Centaurium is a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Gentian ( Gentianaceae ). The genus includes about 20 species, common in Eurasia , North and South America and Australia .
| Centaury | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Centaurium erythraea Flowers | |||||||||||||||||||
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| International scientific name | |||||||||||||||||||
Centaurium Hill , 1756 | |||||||||||||||||||
Content
- 1 Name
- 2 Distribution and habitat
- 3 Biological Description
- 4 Meaning and application
- 5 Taxonomy
- 5.1 Synonyms
- 5.2 Species
- 6 notes
- 7 Literature
- 8 References
Title
The scientific name of the genus is derived from Greek. κενταύριον - the name of a certain red-flowered plant in Dioscorides , possibly Centaurium erythraea . According to Pliny , the centaury was used by the centaur Chiron [2] [3] . Max Fasmer argues that centaury is a book name ascending through the lat. centaurium to Greek κενταύριον "centaur grass", but with comprehension according to folk etymology: lat. centum "one hundred" and aurum "gold" [4] .
In the Explanatory Dictionary, V. I. Dahl gives some Russian folk and dialect names for centaury: heart, spool, small cornflower, centaury [5] , zolotnik grass, spool [6] . V. N. Trishin in the Dictionary of Synonyms also cites a golden centaury, a gull [7] .
Distribution and habitat
Centaury grow wildly mainly in the temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere . To the north they reach 59 ° C. sh., also found in northern Iran and North Africa . One species is found in Chile and Australia . In Russia, several species grow wildly on sunny meadows, in dry shrubs , on arable land .
Biological Description
Perennial or annual herbaceous plants with simple or pseudo-dichotomously branching stems .
The leaves are opposite, sessile or stalk-bearing, whole-edge.
The flowers are pink, rarely yellow or white, collected in a loose two-beam forked corymbose inflorescence , representing a fork (semi-umbrella) or dichasia , in which the main axis develops two lateral axes. Calyx about five or four cloves, angular, tubular, often dissected. Corolla about five or four cloves with an elongated cylindrical tube and almost flat limb. Stamens in the amount of 4-5, with bare elongated anthers , twisting screw when opened, and thin threads . The stigma of the pestle is bifid or capitate, sometimes whole, the column is very thin, threadlike. Ovary single- ovary .
The fruit is an elongated two-leaf single-bivalve or two-sill box , both wings of which are strongly twisted when opened. Seeds are numerous, located at the seams of the box.
Meaning and Application
Representatives of the genus contain truly bitter means, or bitterness ( lat. Amara vera, seu pura ) [8] , glycosides ( erythaurin , erythrocentaurin ), flavonoids , oleanolic acids and alkaloid gentianine [9] , chromium salts [10] .
Centaury - a tested medicinal plant , apparently, was known in ancient times, as it is already mentioned in the herbalists of the XIII century [11] . Under the trade name Centaurii herba ( Centaurii herba ), preparations with the active substance of centaury are listed in the Russian Drug Register and are included in the pharmacological groups of appetite regulators, anthelmintic, and laxatives [12] .
Centaury is a part of such drugs as Kanefron H (used in the treatment of chronic infections of the bladder ( cystitis ) and kidneys ( pyelonephritis ), non-infectious chronic inflammation of the kidneys ( glomerulonephritis , interstitial nephritis ), alcoholism ; to prevent the formation of urinary stones , including after their removal) [13] , Depuraflux (used for acute and chronic constipation ) [14] , Bittner balsam [15] and Maurer [16] .
Tinctures , infusions , decoctions and fees including centaury herbs in scientific medicine are used in the treatment of eczema , pyelonephritis, urolithiasis, chronic calculous and non-calculous (stoneless) cholecystitis , chronic gastritis , gastric ulcers or duodenal ulcer , dyskinesia , dyskinesia , hepatitis [17] .
The plant is also used in folk medicine (from scrofula , chest diseases, consumption , with intermittent fever , with poor digestion) and veterinary medicine - from noritsa in horses.
For use with medicinal purposes, centaury grass is harvested in June - July [18] .
When growing centaury as a plant material on an industrial scale, sites with fertile , loamy or light loamy soils with a groundwater level of at least 2-3 m from the soil surface are selected. Seeds are sown in spring on well-treated and rolled soil in an ordinary way, to a depth of 0.5 to 1 cm. Row spacing is 45-60 cm. To reduce the cost of weed control when growing sprouts of centaury to a height of 8-10 cm, it is recommended to sow the rows between the bluegrass meadow ( Poa pratensis L. ) mixed with creeping clover ( Trifolium repens L. ) [19]
Centaury is used to make English bitter vodka [20] .
Taxonomy
Synonyms
- Erythraea Borkh.
- Gyrandra Griseb. - a possible synonym [21] .
- Schenkia Griseb. - a possible synonym [21] .
- Zeltnera G. Mans. - a possible synonym [21] .
Views
The list is based on EOL data [22] .
- Centaurium arizonicum ( A.Gray ) A.Heller [23]
- Centaurium beyrichii ( Torr. & A. Gray ex Torr.) BLRob.
- Centaurium breviflorum ( Shinners ) BLTurner
- Centaurium calycosum ( Buckl. ) Fern.
- Centaurium davyi ( Jeps. ) Abrams
- Centaurium erythraea Rafn - Centaury
- Centaurium exaltatum ( Griseb. ) W.Wight ex Piper
- Centaurium glanduliferum ( Correll ) BLTurner
- Centaurium littorale ( D. Turner ) Gilmour
- Centaurium maryannum BLTurner
- Centaurium muehlenbergii (Griseb.) W.Wight ex Piper
- Centaurium multicaule BLRob.
- Centaurium namophilum Reveal , CRBroome & Beatley
- Centaurium nudicaule ( Engelm. ) BLRob.
- Centaurium pulchellum ( Sw. ) Druce - Beautiful centaury
- Centaurium quitense ( Kunth ) BLRob.
- Centaurium sebaeoides (Griseb.) Druce
- Centaurium spicatum ( L. ) Fritsch - Spiny centaury
- Centaurium texense (Griseb.) Fern.
- Centaurium trichanthum (Griseb.) BLRob.
- Centaurium venustum (Gray) BLRob.
Notes
- ↑ For the conventionality of specifying the class of dicotyledons as a superior taxon for the plant group described in this article, see the APG Systems section of the Dicotyledonous article .
- ↑ Genus 1151. Centaurium Centaurium // Centaurium // Flora of the USSR : 30 tons / started at hand. and under chap. ed. V. L. Komarova . - M .; L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1952. - T. 18 / ed. volumes B.K. Shishkin , E.G. Bobrov . - S. 527-535. - 802 s. - 3000 copies.
- ↑ Botanary search entry for Centaurium . Dave's Garden. Date of treatment February 8, 2010. Archived April 17, 2012.
- ↑ Max Fasmer’s Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language - Centaury (Retrieved February 9, 2010)
- ↑ Heart // Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language : in 4 volumes / auth. V.I. Dahl . - 2nd ed. - SPb. : Printing house of M.O. Wolf , 1880-1882.
- ↑ Gold ; Zolotnik // Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language : in 4 volumes / auth. V.I. Dahl . - 2nd ed. - SPb. : Printing house of M.O. Wolf , 1880-1882.
- ↑ Trishin V.N. Electronic Dictionary of the Russian Language of the ASIS System (1993-2009). Date of treatment February 9, 2010. Archived April 17, 2012.
- ↑ Bitterness - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- ↑ Medical Encyclopedia - Medicinal Plants (Retrieved February 9, 2010)
- ↑ Mineral salts and elements // Medicinal plants
- ↑ Centaury // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Centaury grass // Register of medicines of Russia
- ↑ Kanefron H // Register of medicines of Russia
- ↑ Depuraflux // Russian Drug Register
- ↑ Original Big Bitner Balm // Russian Drugs Register
- ↑ Original Maurera Balm // Russian Medicines Register
- ↑ Medicinal plants / Authors-comp. I.N. Pustyrsky, V.N. Prokhorov. - Mn. : Book House, 2005 .-- 704 p. - (Big book of tips).
- ↑ When to Collect Medicinal Plants // Medicinal Plants
- ↑ Centaury umbrella. Elements of agricultural farming // Medicinal plants
- ↑ Vodka // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. 1907-1909.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Centaury (English) : information on the GRIN website.
- ↑ Centaury (English) information on the Encyclopedia of Life website (EOL).
- ↑ G. Mansion considers this species a synonym for Zeltnera arizonica (A.Gray) G.Mans. - See Mansion G. A new classification of the polyphyletic genus Centaurium Hill ( Chironiinae , Gentianaceae ): description of the New World endemic Zeltnera , and reinstatement of Gyrandra Griseb. and Schenkia Griseb. // Taxon. - August 2004. - Issue. 53 (3) . - S. 719-740 .
Literature
- Grossheim A. A. Rod 1151. Centaurium Centaurium // Centaurium // Flora of the USSR : 30 tons / started at hand. and under chap. ed. V. L. Komarova . - M .; L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1952. - T. 18 / ed. volumes B.K. Shishkin , E.G. Bobrov . - S. 527-535. - 802 s. - 3000 copies.
- Mansion G. A new classification of the polyphyletic genus Centaurium Hill ( Chironiinae , Gentianaceae ): description of the New World endemic Zeltnera , and reinstatement of Gyrandra Griseb. and Schenkia Griseb. // Taxon. - August 2004. - Issue. 53 (3) . - S. 719-740 .
- Centaury // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.