The plant kingdom is not the most numerous on planet Earth, but it is definitely its real decoration. The variety of shapes and colors is simply amazing. A properly selected collection of plants planted in our garden or apartment makes our life cozy and beautiful. Moreover, it is the eternal source of our nutrition, the basis for the production of many medicines. They allow us to dress, build houses and much more.
Among the whole variety of flowering plants of the dicotyledon class, the Vereskov family plays.
general description
Representatives of the family live in almost all corners of the globe. For them, only arid steppes with deserts are inaccessible. They prefer acidic, moist soil. Almost always are in symbiosis with representatives of another kingdom - the hornbeam. Mutual exchange of nutrients allows both representatives of wildlife to successfully develop.
Representatives of the Heathers family are known for such popular berries as lingonberries, blueberries, blueberries or cranberries. Summer residents love to decorate their gardens with calcium, pyris, whitewash and many other ornamental plants. They are loved both for the beauty of the flowers and for the decorative appearance of the shrubs of the Vereskov family.
In Russia, they are mainly represented by shrubs and shrubs. Perennial herbs are less common. The only strawberry tree grows only on the Black Sea coast.
We will meet some representatives of this family.
Wild rosemary
He wandered from the tundra to gardeners, aka wild rosemary or Andromeda - a stunted, evergreen shrub with beautiful pink flowers that looked like lanterns. It blooms from April to June. Sometimes buds may appear again, in the fall. Develops slowly. The growth is not more than 3 cm per year. But on favorable acidic soil with good mushroom neighbors, the whitewashed forms a dense beautiful carpet.
Care should be taken to this genus of the Vereskov family. Its leaves contain a substance that causes excitement of the central nervous system, which can lead to death. But with proper use, the leaves can be used to treat rheumatism, pulmonary tuberculosis, and are also useful in some gynecological diseases.
Arbutus
In the south of the country, gardens are decorated with an equally famous representative of the Vereskov family - strawberry tree. The greatest diversity of these plants can be observed on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and South America. Our Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, also boasts these beautiful plants. Bright ripe fruits give them the greatest decorativeness.
The plant loves the sun, is resistant to drought. Under favorable conditions, a tree can live very long. Scientists know several instances, whose age is more than 1000 years. It is hard to imagine how many events took place under the crowns of these giants.
Hard, durable strawberry wood is popular in many carpentry. But just like in the leaves of andromeda, but already in the bark, it contains the toxic substance andromedotoxin. This often leads to the death of goats and other animals that feed on bark.
Dwarf artery
This plant looks very decorative in landscape design with stone slides. The Far Eastern representative of the Vereskov family, a unique creeping shrub in its structure - dwarf artery. Inflorescences of white or pale pink water-lily flowers on a background of a carpet of small leaves look beautiful.
The genus of arterics is represented by the only species that was first described in Russia in 1872. The plant is found in our Far East and Japan. The height of an adult bush rarely reaches 15 centimeters. Short branches and small leaves form a dense carpet. The fruits are kept on the bush for a year or more. Arteria fully develops only by the year 20 of life and can continue to live very long. Theoretically, by updating the branches, it can exist forever.
Bear vine
It is worth paying attention to an interesting genus of shrubs of the Vereskov family - bearberry or bear vine (sometimes the name is used - bear grapes). In folk medicine, the healing properties of tea from the leaves of this shrub are well known. Most often it is used in the treatment of cystitis. Today bearberry is easy to buy in pharmacies under the trade name "Uriflorin".
Interestingly, Russian craftsmen used branches of this shrub in the production of morocco.
