Sukkulenten = Pflanzen
‡ Folgendes hat anthroposofische Einschlüße ‡
Frei nach:
Wilhelm Pelikan
For a long time, life continues to be held in closely in the spherical
or columnar form of the plant. Growth is slow. And that might be all there is
to it, in the cacti, if just this one pole were active in the plant, the pole
which finds expression in watery, swelling growth. But another pole is at work
as well, one which gathers its forces over an equally long period.
At first its gains on the plant form are limited to wholly peripheral
elements, to the warts and spines. Yet finally it has gathered sufficient
strength, and its hour has come. From the innermost heart it suddenly calls for
the flowering process which bursts out abruptly, rapidly, and in great
abundance. Often there is a wait of many years; but then the unexpected does
happen. From the tips of warts, from the axils, the flowers push out. They tend
to be handsome, white, yellow, or, in most cases, red. They have long funnels,
with plenty of nectar; the calyx tends to continue straight on into the petals,
without a dividing line. Above the inferior ovary crowd numerous stamens.
Bright, often rather loud, colours go hand in hand with strong scents
reminiscent of jasmine, orange flowers, vanilla, gum benjamin, orchids, or
violets. As one would expect with a flowering process of such general vehemence,
the individual flower is shortlived, sometimes lasting only a few hours.
In the floral region, the watery element appears only in form of nectar.
In the fruit, it is allowed to swell out again; most of the fruits are berries
and juicy edible fruits. Many are enjoyable to eat, and the Cactaceae are one
of the major fruitproducing families in the plant kingdom. In some species, the
whole cactus may be eaten like a fruit, and is bottled with sugar. Flavour,
sugar and acid make the stem into something of a fruit.
The phenomenon of aqueous congestion, of succulence, normally represents
a passing phrase during two stages in the development of a plant. It is soon
overcome. During germination, a plant is intensively taking up the watery
element. In many plants, the cotyledons and the piece of stem between them and
the radicle, the hypocotyl, do swell up to a greater or lesser degree. Soon
afterwards the plant connects with the element of air, and in the leaf broadens
out into a plane. What otherwise might well swell up into a sphere is taken up
by the forces of the periphery and opens out to infinity as a plane.
When plant growth is coming to an end, and once again moving from plane
to point, from leaf to seed (existence in leafform is now given up), the sphere
may develop, as an intermediary form between plane and point. Around the
developing fruit flow the ripening forces of the periphery. The fluid principle
may then be drawn into the developing fruit, and in a juicy fruit swell
mightily, into a sphere or spherelike structure. Thus one phase of swelling
growth comes at the beginning, the other at the end of sprouting, shooting
growth; between them lies the stretching of the stem, the unfolding of the
leaf. In the cactus, the intermediate stage is suppressed; in this plant, pole
immediately follows pole, and the leaf principle exists only as a timeform, not
as a spatial element. The green cactus sphere performs the functions of the
leaf in its green cortical layer. It will go on for a long time, often for
years, behaving as a leaf and assimilating, although no actual leaves are
allowed to develop.
Succulent forms similar to cacti are found in quite a number of plant
families; for instance, the stonecrops, Mesembryanthemum species, Liliaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, species of Fouqueria, Stapelia and certain Compositae
(Kleinias). All are based on congestion of etheric forces resulting in watery
swelling tendencies. This gives them great vitality, so that they are able to
hold their own even in extremely barren country.
The bodies of cacti show little lignification. The woodforming process
has "turned soft" in these plants, and they produce plenty of
mucilage instead. The mucilaginous compounds derive from cellulose. They also
contain a considerable amount of plant acid which arises because exhalation is
held back. In the process of life, sugar is normally broken down in the process
of respiration into carbon dioxide and water. In the succulents, this process
of degradation comes to a halt halfway through, and plant acids such as malic,
tartaric, oxalic and citric acid are formed. This type of acid makes unripe fruit
taste sour. Ripening results not so much in an increase in sugar content, but
rather in the combustion of fruit acids.
Speichern CO2 nachts um es tagsüber langSAM
abzugeben durch KLEINE Spaltöffnungen in dicke Blätter, worin Wasser
gespeichert ist. Der
Photosynthese findet im Stamm statt.
Succulent forms similar to cacti are found in a number of plant families
[he stonecrops, Mesembryanthemum species, Liliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, species of
Fouqueria, Stapelia and certain Compositae (Kleinias)] All are based on
congestion of etheric forces resulting in watery swelling tendencies. This
gives them great vitality, so that they are able to hold their own even in
extremely barren country.
Haben Calciumeigenschaften.
Carica Brassicales
Carpobrotus edulis = Mesembryanthemum crystallinum = sour fig/= ice plant = Eiskraut/= Sodapflanze versalzt Boden Salzverarbeiter Caryophylales
Chenopodiaceae Caryophylalles
Citrullus Cucurbitales
Commiphora Sapindales
Conophytum = Blühende Steine Steine/= kleine Sukkulenten Caryophylales/ahmen kleine Kiesel nach
Cucumis Cucurbitales
Ceiba pentandra
Lentibularia o. Utricularia vulgaris Utricularia leben auf Wasseroberfläche
Insektivoren Lamiales ‡ Mondzeitaltergruppe ‡
Lewisia cotyledon = Ashwood/= Bitterwurz/= Porzellanblümchen Überleben Trickster Caryophylales Sukkulenten
Lithops = Lebende Steine/= kleine Sukkulenten Caryophylalles/ahmen kleine Kiesel nach.
Lophophora williamsii = Peyotle = Anh.
Mom-c = bitter gourd/= bitter melon
Moringa Brassicales
Moringa Brassicales
Orchidaceae Asparagales
Ornithogalum = Doldigen Milchstern
Portulacceae Caryophylalles
Stapelia gigantea Geruch der Blume entsteht durch Zersetzung von Eiweiß durch Clostridium botulinum um Fliegen zur Bestäubung anzuziehen/= Carionflower/= Star-fishflower Täuschungsgruppe Gentianales
Xanthorriza Brassicales.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum