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Acquaintance of a person with aspidistra took place a little less than two centuries ago. And for this small, by historical standards, plant life from the Asian region managed to make a lot of mysteries, to become a symbol of anti-fascism during the Second World War and a sign of the middle class during the time of Queen Victoria.
Aspidistra: the history of the discovery of the plant
The first plants, today attributed to the Asparagus family, were discovered and described in 1822 by the botanist Jean Goler. He also gave the aspidistre a name, but according to the then prevailing notions, the genus was assigned to the Lilein family, where it remained until 2009.
The reason for attributing to plants related to asparagus and lily of the valley was the fact that, unlike lilies, it did not have bulbs. Surprisingly, pundits noticed such an obvious circumstance so late, but practically from the discovery until the 80s of the last century, botanists paid very little attention to aspidistra.
This circumstance can be judged only because the methods of pollination of the plant are still not clear, and the flowering itself has been studied very little. In addition, in the 1970s, only 8–10 species were described by scientists, but over the next decade, about thirty more species were found in China. By 2008, scientists had 93 independent species of aspidistra at the disposal of scientists. And today they are talking about 101 species, and not all discoveries have been made, because it turned out that the plants of this promising kind have a very extensive range.
Where does aspidistra grow?
The homeland of aspidistra can be considered southeast and east Asia. Plants of this genus are part of the above-ground flora in the humid forest regions of East India, Taiwan and Japan. And yet the largest number of species found in the Chinese province of Guangxi, and the second place in the number of open species is Vietnam, where in 2013 one of the new species was discovered.
The difficulty of detecting and describing plants is explained not only by the richness of the flora of the growing areas, but also by the fact that among aspidistra plants there are many endemics with a clearly limited area.
Aspidistra plant: description and features of
Aspidistra, regardless of habitat, is a perennial herbaceous plant, in which creeping surface rhizomes, single or collected with small bundles, almost without her plants, without creeping rhizomes, single or collected with small bundles, without plants, without plants.leaves and fleshy bell-shaped or cupped flowers of various shapes, colors and sizes.
Flowers, like leaves, have very short petioles, so for many gardeners the flowering of an aspidistra plant becomes a big surprise. The fruit formed after pollination of a flower is a dense round or pear-shaped berry with one or several seeds inside.
Despite the lack of attention from scientists, aspidistra were quickly introduced into culture. More than a hundred years ago, the plant was used for landscaping in the United States. Here aspidistra grows in interiors and is actively grown in open ground, the benefit is that the properties of the crop allow it to tolerate even small sub-zero temperatures, sparse watering and shade.
And in Europe, especially in the UK, aspidistra tall or elatior has become truly iconic. Moreover, the plant became popular not only due to the decorativeness of dense green foliage of oblong-pointed shape, but also because of its surprisingly unpretentiousness.
Until now, there is a perception that even without any supervision and care, culture retains its vitality, and aspidistra has been nicknamed “the cast-iron plant” for about a century. Culture easily tolerates content in deep shade, in conditions of excessive watering or low humidity. Decorative and health plants do not harm even the temperature to –5 ° C or below.
In addition to plants with smooth green leaves, very reminiscent of lily of the valley, in places where the aspidistra grows in nature, specimens with variegated and striped foliage are found. Today, on the basis of this variety Variegata with white or yellowish stripes along the entire length of the sheet numerous cultivars of the plant have been developed. There are aspidistra and with clarified ends of leaf plates, and plants with completely spotted leaves.
The number of varieties available for room gardeners today is in the tens. Among the most interesting aspidistra plants:
- "Asahi" or "sun" in translation from Japanese is distinguished by the fact that the young foliage has a chocolate-brown shade, and then gradually turns green from base to top;
- "Hoshi-Zora" or "starry sky" with large leaves, decorated with rare bright spots;
- “Songs of Lennon” with long pointed leaves and a central pale green stripe on leaf plates;
- "Okame" with cream-white stripes along the entire length of the sheet.
Aspidistra: interesting facts
There are many plants with a long interesting history, as for aspidistra, this culture for 200 years, which it is known to science, managed to acquire an incredible amount of bright and evenincredible stories.
The first interesting fact related to aspidistra is its name. You can often hear the version that the plant owes its name to “aspids,” that is, to snakes. However, if we look at the memoirs of the culture discoverer, it turns out that, calling the plant an aspidistroi, the botanist was thinking about the shape of its leaves, similar in some species to broad double-edged swords. Since, as J. Goler joked, the name "gladiolus" was already taken, I had to call the open genus aspidistroy.
The second mystery or interesting fact about aspidistra concerns the method of pollination of plants. Many sources claim that the cup-shaped flowers of the plant that are at ground level are pollinated by slugs, snails and even small crustaceans. This version, which existed for many decades, today is recognized as a myth.
Recent studies conducted in a number of countries by scientists in Britain, China, the United States and Russia have shown that, depending on where the aspidistra grows, are tiny pintails, mushroom mosquitoes and gall midge flies. And for the last larvae, aspidistra flowers become home. The larvae that have been set aside by adult insects and developing inside the corolla even try to be pollen, but, ripening, they come out and transfer pollen particles from the stamens to the pistil.
At home aspidistra, in Japan, the leaves of this plant for many centuries been used to divide on a common tray or in a box of individual dishes, which is traditional for national cuisine. True today, when skilfully carved flat greens are replaced by paper or plastic, aspidistra leaves can only be seen in fine dining restaurants or in the works of carving masters.
Not less interesting is the fact that aspidistra is a plant that is extremely popular with modern masters of branch design. Plastic and very hardy leaves are good for decorating bouquets, rosettes or boutonnieres, as well as for larger works.
Greens for a long time does not lose its rich color, brilliance and elasticity even under the sun and spotlights, in the wind and in the cold.
What does an aspidistra symbolize?
Many nations have a saying that everything new is well forgotten old, which fully applies to aspidistra. Today, growers are increasingly paying attention to unpretentious foliage culture, surviving even in the most inappropriate conditions.
And the first heavy wave of popularity of the plant came during the reign of Queen Victoria, when floral ornaments and an abundance of details in the interior became fashionable. The main feature of the style that emerged at the time was natural flowers, which appeared in the homes of not only high-ranking persons, but also of ordinary people.
It would seem that complicated! Today it is not difficult to grow your favorite crop in a pot, but a hundred years ago flower growers faced a banal lack of light. The gas lighting of the houses could not satisfy the need of the plants for light, moreover, mercilessly poisoned the air, therefore only the most hardy survived. Aspidistra is a plant that has remained green and fresh even in the conditions of England at the end of the last century.
The appearance of a pot with aspidistra in the house was a sign of prosperity and an indicator of belonging to the middle class.
Essentially, the plant became the main character in George Orwell’s novel. The book “Keep the Aspidistra Flying” was published in 1936. In the USSR, it was published under the name “Long live the Ficus!” In the country. The novel tells about the life of Gordon Comstock, a poet and writer who could not get recognition and therefore works in an advertising office.
No matter how bad a hero is, he notes that an aspidistra, symbolizing a desire for a prosperous life at the beginning of the last century, is always green and fresh.
A kind of confrontation between a man and a plant ends when Gordon meets love, gets married and finds out that he will become a father. It turns out that the desire for respectability is not so bad, and aspidistra, a symbol of success in society, is even pretty.
The writer later admitted that he was ashamed of this novel because the book had autobiographical features and was published only because of the plight of the author. This means that the classic himself acknowledged the validity of the slogan in the title.
A little later, already in 1938, the aspidistra became the heroine of a popular song.“The largest aspidistra in the world” was performed by Gracie Fields, and during the war years it became a peculiar anthem of resistance, since its motive became the call sign of the largest anti-fascist radio station in England, also named after ASPI or Aspidistra.
