Rodgersia Aesculifolia Family: the Saxifrage Family, Saxifragaceae Also Called Horse Chestnut-Leaved Rodgersia, W
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Of interest this week at Beal... Fingerleaf Rodgersia Rodgersia aesculifolia Family: the Saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae Also called Horse Chestnut-Leaved Rodgersia, W. J. Beal Rodger’s Flower and Finger-leaved Rodger’s Flower Botanical Garden The Asian genus Rodgersia is comprised of five species within the saxifrage family. The Fingerleaf Rodgersia is characterized by its large palmate compound leaves that many gardeners appreciate as an accent feature. The species epithet, aesculifolia refers to the resemblance of this foliage to that of the horse-chestnuts in the genus Aesculus. Finger- leaf Rodgersia is an imposing perennial that produces upright stalks, to 4 feet in height topped by white or pinkish flower clusters reminiscent of the flowers of Astilbe, with whom it shares the saxifrage family. In the garden, Rodgersia prefers slightly acid soil with constant moisture, and can benefit from the addition of compost in the Spring and Fall. It gradually increases its size via its large rhizome, and is reputed to live for from 3 to 10 years. Its cold hardiness insures that it can be grown into zone 3 or 4. The W. J. Beal specimen is in bed 22 of the systematic collection. The natural range of Rodgersia aesculifolia extends from central China to Tibet. Al- though the genus Rodgersia was authored by the American botanist Asa Grey, the species Rodgersia aesculifolia was described by the Russian botanist Alexander Batalin, 1847-1896, curator of the Imperial Botanical Garden at St. Petersburg (from 1870 until his death in 1896), who is also credited with introducing it to the Western world. In the medicinal tradition of China, Rodgersia aesculifolia has been employed in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, chronic bronchitis, dysentery, asthma, bronchial inflammation and chronic gastritis. It has also been found to act as a broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral treatment (Lu et al., 2007). However, in their very interest- ing analysis of the Rodgersia aesculifolia rhizome constituents, Lu et al. found that the largest single category of compounds was that of fatty acids (67.22%). The most abun- dant of these were found to be oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids. It was also found to include a significant amount of tannin polyphenols (Luet al., 2007). Up close, the flowers ofRodgersia aesculifolia, (below) are mostly white or pink and rather waxy in texture, although only about 3 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter. They may have 3 (bottom flower below) or 2 locules in the ovary, that be- comes a brownish capsule. In a May 2004 paper in Biodiversity and Conservation, authors Anderson et al. included Rodgersia aesculifolia in the inventory of sacred plants conserved in the Menri (“Medi- cine Mountain” in Tibetan) region sacred sites..