Araliaceae family. Homeland - South Africa, Madagascar. In nature, there are about 20 species - evergreen trees and shrubs. The genus Cussonia is named after professor of botany Pierre Cusson at the University of Montpellier.
- Cussonia spicata - or "cabbage tree," in its homeland grows up to 7 m in height, trunk diameter about 60 cm. It bushes well, the leaves are grayish-green, twice pinnately dissected (of 8-12 segments) with a serrate edge, opposite located on long petioles. In adult trees, the trunk is gradually exposed from below, the bulk of the leaves are preserved at the tops of the shoots, the leaves sit very tightly. Petioles are gradually extended, exceeding the length of the leaf by 3-4 times. The flowers are yellow-green, collected in racemose inflorescences. Cussonia spicata is used as a medicinal plant, a decoction from its roots is used in the treatment of fever, as a diuretic and laxative, a decoction of the bark is used in the treatment of malaria.
- Cussonia scarlet-headed Cussonia sphaerocephala - a tree reaching 2 m in height, trunk diameter about 25 cm. Leaves are dark green, with a serrate edge, on long petioles, twice pinnately dissected, central - a larger segment of the leaf about 8 cm long and 5 cm wide. The flowers are creamy green, collected in apical inflorescences, about 15 cm long with dense ears, each 5-7 cm long and 2 cm in diameter.
- Cussonia natalia Cussonia natalensis is a tree-like or bush-like plant with pronounced caudex. This species has a wonderful palmate foliage, kinship with the fatshedera is immediately guessed in the structure of the leaf - its five-membered lobes are split not to the base, as in the coussonia of the spikelet, but by about 2/3 of the length.
Care for Cussonia
With good care, coussonium grows very quickly, energetically, and requires a lot of space on the windowsill.
Temperature: normal in summer, what the weather dictates. In winter, prefers cool rooms, not higher than 18 ° C, not lower than 10 ° C. In nature, cussonia can withstand a more significant decrease in temperatures, but at home 13-14 ° C is enough, the optimal wintering option is on an insulated loggia or balcony. The leaf surface of all coussonias is dense waxy, protecting from heat during the day and cold at night (the climate of Madagascar is a sharp fluctuation in daily temperatures).
Lighting: Full solar lighting throughout the year. If in spring and summer kussonia can grow on the eastern or western windowsill, then in winter it needs either a very bright southern window or a good additional light. It is important not only the duration of exposure (12 hours), but also the intensity. When there is not enough light, petioles stretch strongly in the leaves, the bush turns out to be loose, but ugly, loose.
In nature, Kussonia grows on the outskirts of the forest and in open areas of rocky mountain hills (at an altitude of up to 2500 m above sea level). Therefore, it is resistant to direct sun, drought and drop in temperature. However, growing cussonia at home, the plant is gradually accustomed to the bright sun in spring so as not to get burns, and excessive drying of the earth leads to premature drying and loss of leaves.
Watering: regular and moderate, strictly without waterlogging! Plants having caudex require complete drying of the soil. Cussonia does not tolerate waterlogging. Water hardness is undemanding. In nature, it grows on well-drained soil or crevices of rocks, where water does not linger for a long time after rains.
Fertilizer: April to August every two weeks, liquid fertilizer for cacti or houseplants, diluted twice.
Air humidity: Coussonia loves humid air, with a lack of humidity, especially on hot days it is easily affected by a tick, so regular spraying is required at temperatures above 24 ° C or humidity less than 50%.
Transplantation: young plants annually, adults every two years in spring. Drainage to the bottom in the form of shards or foam. Option of soil mixture: 1 part of turf, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of humus and 2 part of small gravel crumb. You can take 2 parts of greenhouse earth, 1 part of well-rotted compost, 2 part of zeolite granules (from cat filler Barsik), particle size 3-5 mm. Small pots are needed for this caudex plant, pay attention to the photo of the cusson - the pot is somewhat cramped, but the next one should be no more than 1 cm wider than the previous one.
An important wintering condition: in a small pot at a temperature of about 10 ° C, the roots can become hypothermic if careless watering (too frequent) is allowed. Therefore, you need to wrap the pot in a thick woolen scarf or place it in another larger pot and fill the sheets with dry sawdust or sand.
In general, the culture of cussonia is similar in requirements to adeniums - the same requirements for temperature, pots and soil, watering and illumination.
Coussonia from seeds
Cussonia is propagated by seeds in late winter or spring. When buying seeds, you need to take into account that they quickly lose germination! Seeds are sown with preliminary soaking for about a day, but it is better to soak in a thermos in hot water (36-40 ° C) for 5-6 hours. Sowing in plates with a loose peat mixture, deepening by 1-1.5 cm. The plate must be covered with glass and put in a warm, slightly shaded place. Regularly ventilate by shaking off the condensate. Seeds germinate for 3-8 weeks depending on the species.
When sprouts appear, the lighting should be very good, but without the midday sun, ideally on the eastern windowsill. Fundamentally: high humidity with moderate soil moisture. Caudex begins to develop almost immediately, with the first leaves, so waterlogging is fraught with death.
Grown seedlings in phase 3-4 of real leaves are planted in small pots in a mixture of sand (or gravel crumbs), humus earth and peat, and the next spring they are transplanted into a soil mixture for adult plants (with the addition of turf earth). It is important when planting seedlings from a plate in pots to minimize injury to the root system. Remove with a tablespoon, trying to preserve all the ground around the roots.
