Bergenia

Bergenia 

a genus of perennial grasses of the family Saxi-fragaceae.

The stem of Bergenia is shortened and has a fleshy rhizome. The leaves are large, leathery, and radical. On the flower stalk there are 20–40 red or white bell-shaped florets, most often in a corymbose cluster. There are 11 species of Bergenia, found primarily in Central and East Asia; four of these species are found in the USSR. The most important is Siberian tea (B. crassifolia), which is found in the mountainous regions of Eastern Siberia and in northern Mongolia, where it forms large fields in some places. Siberian tea has long been grown as a decorative plant. Bergenia has industrial value (it is used in tanning) and medicinal value. It is a source of tannin, gallic acid, arbutin, and other chemicals.

REFERENCE

Borisova, A. G. “Badan (Bergenia Moench): ego sistematika i khoziaistvennoe znachenie.” Trudy Botanicheskogo in-ta AN SSSR Ser. 5. 1956, issue 4.

M. E. KIRPICHNIKOV