驴蹄草种

名称与词源

种小名palustris，名称来自拉丁文 palus，是“沼泽”的意思，形容驴蹄草多生长在沼泽、湿地等潮湿泥泞的地方。

在拉脱维亚，驴蹄草被称为Gundega，这个名称也用作女孩子的名字，是“火”的象征。Gundega这个字是由uguns（火）和dega（燃烧）两个字组合而成的，形容某些人在碰到驴蹄草的汁液时会产生灼热感。

形态特征

驴蹄草是多年生草本植物，株高15至60公分，最高可以生长至80公分。茎中空。叶子形状为圆形至肾脏形，具有钝锯齿状的叶缘，叶片厚，叶表面光亮蜡质。花黄色，花径2-5公分，具有4-9片（大多为5片）花瓣状的萼片，雄蕊黄色，雄蕊多数。在早春至夏末时开花。 在心皮表面各有一个小凹窝，花蜜就是这些凹窝分泌出来的。果实为绿色囊状的蓇葖果，蓇葖果长1公分，成熟时会裂开释放出一些种子，种子深褐色，长约0.25公分。

花含有丰富的花粉和花蜜，会吸引许多种类的昆虫，包括甲虫、苍蝇及蜜蜂等来采集，这些昆虫也会帮助驴蹄草传播花粉。

栽培

驴蹄草喜欢生长在潮湿泥泞的地方，例如湿地、沼泽地、沟渠及潮湿的林地，不过很少出现在泥炭地上。它在有部分遮荫的环境下生长的最好，植株长的非常茂盛。

生长在黏质土壤里的驴蹄草繁殖力很强，只要一小段的根状茎就可生长繁殖，蔓延散布至花园各处，因此在某些花园里被当做是杂草。但是在气候温暖且排水良好的土壤里，它却不大会蔓延，很容易枯死。

驴蹄草和许多毛茛科植物一样，整株植物体都可能含有刺激性或是有毒的物质。已经有报告指出，以手过度的触摸植物体会导致皮肤发炎及发生皮疹。

Caltha palustris, known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium sized perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times.

Description

Caltha palustris is a 10–80 centimetres (4–31+1⁄2 in) high, hairless, fleshy, perennial, herbaceous plant that dies down in autumn and overwinters with buds near the surface of the marshy soil. The plants have many, 2–3 millimetres (3⁄32–1⁄8 in) thick strongly branching roots. Its flowering stems are hollow, erect or more or less decumbent. The alternate true leaves are in a rosette, each of which consist of a petiole that is about four times as long as the kidney-shaped leaf blade, which is between 3–25 cm (1+1⁄4–9+3⁄4 in) long and 3–20 cm (1+1⁄4–7+3⁄4 in) wide.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

The oldest description that is generally acknowledged in the botanical literature dates from 1700 under the name Populago by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in part 1 of his Institutiones rei herbariae. He distinguished between P. flore major, P. flore minor and P. flore plena, and already says all of these are synonymous to Caltha palustris, without mentioning any previous author. As a plant name published before 1 May 1753, Populago Tourn. is invalid. And so is the first description as Caltha palustris by Carl Linnaeus in his Genera Plantarum of 1737.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found in much of the northeastern United States.

Ecology

The marsh-marigold grows in places with oxygen-rich water near the surface of the soil. It likes richer soils, but dislikes application of fertilizer and avoids high concentrations of phosphate and ammonium, and is also shy of brackish water. It is often associated with seepage that is rich in iron, because iron ions react with phosphate, thus making it unavailable for plants. The resulting insoluble mineral appears as "rusty" flocs on the water soil and the surface of the stems of marsh plants. Around the edge of lakes and rivers it grows between reeds, and it can be found in black alder coppices and other regularly flooded and always moist forests.

Toxicity

Caltha contains several active substances of which the most important from a toxicological point of view is protoanemonin. Consumption of larger quantities of the plant may cause convulsions, burning of the throat, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dizziness and fainting. Contact of the skin or mucous membranes with the juices can cause blistering or inflammation, and gastric illness if ingested. Younger parts seem to contain less toxics and heating breaks these substances down. Small amounts of Caltha in hay do not cause problems when fed to husbandry, but larger quantities lead to gastric illness.

Uses

Early spring greens and buds of Caltha palustris are edible when cooked (but are poisonous when raw). Young leaves or buds should be submerged a few times in fresh boiling water until barely tender, cut into bite-sized pieces, lightly salted, and served with melted butter and vinegar. Very young flowerbuds have been prepared like capers and used as a spice.

The common marsh marigold is planted as an ornamental throughout temperate regions in the world, and sometimes recommended for low maintenance wildlife gardens. The double-flowered cultivar 'Flore Pleno' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Culture

Caltha palustris is a plant commonly mentioned in literature, including Shakespeare:

Winking Marybuds begin

To open their golden eyes (Cymbeline, ii. 3).

It also appears in Charlotte Brontë's Shirley:

They both halted on the green brow of the Common: they looked down on the deep valley robed in May raiment; on varied meads, some pearled with daisies, and some golden with king-cups: to-day all this young verdure smiled clear in sunlight; transparent emerald and amber gleams played over it

and in Thomas Hardy's poem 'Overlooking the River Stour':