutrients. At this time, there is still practically no foliage on the trees and shrubs.
After flowering Corydalis, like other spring ephemeroids, disappear, reappearing the next year. So that the place where the flowers grew is not empty, various short-rhizome plants that bloom in summer or autumn can be planted to them: colchicum, lilies or irises. So your site will turn into a real conveyor of flowering plants. You can also choose a place for planting under ornamental shrubs: lilac, rose or weigela.
Corydalis flower (a description of the plant is given in this article) looks great in combination with perennial plants, which begin to build up the above-ground mass much later. So, for example, corydalis decorate a flower bed when phloxes or hostas are barely visible. By autumn, the plants will rise, closing their large leaves, and hide the void formed in this way after the death of the aerial part of the ephemeroids.
The low growth of corydalis allows you to wonderfully decorate alpine slides. It is enough to find a place for them near a small bush that will shade the flower.
Flowering
Corydalis is a flower, described earlier, appearing in early spring. White, yellow, pink, purple or violet tubular flowers appear on 7-20 cm stems. Gardeners are especially interested in the Corydalis variety (photos of the most common species are given in this material) winding. This plant has rather unusual blue flowers.
How does Corydalis (flower) reproduce?
Description of propagation methods will help you grow wonderful flowers in your flower bed. If you want corydalis in your garden, you can simply transplant the plant from the forest, the main thing is to leave a large clod of earth. When digging up a flower, do not forget that its roots are quite deep. Corydalis can also reproduce using seeds.
In cultivation, plants run wild, spreading long distances from the planting site. Quite often, ants carry the seeds to a variety of places. Corydalis are usually found in the shade of trees, where the ground is covered with fallen leaves. Since they start flowering very early, they do not interfere with the growth of other crops in the least.
In nature, the Corydalis chooses places in the forest with humus soil, and in culture it takes root in ordinary soil. Excessive moisture, bright lighting and turfiness of the earth are detrimental to her.
Forcing corydalis
For the agricultural technique that is used to obtain flowers in the off-season, only dense corydalis is suitable. For distillation take only large intact tubers. For a pot with a plant, choose a cool dark place (recommended temperature - 5 degrees), where it will be for 9 weeks. If you could not find such a place in the house, you can wrap the pot in a dark bag and put it in the refrigerator.
When forcing, it is necessary to periodically control the drying of the soil. Particular attention is paid to the temperature regime, only in this way the plant will begin to bloom. Good lighting is also important. After the Corydalis has faded, watering is not stopped until the leaves turn yellow, then the pot is put in the refrigerator until spring.
Common species
Corydalis forest grows well in the shade of trees, including the most frequent representative of Corydalis solida. This is an elegant 15-20 cm plant with delicate, as if lacy leaves and helmet-shaped flowers. Particular attention is paid to the George Baker variety, which is characterized by bright red-pink inflorescences.
Corydalis yellow in nature is found in the mountains in Western Europe. The plant forms a spherical bush, reaching a height of 20-40 centimeters. Grows in groups, creating flower carpets on the ground. The leaves of this plant variety are light green in color, pinnate, tubular bright yellow flowers are collected in a brush.
Hollow Corydalis - a flower (a description of the beneficial properties of the plant is given in this material), reaching 20-30 cm in height. Deep-lying, hollow, spherical tubers of the plant grow up to 3 cm in diameter. The straight stem ends with a multi-flowered brush. The leaves of this species are petiolate, bluish, tender, twice or thrice trifoliate. The length of whole, oblong, sharp bracts is 2-3 times longer than the pedicels. The calyx consists of two small sepals. Zygomorphic 4-lobed corolla, usually purple-pink (in some cases white), reaches a length of 22-25 mm. A thick spur is formed by the upper lobe. 6 stamens grow together with threads in several bundles. The anther of the Corydalis is hollow, single-celled. The fruit is an oblong, pointed, drooping pod-like 10-12 mm capsule. The seeds of the plant are black, finely punctate, shiny, 3 mm in diameter, with a caruncle. Flowering occurs in April-May, fruit ripening - May-June.
The corydalis grows hollow in the middle lane and in the south of European Russia, you can meet it in the deciduous forests of Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don and Saratov.
Another well-known species is the Siberian Corydalis. This annual plant grows on roadsides, clearings, old burnt areas and old stubble in Eastern Siberia near Lake Baikal. Flowers yellow and pale yellow. The fruits are a horizontally deflected or drooping, oblong box with black shiny seeds with a diameter of not more than 1.5 millimeters. Flowering begins in May-June.
Severtsov Corydalis is a perennial plant, reaching a height of 10 centimeters, with a round tuber with a diameter of 1.5 to 4 centimeters. Opposite, double-triple leaves of a yellow or orange-yellow hue. This variety blooms in March-May.
The difference between Ledebour's Corydalis and other species is pink flowers with a thick, upwardly curved spur. The tubers of the plant contain up to 1.24 percent of alkaloids. In some species, the presence of sanguinarine was found, but the problem with raw materials cannot be solved at their expense, since the size of the tubers is insufficient for this.
Useful properties
For medicinal purposesonly Corydalis tubers are suitable, they can be harvested only after fruiting. They must be cut into thin slices and dried. The remaining parts will not be needed as they contain toxic substances.
Preparations made from plant tubers have analgesic and antispastic effects, which is why they are used for arterial hypertension, convulsions, intestinal diseases and Parkinson's disease. In addition, corydalis officinalis has anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, antioxidant and hypnotic effects, normalizes hormonal levels in the weak half of humanity.
Application
Special decoctions and infusions are prepared from the tubers of the plant, which help with diseases of the nervous system, trembling paralysis, neuralgia, damage to the joints, ligamentous-muscular apparatus, bruises, arthrosis and arthritis. Corydalis root powder is used for insomnia, liver diseases, increased nervous excitability and gynecological diseases accompanied by menstrual irregularities.
Drug "Sangviritrin"
Corydalis is used for the manufacture of the medical preparation "Sangviritrin", which is used for myopathy, disorders of the motor system caused by diseases of the nervous system. The ointment must be rubbed onto the affected area twice a day, if necessary, an exclusive dressing will be required. The drug is moderately toxic, so when used, a burning sensation may occur. In this case, the treatment will have to be stopped immediately."Sangviritrin" is prescribed with extreme caution to patients with epilepsy, hyperkinesis, bronchial asthma and angina pectoris.
