Herbaceous plants are found in every natural area and on every continent. They are extremely common and familiar to almost everyone. What are their most famous species and what are the features of such representatives of the flora?
Ordinary oxalis
This is a perennial that does not exceed ten centimeters in height. Like other types of herbaceous plants, oxalis is distinguished by a creeping rhizome. The leaves have long petioles and heart-shaped leaves that fold lengthwise. Flowers solitary, with a white corolla, occasionally purple or lilac. The fruits look like light brown boxes. Oxalis blooms in May or June. The fruits ripen by August. Oxalis is distinguished by vegetative propagation, in which the rhizome grows, and the seeds from the boxes also spread. Many other herbaceous plants, examples of which will be given below, also use these methods. Oxalis is found in damp coniferous forests, its thickets tend to form a continuous cover. It can be eaten: the leaves are rich in oxalic acid and vitamin C, suitable for making soup,seasonings, salad, tea.
Dioecious nettle
When compiling a list that includes perennial herbaceous plants (everyone knows examples of them), it is definitely worth mentioning this. Nettle is a perennial, reaching a height of one and a half meters. The plant has a long horizontal rhizome. The period of flowering and fruiting continues all summer. Seeds are used for propagation: one plant can produce up to twenty-two thousand of them. Nettles can often be seen along roadsides and fences, in wastelands, most often it creates dense thickets. The plant can be used for food and medicinal purposes. From young shoots, you can cook green cabbage soup, and as a prophylactic, nettle is used when there is a lack of vitamins in the body. In addition, drugs based on it are used to heal wounds and stop blood, to stimulate the gallbladder. Folk recipes use nettle for hair care. The plant is suitable for feeding pigs, birds, cows. The stems can be used to make fiber suitable for making cloth or rope, while the leaves with the rhizome used to be used as a natural dye.
Large celandine
Perennial plant reaches a height of almost a meter. Celandine has straight and branched stems with leaves, the upper side of which is green, and the lower side is gray. Herbaceous plants, examples of which were given above, bloom rather inconspicuously. Quite another matter - celandine. He has brightyellow flowers arranged in umbels. The fruits are pod-shaped capsules with many seeds. Any part of the plant contains orange juice. Celandine blooms from May to August, and the fruits appear in July. You can meet the plant along roads and dwellings, in ditches, abandoned parks and gardens. It is used in veterinary medicine and medicine, as well as as an insecticide: celandine powder can protect cultural plantings from garden beetles. The juice is used to remove skin growths, and the grass is used to dye wool in yellow and red tones. If all herbaceous plants, examples of which were given above, can be eaten, then celandine is poisonous. It is not suitable for feed purposes either.
River gravel
Herbaceous plants, photos and names of which are not so well known, are also worthy of mention. For example, river gravel, reaching seventy centimeters in height and characterized by strong roots and a thick dark red stem. The plant has several flowers in the form of bells, with pinkish petals covered with brown veins. The fruits are distributed by people and animals, they have special trailers. Gravilat blooms in June. The fruits ripen in July. You can see the gravel along the edges of swamps or reservoirs, as well as in meadows and in the bushes. Its roots are used in folk medicine and for making paint. This genus of herbaceous plants is harmless and suitable for making a fresh salad or green seasonal soup.
Marsh thistle
Listing herbaceous plants, photos of whicheasily recognized by everyone, it is worth naming this species. Sow thistle is a perennial that can grow up to two and a half meters in height. The plant contains milky juice. Sow thistle is distinguished by a small powerful rhizome and arrow-shaped leaves. Its inflorescences resemble baskets located at the very top of the stem. They are distinguished by their yellow coloration. Fruits that ripen by August look like tetrahedral achenes. You can meet marsh thistle on the shore of a reservoir, quite corresponding to the name - near a swamp, in thickets of shrubs on wet soil, as well as in floodplains: in such areas, plants can be seen in the grass, by the road or in a ditch.
