Guernia

 

Cootra family, flipper subfamily. Homeland East and South Africa, Arabian Peninsula.

In nature, according to various sources, about 60 species. The closest relative is Stapelia Stapelia. All of them are perennial herbaceous plants with fleshy succulent stems that branch well. Adult specimens are wide spreading curtains. Unlike guernia stapels, they are thinner-skinned, the stems are usually bare, without pubescence.

Guernia species

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  • Huernia primrose Huernia primulina is one of the most ornamental species, has an attractive neat appearance - miniature bushes with short stems about 7-8 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter. The stems are gray-green in color, 4 or 5-sided, with pronounced teeth pointed at the end. The flowers are usually collected in 2-4 pieces, sometimes more, in diameter reaching 3 cm. The outer crown is a corolla fused at the base into a narrow tube, about 7 mm deep, has five pale pink or cream petals slightly bent back at the ends, in the throat the color is brighter - dark pink. The inner crown is well defined and has five rounded maroon petals.
  • Guernia keniensis - stems branching in the basal zone, have 5 ribs, with long teeth bent to the bottom, pointed at the end. The stems are long, semi-ampel, reach a length of about 30 cm, and 1.5-2 cm in diameter. The flowers are burgundy red, as if velvet, with almost completely fused petals forming a wide funnel up to 3 cm in diameter. There are 2-5 flowers in inflorescences.
  • Huernia zebrina striped - stems are light green, rather thick, about 2 cm in diameter and up to 10 cm long, erect or slightly drooping. The stems have 4 distinct ribs, with sharp teeth. The flowers are large, reach 7 cm in diameter. Corolla stellate yellow with purple lines. In the middle, the corolla forms a convex ring, bright - purple (or purple) spots on it practically merge.
  • Guernia large-fruited Huernia macrocarpa - stems branching in the basal zone, sizo-green from 5 to 20 cm long, laying down over time. The stems have 7 ribs, clearly expressed teeth have the shape of a high pyramid up to 6-7 mm long, pointed at the end. The outer crown of the flower is purple-crimson, velvety, with fused petals, forming an almost regular pentagon in shape, up to 2 cm in diameter. This species has a rather large inner crown with pronounced dark bard petals. The flowers are solitary or in inflorescences of 2-5 flowers. There are several variations that differ in flower tone and tooth shape.
  • Guernia rough (thorny) Huernia aspera - stems from 10 to 20 cm long, lying down. They have 5 ribs, the teeth are less pronounced than the previous species, pointed at the end. The flowers are single or in inflorescences of 2-5 pieces. Corolla stellate, outer flower crown purplish-bard, rough, inner crown of small rounded brown-yellow petals.
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There are also ampelous species of guernia, for example, Guernia hanging Huernia pendula. Its stems reach a length of about a meter, the stems branch anywhere and at the ends of the shoots too. The stems are rounded about 8-9 cm in diameter, the ribs are practically invisible, the teeth are small tubercles. It blooms with small, up to 2 cm in diameter flowers of blood-red color. On the inflorescence, 2-5 flowers are collected, opening alternately. Corolla fused at the base into a wide tube about 5 mm deep.

Guernia - care and cultivation

Guernia is one of the easiest and most convenient flowers to grow at home. It has advantages in undemanding to the soil, airing, it does not need spraying and can grow perfectly without any dressing, therefore, the most optimal care parameters are given below.

Temperature: moderate in summer, of course, the plant will not die from extreme heat, but the stems can shrivel, the flowers wilt faster if the prolonged heat in the bright sun (as at times in nature) the plant loses its decorative appearance - the lower part of the stems acquires a brownish tint, but the stems are dry, the color fades. In winter, it is better to keep guernia cool, ideally at a temperature of 15-16 ° C, at least 12 ° C. But in the absence of such a room, it will put up with the usual home conditions, if you add light to it - rearrange it on a sunnier windowsill or turn on the lamp.

Lighting: Guernia loves a bright place, with some direct sunlight, growing well on the east, south-east north-west windowsill between February and September. On the south window, you need shading. In winter, the plant needs the brightest place, full sunlight, without shading (south window).

Watering: Moderate in spring and summer. Remember that guernia is a succulent, its leaves store enough moisture to survive a slight drought. With cool maintenance in winter, watering from autumn is reduced, in winter it is very rare (about once a month). Guernia tolerates prolonged overfilling of the ground more easily than excessive watering.

Top dressing: from late spring to mid-summer with complex fertilizer for cacti and other succulents once a month. With an annual transplant to fresh land, it is enough to feed once a month.

Air humidity: guernia is resistant to dry air, does not need spraying.

Transplant: Annually in the spring. Soil - the 1 part of the sod earth, the 1 part of the sheet, the 1 part of the small gravel (2-4 mm). The pot should be wide, but not deep, a layer of drainage (foam or coconut shell broken into crumbs) is poured onto the bottom. Guernias with long ampel and semi-ampel shoots can be grown in hanging planters. The acidity of the soil is optimal in the range from 7.5 to 8.5 (slightly alkaline), guernia does not like strongly acidic soils.

Reproduction of guernia

This succulent is propagated by stem cuttings and seeds. Just cut a segment of any length from the mother plant, put it on the shelf, dry it for 1-2 days. During this time, prepare a pot with soil, the soil should be moderately moist, rather even dry. Put the handle directly on the ground surface, do not bury it. You can press the handle in the pot with a paper clip. We start watering a little not under the handle, but around.

If you bought guernia seeds, simply sow them in a mixture of universal soil (such as Terra Vita) and coarse sand (sifted from dust), taken in equal parts. It is better to sow in wide low plates at a distance of about 3 cm from each other. Sprinkle the seeds with earth about 2 mm. Cover the crops with film or glass, but be sure to ventilate 2-3 times a day. Moisten evenly from the spray bottle, avoiding excess dampness. Seedlings appear within 3-4 weeks. Young guernia seedlings are more demanding on light, children of any succulents and cacti, so they need to be kept in a well-lit place, but the spring sun is quite hot, if you notice the redness of the stalks, you should think about shading. There are no other features in the cultivation of guernia, seedlings grow quickly, but special feeding or stimulants are not required.

By the way

The genus Guernia Huernia, like Stapelia Stapelia, is quite variable, which allowed botanists and breeders to get quite a lot of hybrids. Therefore, establishing an accurate view from photographs is sometimes difficult.

By the way

Guernias bloom with attractive star flowers, more precisely, in full face the shape of a flower resembles a star, and in profile a bell.

Flowers are collected in small-flowered, 2-7 flowers, inflorescences. But in indoor conditions, Guernia often bloom with single flowers. The smell of most flowers is unpleasant, like Stapelia, the flowers smell rotten, and quite noticeable. Flowering occurs in spring or summer.

Some species of guernia are characterized by branching of the trunk in the basal zone, i.e. the bush begins to branch above the surface of the earth. But this trait is not stable, plants of the same species can have slightly different bush forms, and branching can occur from the middle of the shoot and at the ends.

The color of the stems and even their shape can also change and depend on external factors. The more intense the lighting, the more reddish the color the stems take. Moreover, in nature, huernia often grow in open sunny areas, their stems acquire a color from pale pink to purple, while plants do not get burns and do not get sick, but lose all decorative attractiveness.

But this is in nature, in apartment conditions, plants lack bright light in the autumn-winter period, and exposed in spring or summer in the sun can get burns.

By the way

The name of the Guernia genus Huernia is somewhat incorrect in its origin. At a minimum, it should be written and pronounced in Russian as Huernia. But this is no longer quite familiar, many literary sources call these plants with the letter G.

But that's not all, historically, an error crept in in the naming of the genus Guernia Huernia, or rather an opisk.

And it was this: at the beginning of the 17th century, a certain Dutch missionary preacher Eustace Hornius Eustace Heurnius traveled with his mission to Africa. And along the way he collected various plants, because the nature of Africa was completely unexplored. He sent collected copies to his brother Otto Hornius Otto Heurnius, a professor of medicine at the University of Leiden.

It was in honor of Eustace Hornius that the plant was to be called Hornia Heurnia. But when in 1809 the English taxonomist Robert Brown assigned a name to this genus, they mixed up the first two vowels. And according to botanical nomenclature, the genus began to be called exactly Huernia.

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In some species, for example, Guernia Pilansi, there are many ribs on the stems, ending in dry prickly (but soft) tips. The flowers of this species can be either yellow or brick brown.