Kochia (Kochia) is a genus of annual and perennial herbs or shrubs of the Chenopodiaceae family, common on different continents, mainly in arid regions. Often included in the related genus Bassia. Some species are valuable fodder crops, some are used in decorative floriculture.
- Family: haze.
- Homeland: Eurasia, Africa, North America, Australia.
- Rhizome: taproot.
- Stem: straight, branched.
- Leaves: petiolate, pubescent, linear.
- Fruit: nut.
- Reproductive capacity: propagated by seeds.
- Light : sun or light shade.
- Watering: drought-resistant.
- Content temperature: perennial species are frost-resistant, annual thermophilic.
- Flowering time: July-September
General description of the cochia plant
Representatives of the genus are annual or perennial rhizomatous plants, herbs, less often shrubs, with erect or creeping strongly branched stems and alternate entire leaves of various shapes, often narrow, lanceolate, sometimes filiform. The vegetative parts are usually densely pubescent, the roots of most species are pivotal, deep-lying, powerful. Cochia flowers are usually bisexual, small, collected in paniculate or spike-shaped inflorescences, pollinated mainly by the wind. The fruits are single-seeded nuts with very small (14,000 pieces per 1 g) seeds.
Cochia flower in the photo
All cochias are xerophytic plants that live in conditions of constant or periodic moisture deficiency – in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts on all continents except South America and Antarctica.
The name of the genus is associated with the name of the German botanist and taxonomist Wilhelm Daniel Koch, who at the beginning of the 19th century held the post of director of the botanical garden in Erlangen for a long time.
A distinctive feature of the plant can be considered the ability to grow in conditions of lack of moisture, on uncultivated soils and even on salt marshes. Due to this exceptional hardiness, as well as the presence of a high protein content in the green mass, some perennial cochias are considered valuable pasture crops. They produce high-quality hay containing a lot of protein, more than 60% consisting of leaves, and at the same time they are able to vegetate for a long time in difficult climatic conditions, enduring not only drought, but also frosty snowless winters. In addition, numerous seeds of cochia are easily dispersed by the wind and germinate quickly, which makes it possible to use the crop for the rapid restoration of pasture lands, the reclamation of lands affected by fires and wind erosion. So, in the USA in 1984, for this purpose, a special variety “Immigrant” was created, the name of which eloquently indicates the ability to grow rapidly, restoring the grass cover in large areas.
kochia flower
As a flower, kochia is unattractive, because its flowers are inconspicuous and inconspicuous, however, one of the annual species , panicled kochia (K. Scoparia) , is successfully grown as an ornamental leafy plant. Unpretentiousness in culture, attractive foliage, fast growth, beautiful shape of the bush, moreover, it lends itself well to shearing and shaping, contribute to its growing popularity in garden design. The plant is excellent for creating clipped borders, temporary hedges, and as tapeworms. In addition, it is used for technical purposes, making panicles, brooms, which is reflected in the name of the species.
Cultivated species and varieties of cochia
According to the modern classification, the genus Cochia is usually combined with the genus Bassia, in which there are about 80 species, of which about 10 are found on the territory of the former USSR.
In our country, they grow in steppes and semi-deserts, including on saline soils; many are weeds that live in poorly cultivated areas, landfills, etc.
In floriculture, as mentioned above, only panicled kochia is grown, and not a natural form that does not represent any decorative value, but specially created garden varieties. Below are descriptions of the decorative forms of kochia, photos and more detailed information about the most common varieties.
Kochia hairy
Cochia hairy (K. Scoparia var. Trichophylla) was created by careful selection and introduced into horticultural culture in the 17th century. It is an annual strongly branched bush, reaching a height of 1 m and a width of 50-70 cm. The leaves are narrow, graceful, densely cover the entire plant, hiding small flowers that look like green balls, like a quinoa. This variety is sometimes called red kochia, because its foliage, pale green in summer, turns bright red, burgundy or pinkish tones by autumn, which gives the autumn garden an exceptional decorative effect. The main advantage of culture is the beautiful shape of the bush, regular, elongated-oval, easy to cut.
Kochia Childs
Kohiya Childs (K. Scoparia var. Childsii) is similar in appearance to the previous one, only more compact, grows only up to 40-50 cm, and has lighter foliage, which also remains green in autumn.
Based on these two varieties, numerous varieties of kochia have been created, differing in size and leaf color. We list some of the most famous and popular among our flower growers.
Cochia Acapulco Silver
Acapulco Silver (Acapulca Silver) , an old variety up to 100 cm tall, with bright green, silvery leaves at the ends, acquiring a bright purple color in autumn. Its image can often be found on old engravings of the 19th century, but in our time the plant is very rare, although it looks amazingly decorative.
Kochia cypress and others
Annual cypress – kochia up to 120 cm high with thin leaves, lends itself well to curly haircut.
Sultan is a more compact cultivar, 75-100 cm tall, with a neat rounded shape of the bush.
Shilzi – reaches a height of 1 m, a width of 60 cm, is distinguished by a very early staining of foliage in purple-red.
Green Leys – with emerald green leaves and an oval-shaped bush.
Of the varieties of domestic breeding, zoned for all regions of the country and included in the State Register of the Russian Federation, one can note the Royal Castle cultivar, with small light green leaves, turning burgundy in autumn. The bush is 90-100 mm high and 50-55 cm wide, extremely strong, elongated-pyramidal in shape, lends itself well to shearing, resistant to diseases and pests.
In gardens, you can occasionally find other, less decorative annual species: woolly-flowered kochia (K. Laniflora) , up to 80 cm high, with stems densely covered with short curly hairs.
And densely flowered kochia (K. Densiflora) , growing up to 130 cm, with horizontally directed shoots and original flowers, around the base of which there are bunches of light long hairs, giving the culture an unusual white-furry look.
perennial kochia
Perennial representatives of the genus are rarely used in ornamental floriculture, although some of them are considered valuable fodder crops. The most famous and common is the creeping kochia (K. Prostata), or izen. This perennial kochia (see photo below) is a shrub 10-50 cm high, strongly branching at the base and prostrate on the ground, having various phenotypic forms depending on the place of growth. Creeping along the ground and rising at the ends, shoots up to 70 cm long are first covered with dense or weak pubescence, eventually becoming almost naked, reddish. Linear or filiform leaves can be smooth, fluffy or silky to the touch due to numerous adpressed hairs, do not exceed 0.6-1.5 cm in size in length and 0.05-0.28 cm in width. The root system is powerful, spreads to a depth of more than 3 m, the flowers are small, inconspicuous, bloom in July-September in the axils of the leaves on the tops of the shoots in bunches of 3 pieces, collected in an inflorescence-ear, have fluffy five-toothed perianths, form small seeds that spread exclusively by the wind.
The plant is considered a very promising fodder crop, since it is rich in nutrients, has a long growing season, gives a stable harvest, tolerates arid conditions of deserts and semi-deserts and cold, snowless winters, which are not uncommon in conditions of a sharply continental climate. In addition, the species is quite decorative , it can be used as a ground cover perennial in dry open places: rocky hills, or flower beds fully lit by the sun.