Venusian

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Venus navel (Umbilicus), also called umbilical herb or umbilical leaf, is a plant genus within the thick leaf family (Crassulaceae).

Description

Vegetative characteristics
The species of the genus Umbilicus are relatively small, bare, persistent, more or less deciduous, succulent herbaceous plants. Except for Umbilicus oppositifolius, they almost always possess a tuberous or rhizome-like “root stick”. The soft flesh foliage leaves are stalked, almost circular, usually (except in the case of Umbilicus oppositifolius) more or less shield-shaped and have a depression in the center. The blade edge is notched to toothed. The leaves on the shoots usually become smaller and smaller towards the top and are linear-lancet shaped.

Generative characteristics
The usually relatively long and sometimes branched, terminal, grapy or crisp inflorescences usually contain many sometimes upright, but usually horizontal or hanging flowers. The twilight flowers are five-fold and obdiplostemon with a double flower shell. The five crown leaves are tubular or bell-shaped. The five crown zips are upright or spread out at the top. The crown leaves are coloured white, green or yellow and sometimes spill over purple.

The fruit is a slim bellows fruit.

Nomenclature and distribution
The genus Umbilicus was founded in 1801 by Augustin-Pyrame de Candolle in Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris, 3, page 1. The botanical generic name Umbilicus is derived from the Latin word for “navel” and refers to the navel-like deepening of the shield leaves. In part, species of the genus were also included in the genus Cotyledon (for example as Cotyledon umbilicus) The generic name Venusnabel goes back to the Latin plant name Umbilicus Veneris.

The genus Umbilicus is common in Western and Central Europe, in Macaronesia, in the Mediterranean region, in the Middle East, from Western Asia to the Western Caucasus, on the Arabian Peninsula and in North, Central and East Africa.

According to Colin Charles Walker (* 1952), the genus Umbilicus 2003 is divided into two sections and contains the species:

Section Umbilicus
Umbilicus albido-opacus : It occurs on islands of the eastern Aegean.
Umbilicus botryoides: It occurs from Eritrea to Tanzania and in Cameroon.
Umbilicus chloranthus : It occurs only in Puglia, the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean and Asia Minor.
Umbilicus citrinus: It occurs in southern Spain and Gibraltar.
Erect Venus navel (Umbilicus erectus, Syn.: Umbilicus luteus), home to southern Italy, Balkan Peninsula, Aegean, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon
Umbilicus heylandianus : It occurs only in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Waagrechter Venusnabel (Umbilicus horizontalis), home: Southern Europe, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Iran, North Africa
Umbilicus paniculiformis, native Sudan
Umbilicus parviflorus : it comes to Greek islands (Crete)