An ordinary artist or Daphne mezereum, also known as “royal lilac”, is a wildly poisonous deciduous shrub from the Thymelaeaceae family that grows in European and Asian mountain regions. Its attractive appearance is the reason for the increased cultivation of the plant for decoration.
Not so “ordinary” plant
It is a deciduous erect plant that can grow up to 1.5 meters tall. Its branches resemble blackberries, but are very weakly branched. It has a strong root that is very widespread under the soil. The light green leaves are found only at the tips of the branches and are very smooth to the touch.
Lily-of-the-valley flowers are regular in shape and bisexual and emit a very pleasant fragrance that is quite intense and spreads within a radius of several meters. The flowers are not separate, each by itself, but collected in groups of two to five flowers. It is important to note that they are located directly on the branch, in places where leaves fell last year.
The lily flower blooms in the period from February to April with beautiful purple flowers, after which the leaves appear. The fruits that form at the place of the flower are special in many ways. In addition to the attractive appearance, as the emerging beans are a beautiful bright red color, each bean also contains a seed that ripens in mid-summer. Its seeds are used for reproduction and the life of the flower is up to 15 years. It reproduces much more easily in the natural environment, which is why it is often unsuccessfully transplanted to other soils.
This plant is found in Asia and Europe and likes bright areas of deciduous forests, so you can often find it on the edges and in thickets and scrub up to an altitude of 2000 m. It likes moist and loose fertile soils, preferably rich in humus, but still they suit her more if they are also rich in limestone.
An ordinary artist in Croatia
In Croatia, due to population reduction, it is included in the list of near-threatened species. Since the entire plant is poisonous, it should be handled with care and the berries should not be eaten under any circumstances! Eating more than ten berries is fatal, and smaller amounts cause swelling of the tongue, bleeding in the digestive tract and dizziness. Fortunately, the berries are bitter, so they are not attractive to humans. The berries feed on some animals, mostly birds, such as thrushes and porcupines, and thus have a beneficial effect on the reproduction and spread of this plant.
Common licorice grows in oak and beech forests, in the Gorski Kotar areas and in the mountain areas of Velebit, Medvednica, Ivanščica, Papuk and Bilogora, which suit it in terms of soil and climate. Recently, several places of growth have also been found on Učka.