How To Grow Podophyllum

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Twenty years ago, in the fall, I was presented with a strange plant: it had several small roots and stems. The plant overwintered well and began to grow rapidly

I really liked its look. A lot of tubular light vertical stems up to 70 cm high. The stem bears 2-3 carved leaves. The leaves are large, 25-35 cm wide, 10-15 cm long. The leaves are parallel to the ground. In autumn, they become covered with bronze spots. In winter, the leaves disappear. The bush is very exotic.

After a couple of years, in May, the plant finally appeared on the buds. I waited impatiently: how will it bloom? The beauty was amazing - the leaves had not yet fully opened, and the bud had already blossomed. The flower is large, up to 7 cm in diameter, pink.

In early August, I was again amazed: many juicy bright red berries appeared between the leaves. The berries are very large, 5-7 cm long, up to 4 cm wide. In shape, the fruits of the plant looked like a large elongated plum.

At this time, the bush looked very beautiful again. Large carved green leaves with bronze spots hung on vertical light stems with a thick wall, and clusters of large bright red berries were kept between them and under them (see photo in the region).

I began to collect information about this unusual plant bit by bit.

It turned out that this rare herbaceous perennial plant, called Podophyllum, is from the Barberry family. About ten species of podophyll are known. I have a podophyllum Emod (P. emodii) in my garden. It grows naturally in India, North America, East Asia.

Podophyllum is an unpretentious plant, winter-hardy, not affected by diseases and pests. It can grow in one place for many years. My podophyll has been growing in one place for 18 years. During this time, I have never watered, fed or fertilized it. I just weeded. Some of my plants are placed on the north side of the currant bushes, in the shade. Part - from the south, in the sun. On both plots, the plants look great. Only on the south side, the berry yield is twice as large.

The podophyllus bushes look very impressive against the background of a solid carpet of periwinkle or stonecrop.

Podophyll reproduces very simply. At the end of summer, the rhizomes with a bud of renewal are separated from the bush and planted to a depth of 5-7 cm at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other.

Podophyllus and seeds reproduce well. I separate the seeds from the pulp. The pulp is juicy and tasty. I cut it finely, mix it with honey, put it in sterile jars and put it in the refrigerator. Every morning I eat 1-2 teaspoons of this sweet mixture on an empty stomach. Tasty and healthy.

I immediately sow the freshly harvested seeds into the soil, mark the place with pegs. Seedlings will appear only after a year, or maybe later. Please be patient. By the way, the roots, leaves, seeds of podophyllum are poisonous! Only the pulp of the berry is edible.

Extracts from the roots of podophyllum have long been used in folk medicine as laxatives, emetic and antihelminthic drugs. It was also used to enhance bile secretion. Podophyllum rhizomes are used to obtain podophyllin medicine. Interest in podophyllin has arisen as a drug that inhibits the growth of malignant tumors. Now it is approved for use in Russian scientific medicine as an adjuvant used in the treatment of papillomatosis of the larynx, as well as for papillomas of the bladder.

This is an exotic plant that adorns my site. Podophyll can also decorate your site, only you need to take into account its small feature. In the spring, when leaves with a bud appear, the podophyll must be covered from spring frosts. The plant is not afraid of frost and will look great, but if the flower freezes, there will be no berries. If you need advice on growing this unusual plant, call: 372-41-62 - I will help with advice.