Content
Altai bathhouse (Trollins altaicus), or Altai flame, is a brush-root herbaceous perennial with medicinal properties, part of the Ranunculaceae family. It has been cultivated as an ornamental garden plant for almost one and a half hundred years (since 1874). Especially popular in Europe. Listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan.
Botanical description of the species
Altai bathhouse is a bush 0.8-0.9 m high with single erect, simple (occasionally branching) leafy stems ending in buds. The flower arrow of the plant emerges from a basal rosette (about 25-30 cm tall), consisting of long-petioled, palmately divided into 5 diamond-shaped segments almost to the very base of leaf plates shaped like a regular pentagon (5-12 cm in diameter). A few stem leaves, significantly smaller towards the apex, the lower ones on petioles, the upper ones sessile.
The spherical, not too large (up to 4-5 cm) flowers of the Altai swimsuit are collected from 10-20 bright golden-yellow or deep orange broadly ovate sepals, which have a reddish sheen on the outside. The nectary petals, widened at the base and pointed at the apex, are of a juicy orange-red hue.The anthers are darker in color - purple. A fully opened Altai flame flower has black stamens that are clearly visible.
The flowering of the swimsuit begins in the first half of May and lasts about three weeks, sometimes at the end of summer (August) it may recur. In place of the fallen buds, after a few weeks, round leaflet fruits are formed, filled with shiny, black, slightly ribbed seeds.
Habitat
Wild Altai swimmers prefer to settle in meadows and fields, forest edges, fir forests and along the banks of reservoirs. They are often found in the Siberian region, Altai, as well as in Mongolia, northern China and Central Asia. Altai Ogonyok grows at an altitude of about 0.9-2.3 km above sea level, along the border of the forest belt.
Lights are often found in the foothills of Altai, which is why they got their name
Application in breeding
Based on three wild-growing swimsuits (Altai, European and Chinese), through several crossings, breeders bred a hybrid variety - the cultivated swimsuit (Trollins cultorum). Using the hybrid, they create a variety of new forms and varieties of swimsuit with almost white or pale lemon flowers.
Medicinal properties and contraindications
All parts of the Altai swimsuit are considered poisonous; not only the flowers, but also the stems and leaves are used for medicinal purposes. The following were found in petals and greens: saponins, alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, choline, lipase, phenolcarboxylic acids, vitamin C. Fire seeds contain fatty oils (more than 30%).
Dried Altai bathing suit has pronounced wound-healing, absorbable, anti-inflammatory and decongestant properties. In folk medicine, decoctions, creams, ointments and infusions made from this plant are used. Healers and healers use Altai fire to treat:
- haemorrhoids;
- scabies;
- stomach diseases;
- swelling;
- scurvy;
- epilepsy;
- boils and festering wounds;
- furunculosis;
- infectious hepatitis;
- long-healing and bleeding wounds;
- dropsy;
- kidney and liver diseases;
- women's diseases (cycle disorders).
Any medicines from the Altai bathing suit are absolutely contraindicated during pregnancy, breastfeeding, as well as in case of individual intolerance and allergic manifestations.
Can it be grown at home?
It is not difficult to grow the Altai bathhouse in the garden or on a personal plot, since this unpretentious crop does not require any specific techniques. The process begins with collecting and drying the flame seeds. Before planting, the seed is stratified by cold. To do this, the seeds are mixed with slightly damp sand and kept in a bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (at + 2-4 °C), intended for storing vegetables.
After waiting 3-4 months (usually in March), the swimsuit is sown in a container or box with a light soil mixture, then the containers are kept in a warm (+ 20-22 °C) and bright place. Shoots appear slowly, not earlier than the second half of April, or even only at the beginning of May.Light seedlings are well watered and protected from the scorching sun; they dive after the formation of 2-3 full-fledged leaves. Seedlings of the Altai swimsuit are transplanted into the open ground on the site in August.
The lights in the garden look quite unusual
For the Altai swimsuit, select an open area well illuminated by the sun's rays with humus, fertile, structured soil of neutral acidity. Humus and peat are added to poor soil before planting (2-3 kg per m2). Altai fire bushes grown from seedlings bloom only after 3-4 years.
Further care for the swimsuit is as follows:
- Regular and abundant watering, especially in hot weather. Only sun-warmed, settled water can be used to irrigate the Altai fire.
- Fertilizing during flowering with any complex fertilizer (Agricola, nitrophoska, etc.).
- Weeding. There is no need to loosen the plantings of the Altai swimsuit, since its roots are very superficial and are easily damaged. It's better to just mulch the ground under the bushes.
- Trimming. The faded heads of the Altai fire are removed. In autumn, cut off all withered foliage at the root.
Swimsuits do not need any shelter for the winter. Altai lights survive even the most severe Siberian frosts well.
You can propagate the swimsuit by dividing the rhizomes of an adult (4-5 years old) overgrown bush.At the end of August or in the first week of September, the plant is completely dug up and cut (cut) into parts, each of which has its own roots and renewal buds. Then the resulting divisions of the Altai fire are planted in the right places, slightly deepening the root collar (by 1.5-2 cm).
Conclusion
Altai bathhouse is a plant that is not yet very common in gardens and personal plots. However, its unusual and natural appearance can add some zest and wild flavor to elaborate cultural plantings. This quality makes the Altai flame very promising in gardening.
