Introducing room aucuba
Among the ornamental-deciduous plants, the aucuba occupies one of the first places. Its chic dense leaves with a rich color adorn the bush all year round, and varieties with a golden pattern on the plates are rightfully called the "golden tree". The homeland of the aucuba is East Asia, where it grows naturally in subtropical forests and mountain heights. However, the flower is no less popular in indoor floriculture and is widely used for landscaping premises.
Most breeders are confident that the aucuba belongs to the Garrieaceae family, although there is an opinion that it belongs to the dogwoods. Another group of scientists distinguishes the flower as a separate aucuba family.
Description of the species
Aucuba is an evergreen tree of quite decent size: in natural conditions, its height reaches 4 m, as an indoor culture it is usually limited to 2 m. Some species grow as spreading shrubs, and you cannot call them miniature either. The shoots of the plant branch well, the lower branches bend almost to the very soil. The bark on the branches is of a beautiful rich green color, old shoots have traces of fallen leaves at the points of attachment of the petioles, in addition, they are painted with red stains.
The lush crown consists of a large number of dense, elongated leaves. In the center, they are, as it were, slightly folded in half, the tips are pointed, there are notches along the edge of the sheet. The color of the leaves depends on the specific species: there are both monochromatic and varriegated varieties, with bright yellow spots of various sizes - from small dots to a large pattern.
At home, aucuba almost does not bloom and does not bear fruit. In nature, in the middle of winter - at the beginning of spring, red panicles bloom on the bushes, then berries of the same color ripen in their place.
Types of flowers used in indoor floriculture
There are not very many varieties of aucuba, about a dozen, however, only two representatives are used as a houseplant: the Himalayan and Japanese aucuba.
The Himalayan Aucuba is a lush shrub with long, narrow leaves. They can be either green or with small, sparse golden dots.
Aucuba japonica has more rounded, large leaves. It can grow as a tree, but it also lends itself well to forming. The color of the leaf plate depends on the varietal variety. Among the popular hybrids of the Japanese Aucuba, it is worth noting the following varieties:
- Dentata with monochromatic serrated leaves;
- Picturata with elongated leaves, the middle of which is yellow and the edges are green;
- Gold Dust with serrated oval leaves with fine golden specks;
- Variegata with large leaves covered with whitish spots.