Wild herbaceous plants. Beautiful flowering wild plants

The world of plants on planet Earth is very diverse. In the process of centuries-old evolution, they adapted to growing in different conditions: survive in northern regions with cold climates, in deserts where there is practically no rainfall. In this article we will talk about wild plants, which come in different varieties. These include herbs, cereals, and shrubs. Some of them have a beautiful appearance, others are beneficial to humans, and others are dangerous weeds that harm garden crops.

What plants are called wild?

These are those species that spread by self-seeding or shoots without human participation or intervention. These plants do not need to be created special conditions. To life in natural environment they adapt themselves. Cultivated plant species appeared much later than wild ones. People look after them to get a good harvest. He sows them, fertilizes them, waters them, weeds them, and loosens the soil in which they grow.

Wild plants have great energy value, therefore, they are now increasingly being used as food additives or as an independent dish. The fact is that they are not afraid of chemicalization of agricultural land, after which the soil contains a large amount of poisons and nitrates.

If it is an initially non-poisonous plant, it is impossible to be poisoned by it, like many vegetables, for the cultivation of which increased doses of various chemical fertilizers are used. Here is a small list of names of wild plants that can be eaten:

Nettle.
Horsetail
Sorrel.
Oregano.
St. John's wort.
Mint.
Raspberries.
Currant.
Thyme.
Hop.
Plantain.
Chicory.
Burdock.
Snooze.
Lungwort.
Clover.
Angelica.
Blooming Sally.

Care must be taken when harvesting herbs. If for some reason it is impossible to distinguish useful herbs from others, it is better not to collect them, they can harm your health.

Classification

All plants are divided into cultivated and wild. There are many types of wild plants, for example:

Herbs: nettle, spurge, cornflower, dandelion, plantain and many others.
Shrubs: raspberries, forest grapes, currants, blackberries, etc.
Trees: apple, pear, rowan, plum, oak, pine, birch, willow, etc.

There are wild plants that grow in the garden: onions, garlic, watermelons. In addition, plants are divided into medicinal, beneficial, edible and poisonous.

Families

In nature, there are a huge variety of plants that are conventionally divided into groups with similar properties, structure, appearance. Most of the flowering plants on the planet are monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Each of these classes is divided into families depending on the structure of the flower. The most numerous and widespread species belong to the following families:

Lilies are herbs with a multi-year life cycle. They form bulbs, corms, and rhizomes. They differ in form and growing conditions. For example, lilies, tulips, goose onions.
Poa (grass) is a family of plants (wild and cultivated) with a different life cycle. For example, bamboo, cane, millet, feather grass, etc.
Solanaceae. Representatives of this family are mainly herbs or creeping shrubs and much less often trees. There are many among them poisonous species, for example henbane.
Rosaceae - This family includes trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. For example, pear, cherry plum, apple tree, raspberry, currant, blackberry, strawberry, hemp, nettle, fig.
Cruciferous plants are herbs, less often subshrubs, and shrubs as an exception. Examples of wild plants of this family: shepherd's purse, rapeseed, leftover, mustard, horseradish, cabbage.
Compositae - the family includes 25 thousand species of herbaceous plants, shrubs, subshrubs, lianas, low growing trees. Example: elecampane, meadow cornflower, thistle, dandelion, sunflower, yarrow.
Umbrella plants - this family includes herbaceous plants. Most known species- Siberian hogweed, ribbed hemlock, speckled hemlock.

Many wild flora have all parts that are edible, while some can only be eaten with fruits, such as acorns. They can be collected after the first autumn frosts. Acorns are edible if cooked correctly. But you should beware of unripe fruits of wild plants, they are poisonous. They are easily distinguished by their green color.

Wild apples are a favorite delicacy for children. They are especially good in winter, when they freeze. Foresters do not pass by wild raspberries and currants. The berries of these plants are much smaller, but they have a unique taste and aroma.

Edible wild plants

They often come across our path, but many people do not know that they can be eaten, although they are often used to treat various diseases. Read about which wild plants can supplement our diet with vitamins in the article below.

Shepherd's Purse

The medicinal properties of this plant have long been known, but few people know that it is eaten. However, in China this herb is a vegetable. Here, shepherd's purse is used to prepare first courses, salads, and salted for the winter. The best time to use the plant for food is spring.

Surepka

This plant is the most common. The habitat is meadows, fields, vegetable gardens, pastures. Everything useful is contained in the leaves. But they need to be collected before the plant blooms. This herb has a bitter taste, so it is mixed with other types of greens when preparing a salad. Pancakes made from flowers, but fully bloomed, are tasty and healthy. However, the wild plant is contraindicated for people with stomach and intestinal diseases.

Chistets marsh

This is an edible plant with unpleasant smell. But don't immediately reject it. The smell will disappear as soon as you start cooking the dish. Ripe tubers are suitable for food and should be collected at the end of summer. They are fried, boiled, dried, and salted for the winter. Chistets tend to fade quickly, so you need to collect as many plants as you need for cooking.

Clover

This unpretentious plant grows in nature as an annual and perennial herb with white, red, and pink flowers. Clover is famous for its useful qualities. It contains vitamins and microelements that our body needs. Many peoples use the herb in in different forms. It is dried to make a seasoning, an additive to flour. Fresh clover is used to make salads. In the Caucasus, pickled flowers of the plant are eaten. This grass is an excellent honey plant; the flowers are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. Honey produced by bees from clover nectar and pollen tastes great. This grass is an important part of livestock feed.

Rogoz

This representative of the flora belongs to wild herbaceous plants. In nature it grows near water bodies, in swamps and adjacent areas. The roots of this herb are edible. They can be baked, boiled, dried, pickled, and also ground into flour. The leaves located at the rhizome are suitable for salads.

Blooming Sally

This plant is also known as fireweed. All its parts are suitable for food. Many people use this wild plant to make tea, but not everyone knows that it can be used to make flour and salads. The leaves and flowers are used to make wine, and the roots are used for casseroles.

Common bracken fern

The petioles of the plant, until they bloom, resemble snails. They are the ones used for food. Prepared from fern vegetable stew, it is salted for the winter. If the leaves have blossomed, such plants are not suitable for consumption. Fern harvesting time is late spring or early summer.

Beautiful flowering wild plants

These plants are beautiful in most cases when they bloom. It is generally customary to talk about flowers as something special and sublime. But in nature there are many wild plants, the flowers of which will compete with garden hybrids and varieties. And there is another category of plants. Once you intentionally plant them for beauty, you run the risk of never getting rid of them. In the garden and vegetable garden, they compete with cultivated plants, as they consume 1/3 of all nutrients contained in the soil and moisture. Weeds are very tenacious plants, they even adapt to the herbicides with which they are treated. But many wild, herbaceous plants are so beautiful that they can hardly be considered weeds. These include:

Mayweed.
The bell is crowded.
Lily curly (saranka).
May lily of the valley.
Lychnis chalcedony.
Day-lily.
Kupena is fragrant.
Black hellebore.
Tansy and many others.

Dandelion

These plants are considered the most common urban weeds. They are very unpretentious and grow everywhere, with the exception of the Arctic, high mountain areas and Antarctica. This flower is a perennial wild plant. The genus dandelion includes more than 2000 apomictic microspecies, but in our country the most common is the medicinal one (field or common).

Violet

A genus of wild plants, numbering 500 species, about twenty of which are found in the European part of Russia.

Violets are annual, biennial and perennial. They are most common in the Northern Hemisphere, regions where temperate climate. Violets of many types are cultivated; they are grown as ornamental plants, in one place, without any transplants. But in abandoned gardens and parks they are running wild again.

Wild medicinal plants

The flora of our planet is amazing and diverse. Among the numerous families there are poisonous and edible plants, there are also those that are beneficial for Agriculture and other industries. But wild medicinal plants that help a person cope with or prevent illness are of particular importance. Some of them are listed below in the article.

Coltsfoot

This wild plant blooms in April, as soon as the gentle sun warms the ground. In well-lit areas, yellow flowers appear, looking like little suns. This is mother and stepmother. The plant is medicinal and is used in medicine. For example, flower and leaf infusions are used to treat cough. The plant is an excellent honey plant for spring harvest pollen and nectar by bees.

Calamus common

Refers to perennial wild plants. It reaches a height of 10 cm. It grows near lakes, rivers, swamps, streams, and in flooded meadows. It is believed that there is always clean water near calamus. The roots of the plant have medicinal value. They need to be harvested early in spring or late in autumn. They are dried and used for nervous disorders and fever.

Clover officinalis

This plant reaches a height of one meter. Places of growth - meadows, fields, roadsides. The leaves and flowers of the plant are valued and should be harvested in June-August. The dried leaves are used to prepare a tincture, which is taken to treat gout, rheumatism, and insomnia. The plant also has diuretic properties. It should not be used during pregnancy or bleeding disorders.

Burdock (burdock) felt

This plant is easy to distinguish by big leaves and characteristic flowers and fruits. As a rule, burdock grows in wastelands, roadsides, and forests. This is a well-known and widespread representative of the flora. Rhizomes should be harvested before the onset of winter or early spring. An ointment is prepared from fresh roots to treat wounds and burns. The leaves are used to protect against bacteria and relieve heat well. They need to be applied to wounds. A decoction prepared from the roots helps in treating the intestines and stomach; it is used as a diuretic. The benefits of burdock in the treatment of various diseases have long been known, but few know the fact that the leaves and roots of the young plant are eaten. The roots of young plants are suitable for food. But if burdock is not prepared correctly, it will taste bitter. It is better to fry or boil it.

Hogweed

This plant has a perennial life cycle, is powerful, has big sizes: two meters high. Distributed everywhere. Place of growth - meadows, fields, coniferous forests, gardens, banks of reservoirs. In folk medicine, rhizomes and leaves are used, from which soothing infusions are prepared to relieve seizures, prevent and treat skin diseases (for example, scabies), and digestive disorders. Fresh leaves used as lotions for rheumatism. Hogweed is an edible plant. Its herb, dried, pickled or salted, is added to first courses.

Kislitsa

The plant is distinguished by its small height (up to 10 cm) and creeping shoots. Places of growth - forests, shores of lakes, rivers. Oxalis prefers to grow in moist soil and shade. A herbal infusion is prepared based on the plant. It is used in the treatment of liver and kidney diseases. The herb has a diuretic and analgesic effect. It is also used externally, especially helping in the treatment of festering wounds. In addition, sorrel is suitable for consumption. Soups are made from it.

Nettle

There are two types of medicinal herbs that are used in official and traditional medicine: stinging nettle and stinging nettle. This plant has a diuretic and expectorant, laxative and anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and wound-healing, analgesic and hemostatic effect. Pregnant women who take nettle infusions normalize the level of iron in their blood. In folk medicine, nettle is used to treat:

I have a cold.
Dropsy.
Constipation.
Dysentery.
Gout.
Haemorrhoids.
Liver.
Bronchi and lungs.
Rheumatism and much more.

Mint

The genus contains about 42 species, and this is not taking into account garden hybrids. It is valued as a medicinal plant, containing large quantities of menthol, which has an anesthetic effect. This substance is included in drugs for the treatment of heart and vascular diseases: “Valocordin”, “Validol”, Zelenin drops. Mint has the following beneficial properties:

Normalizes intestinal function.
It puts the nervous system in order.
Eliminates insomnia.
Relieves nausea.
Helps with diarrhea.
Reduces swelling, relieves pain when inflammatory processes respiratory organs.
Strengthens gums, destroys germs. It is used to rinse the mouth.

Plantain

IN medicinal purposes Two types of this plant are used: flea plantain and Indian plantain. They contain ascorbic acid, carotene, and phytoncides. Plantain extracts obtained from the leaves of the plant are used to treat severe gastrointestinal ulcers. The juice is taken for gastritis and enteritis. It improves digestion. Leaf infusions help remove phlegm from bronchitis, pleurisy, whooping cough, pulmonary tuberculosis, and asthma. In addition, plantain is used in the following cases:

To cleanse the blood.
Healing of wounds.
Relieving inflammation.
Pain relief.

Wormwood

This plant is used in gastroenterology. Its leaves are rich in substances beneficial to the human body. The benefits of nettle are as follows:

It has a stimulating effect on the reflex function of the pancreas.
Normalizes the activity of the gallbladder.
Relieves inflammation.
The essential oil contained in the plant stimulates the nervous system.
The bitterness present in the herb stimulates appetite and normalizes digestion.

Quinoa

This herb is well known to the older generation. During the war and lean years, quinoa seeds were ground and added to rye flour and baked bread. It, of course, did not have an attractive appearance and was tasteless, but it helped to survive. Quinoa is valued for its chemical composition. It contains potassium and rutin in large quantities. Due to this, the medicinal herb is widely used in cardiology. In addition, it is useful for treating diseases:

Respiratory organs.
Stomach.
Skin.
Inflamed wounds.

Quinoa has wound-healing and soothing, cleansing and expectorant, choleretic and diuretic effects. This herb is edible. It is used to prepare cabbage soup, soups, cutlets, mashed potatoes, and even bake bread. Quinoa dishes are very filling.

Man has always used medicinal wild plants for nutrition and treatment. In order for these plants to be beneficial and help in treatment, one must be able to properly use medicinal wild plants and prepare them correctly.

Proper use and preparation of medicinal wild plants is the key to your health.

One of the main components of wild plants is. Without them, normal functioning of the body is impossible. Many vitamins are not formed in the body, but enter it only through food.

In addition to vitamins, plants contain useful substances, without which the body cannot exist normally. Interest in the proper use and preparation of medicinal wild plants is growing every day.

The large kingdom of wild plants is the richest source of biologically active substances. Thanks to them, a large number of dosage forms, which have a beneficial effect on all organs and systems of humans and animals.

Proper use of medicinal wild plants

The beneficial properties of wild plants are higher than those of cultivated plants. They grow in such conditions that they have to fight for their existence. Under such conditions, they produce substances that bring more benefits than the same substances in cultivated ones.

Only when correct use wild plants, you can get positive results in the treatment and prevention of serious diseases.

Both traditional and scientific medicine widely use natural resources to heal humanity from many ailments. The better the quality of the raw materials, the more effective the effect of medicines obtained from wild plants. It is necessary to strictly follow the basic rules for their preparation.

If technological methods are applied incorrectly, then some of the beneficial substances will be destroyed, and the prepared medicine may turn out to be useless.

When collecting medicinal raw materials, you need to make sure that this is exactly the plant that you need. Some of them appearance similar to those from which there is no benefit at all. For example, stinging nettle is very useful for nutrition and treatment, but stinging nettle does not have such properties. About proper collection medicinal plants can be read

I can give you an example. In early spring I collected young nettles in the forest for a salad. I went through it and washed it thoroughly. Then she scalded it with boiling water and let the water drain. I lightly squeezed the nettle leaves into a cup to remove any remaining water. Since the water was boiled, I drank this water along with nettle juice (the water was colored by nettle juice) in several doses.

You may not believe me, but at that moment my vision immediately improved. I wouldn’t have noticed this if it weren’t for the window; it seemed to me that there was no glass on the frame. I saw the landscape outside the window so clearly. There was no such effect from the nettle that grows in my dacha. I realized that it was stinging nettle that I had collected in the forest. Be careful, nettle has contraindications.

At home you can prepare decoctions, tinctures, juices, extracts, powders, ointments, infusions, teas, oils. Below are general recommendations for cooking at home medicines. Deviation from these standards will lead to poor quality preparation of the medicine.

It is necessary to strictly observe the standards specified in the recipes and adhere to the specified method. Recipes must be selected from trusted sources. Be sure to read the contraindications so as not to harm your body even more.

Preparation of medicinal wild plants

Before preparing the medicine, you need to make sure that the plant material is of good quality. It may be moldy and contain pests, debris, dirt, and other plants. The shelf life of raw materials should not be expired.

Dishes can be enamel, glass, clay or porcelain. There should be no chips on the dishes. It is advisable to have separate containers for preparing medicines.

Before use, plant materials must be crushed: you can cut them with scissors, break them with your hands, grind them in a coffee grinder, grind them in a mortar, or pass them through a meat grinder.

After grinding, it is necessary to measure the required amount of raw material. One teaspoon contains 5 grams of crushed raw materials, a dessert spoon contains about 10 grams, one tablespoon contains 15 grams, and with the top – 20 grams.

To prepare medicines in liquid form, measure out the required amount of crushed raw materials and add the measured amount of water or alcohol. Then infuse or boil without bringing to a boil or keep in a water bath. The resulting liquid is filtered.

When preparing and using any plants you need to remember: EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION OF EVEN THE MOST HEALTHIEST PLANTS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS POISONING AND EVEN DEATH.

INSTRUCTIONS . Infusions are prepared from fresh or dried flowers, leaves, soft stems or herbs. You can infuse it hot or cold water. If cold water is used, it must be boiled. Pour the raw material with the required amount of water and leave for as long as indicated in the preparation methods. Cold infusions can be stored for no more than 3 days.

When preparing hot infusions, pour boiling water over the measured amount of raw materials, cover with a lid and place in a warm place to infuse. Hot infusions can be stored for no more than 2-3 days.

DECOTIONS. For decoctions, dense parts of plants are used - roots, bark. Measure out the crushed raw materials, pour boiling water over them and place on low heat or in a water bath. Boil for 15-20 minutes, leave in a warm place for a while and strain. Be sure to add cooled boiled water to the original volume. Decoctions are stored for no more than 3 days.

TINCTURES obtained from plant materials based on alcohol and water. The crushed raw materials are poured with alcohol (40-90%), cognac, vodka, wine, tightly closed and infused at room temperature in a dark place for up to 7 days. Strain the tincture, pour into a prepared dark glass container, seal well and store in a cool place.

EXTRACTS at home, it is obtained by evaporating in a closed container to half the volume. Higher quality extracts are obtained in the factory.

OINTMENTS obtained by thoroughly mixing powdered plant material with lanolin, petroleum jelly, butter or vegetable oil (preferably olive) and other fat-containing products. Store in a cool, dark place. It is advisable to use immediately after preparation.

OIL obtained in the following way: 5-7 tbsp. spoons of vegetable raw materials crushed in a coffee grinder or mortar pour one liter of boiling water vegetable oil(just not olive oil, it is not recommended to heat it). The dishes with oil and herbs are placed in a water bath for half an hour. Cool the finished herbal oil slowly by covering with something warm. After 1.5 hours, strain the finished oil. This oil can be used to lubricate the mucous membranes in case of diseases of the oral cavity, as well as wounds, burns and other skin injuries.

JUICES obtained in the usual way. The juice is squeezed through a juicer or press from berries, fruits, herbs, leaves, roots, and tubers. Pour into sterilized jars, pasteurize and seal. Store in a cool place, preferably used within a year.

POWDERS get from various parts plants: leaves, flowers, grass, bark, rhizome roots by grinding. It can be ground in a coffee grinder, but powder ground in a mortar has more healing properties. Maybe because a person transfers a piece of his energy to him. Store in a tightly closed glass jar in a dry place.

FEES obtained by mixing different plants in a certain proportion according to special recipes. You can brew it as tea or prepare decoctions, infusions, ointments.

Use of plants in cooking

From wild plants, as well as from cultivated plants, you can prepare a variety of very healthy dishes. Wherein Special attention It is necessary to pay attention to the doses of consumption of wild plants. If cooked incorrectly, plants lose their beneficial qualities.

Snacks and condiments prepared just before serving. Plant parts containing bitterness are blanched in cold water within 20-30 minutes. Some plants must be soaked in cold salty water for 20-30 minutes, frequently changing the water. Allow to drain and cut or tear by hand. Mix all the necessary ingredients and season with any sauce. Add salt and necessary spices to taste.

Can be cooked powder for seasonings The green parts of plants or roots are washed and dried well. After grinding, put away for storage and use as needed.

From wild plants are prepared main courses . The green parts of plants are mainly used.

Widely used in food green puree . It can be used as an independent dish and as a dressing for first and second courses, for sauces and gravies, used as a side dish, and also for decorating sandwiches. To prepare the puree, the greens are washed, blanched, drained and ground through a sieve or mashed with a spoon. Add salt to taste (you can do without it) and add various spices. Use immediately after preparation.

Use the following methods on your own at home: preservation and conservation of wild plants .

DRYING - you can dry any edible berries, fruits and plants growing in the wild. After processing, the raw materials are dried in ovens, furnaces, special devices and naturally. After drying, the resulting products are stored in paper bags, in a glass container in a dry, dark place.

PRESERVATION BY HEAT- This is sterilization and pasteurization.

CANNING WITH SUGAR. Only white sugar should be used. Granulated yellow sugar and refined sugar are unsuitable for this purpose. The concentration of syrups must be adjusted depending on the sugar content of the plant and the type of product being prepared. At home, sugar is measured out in jars, glasses, and spoons. We must remember that in liter jar- 800g of sugar, in a half-liter - 400g, in a thin tea glass - 200g, in a faceted glass - 160g, in a tablespoon - 25g, in a teaspoon - 10g.

JAMS AND JAMS.

The best way to make jam is to alternate heating and then cooling. The amount of cooking depends on the fruits and berries. Jams made from wild berries and fruits are not inferior in nutritional value to preserves. Jams are cooked in one step, without standing. It is best to pack jams and jams hot into sterilized jars and seal with lids.. JAM AND MARMELADE

When preparing marmalade, fruit and berry puree is boiled for more than 45 minutes, but not more than one hour. When finished, the puree should have a jelly-like consistency. To obtain a jelly-like mass, sour varieties of apples, plums, gooseberries or red currants must be added to marmalade from wild berries and fruits.

The finished marmalade is poured into a deep baking tray and allowed to harden. After hardening, cut into slices and sprinkle powdered sugar and dried in the oven at a temperature of 50-60°C. Marmalade should be stored in a cool, dry place in cardboard boxes with a lid.

Good health to everyone!

Announcement picture: Array Sandy immortelle has been used in folk medicine since ancient times. Later scientific studies showed that its use for medicinal purposes is quite justified, since this plant has a rich chemical composition. Essential oil, flavonoid glycosides, flavonoids, vitamins were found in its inflorescences - ascorbic acid and vitamin K, coloring agents. Also found there are phthalides, high-molecular alcohols, resins, steroid compounds, tannins, fatty acids, mineral salts and macroelements - potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and trace elements - manganese, copper, zinc, chromium, aluminum, sulfur, nickel and others.

Announcement picture: Array Research has shown that rowan fruits contain a lot of useful substances, useful not only for birds, but also for people. For example, they have a high content of vitamin C (up to 100 mg per 100 g), carotene (up to 15 mg), vitamins B2, K, E. They also contain sugars (mainly fructose), apple, lemon, tartaric, folic acid , succinic, oxalic, sorbic acids. But it is known that sorbic acid has a bacteriostatic effect.

Announcement picture: Array There is probably not a single person who has not seen and does not know what the common dandelion, also called medicinal dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), is. This perennial plant, up to 30-40 cm high, belongs to the Asteraceae family. You can find dandelion in our country almost everywhere except the Far North and desert areas. It grows in meadows, pastures, roadsides, forest edges, ravines, near people's homes and in vegetable gardens.

Announcement picture: Array The roots of marshmallow contain a large amount of mucous substances, which consist of polysaccharides. Starch, pectin, sugars, asparagine, betaine, carotene, lecithin, phytosterol, mineral salts and fatty oils have also been isolated from the roots. Plant mucus covers the mucous membranes of a sick person with a thin layer that is retained on them long time, thus protecting the mucous membranes from further irritation. As a result, spontaneous regeneration of damaged tissues is facilitated and the inflammatory process is reduced.

Announcement picture: Array Horsetail grass is rich in many useful elements. It contains a large amount of silicic acid compounds, which determine the main pharmacological effect of horsetail-based drugs. In addition, horsetail contains a lot of manganese and sodium nitrogen. It contains alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, carotene, organic acids - aconitic, malic, oxalic, resins, tannins, bitterness.

Announcement picture: Array Even the ancient Greeks and Romans noticed healing properties herbs of this plant and used them as an astringent, antimalarial and hemostatic agent. IN modern medicine water pepper is used - in the form of infusion and liquid extract - also as a hemostatic agent for hemorrhoids and uterine bleeding, with uterine fibroids, chronic endometritis and heavy menstruation. Peppermint is also included in anti-hemorrhoid suppositories. This plant also has antibacterial activity.

Announcement picture: Array Since all parts of this plant contain essential oils, it emits a strong, pleasant odor. It is the presence of essential oils and other substances that explains the medicinal properties of angelica officinalis. The roots and rhizomes contain essential oil, also called angelic acid, which includes pinene, felandrene, sesquiterpene compounds, umbelliprenin, xanthotoxin, methylbutyric and hydroxypentadecanoic acids, as well as malic and angelic acids, osthole, ostenol, bergapten, angelicin, archangelicin, phytosterones and tannins, vitamin C, carotene, calcium, phosphorus and other minerals.

Announcement picture: Array In addition to valuable wood, oak is also useful for its medicinal properties. They are found in the bark of young shoots. It contains tannins (up to 20%), flavonoids - quercetin and quercetin and others, as well as gallic and ellagic acids, phlobafen, pentosans, pectins, sugars, mucus, proteins and starch.

Announcement picture: Array Since ancient times, flax has been introduced into culture and grown by people. It was indispensable as a raw material for producing fabrics, and also as a source for extracting useful oil from seeds. At the same time, people paid attention to some of the medicinal properties of this culture. Hippocrates already recommended that patients use flaxseed for inflammation of the mucous membranes. Nowadays, traditional and folk medicine uses flax preparations to treat a number of diseases.

Announcement picture: Array Lingonberry leaves and berries are prepared for medical purposes. Moreover, traditional medicine has been using the medicinal properties of this plant for a very long time. Research by scientists has shown that medicinal use preparations from lingonberry leaves and berries are quite justified.

Announcement picture: Array Our ancestors paid attention to the medicinal properties of the string a long time ago. They harvested its grass and used it fresh or dried it for future use. In folk medicine, it was previously most often used to treat scrofula, which is why it received the name scrofulous herb.

Announcement picture: Array Burdock has long been used in folk medicine. Almost all parts of this plant were used for medicinal purposes: the root, leaves and tops with flowers were harvested.

Announcement picture: Array In general, the knotweed plant has many other folk names– the most commonly used name is the already mentioned name – knotweed, it is often also called bird buckwheat, ant grass, and in different areas there are also their own names.

Announcement picture: Array These unpretentious plants known to all residents of central Russia. They grow along roads, paths, on the boundaries between plots, in vacant lots. They could be called weeds, if not for two circumstances. Firstly, they are quite beautiful during flowering and caress the eye with their numerous blue flowers, and secondly, their powerful long root is not only edible, but also has medicinal properties. The entire above-ground part of these plants is also used in folk medicine.

Announcement picture: Array Elecampane (Inula helenium) is a perennial herbaceous plant. There are several species of this plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, but in our country it is the tall elecampane that is most often collected from nature or grown in the garden and used for medicinal purposes. This plant has a height of up to one and a half meters or more, a straight stem on which there are two types of leaves: lower, basal, long-petioled and stem - sessile.

Announcement picture: Array And now the medicinal properties of wormwood are used as an anti-inflammatory, blood purifying, antipyretic, analgesic, anticonvulsant, choleretic and wound healing agent. It turned out that it normalizes blood pressure, relaxes, and has hypnotic effect. Wormwood helps with epilepsy and also cleanses the body of worms.

Announcement picture: Array Lavender is a perennial aromatic plant of the Lamiaceae family. Its generic name, lavender (Lavandula), comes from the Latin word lavare, which means “to bathe.” The fact is that the ancient Romans widely used the flowers and herbs of this plant to aromatize baths.

Announcement picture: Array I want to talk about a very interesting, one might even say, exotic ornamental and medicinal plant. This is white bryonia, or white steppe. This is a perennial climbing herb. It reaches a height of 2-3 meters.

Announcement picture: Array Chamomile - its very name speaks of its medicinal properties - has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. And it is still used in both official and folk medicine. The raw materials that are collected and used are inflorescences. Flower baskets are collected at the initial stage of flowering, when the white reed flowers-petals are arranged horizontally. The collected medicinal raw materials are dried, scattered in a not very thick layer - up to 5 cm, in a ventilated area, in the shade, stirring regularly to prevent mold and rot.

Announcement picture: Array I first became acquainted with the healing properties of chaga shortly after my military service. There I was unexpectedly diagnosed with gastritis, which every now and then made itself felt in civilian life. Doctors, along with pills, advised taking infusions of chaga mushroom. Of course, it was in almost every pharmacy and then cost a penny.

Announcement picture: Array The Russian name of this plant already speaks for itself - to make a body, i.e. skin clean. Here, people very subtly noticed the property of celandine to cleanse the skin of warts, as well as various pimples, rashes, fungus, herpes on the lips and other skin diseases.

Announcement picture: Array All useful and harmful properties wild rosemary are determined by the substances that make up the flowers, leaves, stems and roots of this plant. Usually, leaves and young stems of wild rosemary are harvested for medicinal purposes.

Announcement picture: Array The Latin name of the plant is Melilotus officinalis, in which the first word indicates that it belongs to the genus of sweet clover, and the second indicates a specific species and means “medicinal” when translated into Russian. This means that a very long time ago people noticed the ability of this plant to cure diseases. What ailments does sweet clover help to get rid of?

Announcement picture: Array Common calamus or marsh calamus (Acorus calamus) is a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous plant belonging to the Calamus family. Calamus is originally from China and India, but now it can also be found in Europe. According to historians, we owe this to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Nomads noticed that in places where calamus grows, the water is drinkable. Therefore, they took calamus rhizomes with them on their hike and threw them into reservoirs along the way. Once in the silt, the calamus took root well.

Announcement picture: Array Sea kale is the trade name for brown algae belonging to the Laminaria genus of the Laminariaceae family. There are many species in this genus, including several dozen edible ones, but in our country, mainly three species are harvested - palmate kelp (Laminaria digitata) and sugar kelp (Laminaria saccharina) - in the northern seas, and the same sugar kelp and Japanese kelp ( Laminaria japonica) - in the Far East.

Herbal treatment is the most ancient way to combat all kinds of diseases. Over the thousands of years of its existence, humans have discovered and studied the healing properties of hundreds of medicinal plants that can help with this or that disease. Over the long history, many effective recipes, many of which have survived and are used in folk medicine today.

This section of the site presents many types of medicinal herbs, including field species, with high-quality photographs, the name of each plant and a detailed description of their beneficial properties and methods of use.

Despite the enormous pace of development of traditional medicine and all the new products that the pharmaceutical industry offers, the use of medicinal plants to treat all kinds of diseases still remains relevant and does not lose its popularity. They can be used both for the prevention and treatment of various chronic and acute diseases in any field of medicine.

Medicinal herbs used in folk medicine can be fresh or dried, used both externally and internally. Medicinal herbs are much safer for human health than pharmaceutical drugs. They have fewer contraindications and side effects on the body.

For treatment use:

tinctures;
decoctions;
extracts;
infusions;
tea fees.

Despite its apparent simplicity and harmlessness, alternative treatment requires knowledge and caution. After all, for a positive result, medicinal raw materials must be collected correctly. And the tinctures, decoctions or extracts made from them are prepared only according to exact recipes. We should not forget about dosages. This is especially true for those medications that need to be taken orally.

It is advisable, before preparing medicine from herbs, to study our website, which lists medicinal herbs, photos with names, learn about the indications and contraindications of a particular medicinal plant, and methods of their preparation. You must not forget to carefully examine the raw materials for the medicine itself. It should be free of mold, dirt and other defects.

In this article we will describe in detail all types of medicinal and wild plants, we will attach beautiful photos, and also briefly describe how to care for and grow these plants at home. More detailed description care instructions can be found in other sections of our website. So let's go.

Arnica plant ,(sheepskin, swimsuit) grows in the western part of Russia, up to the Dnieper, in forest meadows. Arnica is cultivated on thin, even peaty, soils. The Arnica plant requires deep soil tillage. Arnica is planted in August, with two parts of any forage grasses. The first year Arnica is mowed low, before flowering. In the second and third years, collect flowers; in the 4th-5th year, in late autumn, collect roots. Either whole flower baskets or flowers and roots taken from them are collected. Arnica flower baskets are dried quickly, at the highest possible temperature.

Medicinal plant henbane

Poisonous plant henbane , (blekota) - one year old. or two l. a weed plant widespread throughout Russia, but loving oily soils. More often, Belena is found near housing, on garbage heaps and pits, in vegetable gardens and orchards, in ditches, along roads and along river banks. Because henbane seeds are difficult to ripen, then it is necessary to leave special seed plants. Sowing henbane with early spring, in rows and not densely; After the emergence of seedlings (2-4 weeks after sowing), they must be thinned out, leaving one plant 8 inches apart from the other. The collection of henbane leaves occurs only in the second year. In general, leaves from both wild and cultivated henbane are collected during flowering: for biennials - in June, for annuals - in August.

Poisonous plant Belladonna

Belladonna , (sleepy stupor, myogol). It grows wildly in the Crimea, the Caucasus and in the mountainous parts of the southwestern region. Belladonna is cultivated on sandy-calcareous soil, loose, rich in leaf humus; loves semi-shady places. Belladonna reproduces by seeds (first on fallow beds) and rhizomes (can be selected from the 3rd year of cultivation). The distance on the ridges is 70-80 cm. It stays well in one place for up to 6 years. The roots and leaves of the Belladonna plant are used in medicine. Both are collected in July, before flowering. Belladonna roots are taken only from the side, young, fleshy and juicy. Dried whole or cut lengthwise. Belladonna leaves are dried in a dark room at low temperature.

Medicinal plant Valerian

Valerian , (Baldrian, Overian). Valerian grows wildly in forest meadows and forest edges, between bushes, in damp meadows and floodplains in the central European zone. parts of Russia. It can be cultivated in the same zone. The soil for planting Valerian plants is chosen to be rocky, calcareous, or depleted field soil, although the crop can also be grown on ordinary arable land. They respect the land as if it were a garden. In shallow arable land, furrows are made at a distance of 25 cm from each other and thrown into them. valerian seeds , sealing them only with a roller. You can also propagate valerian by rhizomes.

For sowing, seeds should be used exclusively from wild plants. Valerian care consists of weeding and surface loosening. To increase the yield of roots, you can cut off the flowering stems as rarely as possible, leaving only the basal leaves. In August and September, valerian rhizomes are collected, along with the roots. White, strong valerian rhizomes with next year's buds are preferred. They are cleared of soil, cut lengthwise and washed in wooden boxes with holes or in wicker baskets fixed in some running water. You can dry valerian either in the sun or in a dryer. For getting the best variety root, small, thin roots are combed out from it. Valerian is richer in active principles, the more substantial and elevated the soil on which it grew.

Gentian , (yellow gentian). Gentian grows wild in the mountainous regions of Siberia. Attempts at cultivation in the southern regions were successful. The beds for gentian are laid in light shade, prepared from heather or light sandy soil with leaf humus, rolled tightly, sowed, lightly covered with soil on top and covered with moss, which is removed as soon as shoots appear. At first, the ridges with seedlings are covered with brushwood.

Grown-up gentian seedlings are then transplanted to other ridges with looser soil, at a distance of 10-20 cm, one from the other. In the second year, a batch of plants that have reached a height of 30-40 cm are transplanted into the garden, onto deeply loosened, fairly moist soil rich in lime and humus. In medicine, gentian is used in the form of roots.

They are dug up in the 8-4th year of cultivation, in late autumn or early spring, and only large gentian roots are taken, and small ones are left to grow further. Other species with red flowers can also be cultivated, but their roots are smaller. Gentian bush , (fever, falcon flight, fat woman). Grows wildly on hills and among bushes, in the middle and... southern part of the USSR. Mine-

The properties of the roots are the same as those of the yellow one, but only the content of active substances is less.

Adonis , (Adonis). Adonis grows wildly in the steppes of the black earth strip and in the Urals. In the north it is found in the Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Oryol regions. (inclusive), on the hills. : between the bushes. Cultural, garden varieties They are not suitable for business at all, and their seeds cannot be used for sowing in the steppes. In April-May, during full flowering, entire plants are cut off, discarding thick stems. Adonis plant must be dried as quickly as possible to avoid blackening.

Clover officinalis , (Burkun). It grows in fields, wastelands, steppe fallow lands, thickets of bushes, along roads, along ravines, etc. almost throughout Europe. parts of Russia, except the far north. The dried flowering tops of sweet clover are used in medicine.

Summer and winter oak

Summer and winter oak. In medicine, the bark of young branches 8-10 years old is used. age (in any case, no older than 20 years), taken in the spring, and no thicker than 2-3 mill.

Datura plant

Datura . It grows abundantly in weedy places in the southern and part of central Russia. Datura can be cultivated by direct sowing and broadcasting. At garden culture You can collect 3 - 4 times a summer. Phosphate fertilizer increases the amount of alkaloids in dope leaves. Datura leaves and seeds are used in medicine. Leaves are collected from flowering plants. The leaves of the second collection are richer in alkaloids than the first. Freshly collected leaves should be frozen immediately and dried as soon as possible. Dried dope leaves cannot withstand long-term (more than a year) storage; pharmacies buy only freshly collected leaves.

Angelica , two years old. Angelica grows wildly throughout Russia (south of the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod regions), in damp places, along river banks. Angelica is grown on good garden soil, with deep cultivation. Loves rotted fertilizer. The place for planting angelica should be low-lying, but not swampy, and sunny. Angelica seeds freshly collected from cultivated plants are sown in autumn or spring and greenhouse seedlings are raised. The distance between plants is 35-40 cm.

In medicine, angelica rhizomes are used along with the roots, dug up in late autumn before frost or early spring, before the start of growth into a stem. Angelica roots are dried, chopped and strung on threads near the stove. The Pharmacopoeia requires that there be no admixture of angelica silica roots. Roots are preferred for spring cleaning. Young stems and leaf petioles are used to prepare ducats.

golden root plant

Golden root , (Golden seal, yellow root). It is not found in the wild in Russia, but cultivation, as experiments in cultivating this plant near Moscow have shown, is quite possible. Reproduction is better by rhizomes, more difficult by seeds, due to their low germination rate. Rhizomes for planting golden root are dug up in May and planted on ridges prepared in the fall, dug deeply and generously fertilized with leaf humus. The ridges must be arranged in strong shade or canopies are placed over them over the soil.

The soil should be moist all summer, but not too wet. Golden root care consists of loosening the soil and weeding weeds. For the winter, it is better to protect the plantings from frost with a cover made of rotted leaves. Blossom Golden root starts from the second year; collection of rhizomes can begin from the third year. They are dug up in August, when the fruits are ripe, the tops with buds and thin branches of the rhizomes are separated and planted in a nursery or stored until spring planting, and thicker rhizomes are dried along with the roots. In America experimental plantings This plant yielded 384 poods. raw root from the tithe; one pound of dry root is obtained from 4 pounds. raw.

Iris plant

Iris . Can be cultivated in gardens in the middle and western regions of Russia. In the southern regions it is found in the wild. Plants require plenty of sun and somewhat heavy soil. Pieces of iris rhizomes are planted on ridges 6-10 inches apart and allowed to develop for at least three years. After three years, they begin to dig up the roots in the fall, selecting the thicker and more regular ones for sale, and the rest for sale. new landing. From best roots iris cut out into pieces 15 cm long and 4 cm thick; These pieces are smoothly planed and a hole is drilled at their flat end for threading the cord. These pieces serve as teething aid for children. The remaining pieces, trimmings and roots, are thinner and irregular shape, go on sale. separately. The rhizomes of the German iris completely replace the rhizomes of the Florentine iris, the cultivation of which in the Union is possible only along the southwestern coast of the Black Sea.

Castor bean , Castor, ricinum, in our latitudes, is an annual plant. The most preferred variety is the small-fruited one, as it contains significantly more oil. Castor beans can be successfully cultivated in the Kherson province. and further south. The crop (field) is similar to the corn crop. Castor bean requires fertile soil, rich in phosphorus, potassium and lime. Castor bean seedlings are very sensitive to frost. At. With sufficient heat and humidity, the seeds ripen no earlier than 5 - 7 months after sowing; they ripen at very different times, which greatly complicates harvesting. In medicine, fatty oil obtained from the seeds by cold pressing is used. Hot pressing produces oil for technical use.

Buckthorn plant

Buckthorn , perennial. Grows in forests and shrubs in almost all of Europe. parts of Russia, except the north. Dried bark is used, collected in April from the trunk and branches of young buckthorn bushes. The bark used in medicines is kept in a dry place for at least a year or heated for an hour at 100°.

Medicinal plant lily of the valley

Lily of the valley . It grows wildly in most of the European part of Russia, in forests and between bushes. Lily of the valley flower brushes are used in medicine, sometimes together with leaves. Lily of the valley tinctures in pharmacies are prepared mainly from fresh flowers; in rare cases, dried flowers of the latest harvest are used.

Medicinal plant Linden

Linden. Cleanly collected and carefully dried flowers are used.

, two pages It grows wildly along the shores of the Baltic and White Seas. It is successfully cultivated on ordinary garden soil, with high humidity, with a slope to the north. Sowing in August, and in the south in early spring. In medicine, fresh plants are used, cut in the second year; although you can pluck the leaves in the first year, for the preparation of tincture and essential oil, or as an antiscorbutic remedy. Essential oil can be distilled from dry spoon grass if it is moistened, mixed with a certain amount of diluted mustard and allowed to stand in a warm place for some time before distillation.

Plant Jacques soporific

, opium m., oily m., white m., blue m., gray m., field m., garden m., terry m., monol. Cultivated in vegetable gardens and as a field crop. Used in medicine; 1) unripe, dried fruits, cleared of seeds. They should be gray-greenish in color, with 10-15 radiant stigmas and the same number of incomplete nests, dry fruit weight about 3.5 g, 2) poppy seed, exclusively white, 3) dried juice flowing from ring-shaped or helical cuts , made on still unripe poppy (opium) pods. Good quality(strong, rich in alkaloids) opium, however, can only be obtained in the far south (in Transcaucasia, Turkestan).

Medicinal plant juniper

Juniper , perennial. Accompanies pine and, together with it, is most common in the northern regions of Russia, while in the southern regions it is found in sandy areas and in mountainous areas. In medicine, mature (black with a bluish bloom) fruits, usually called berries, are used. Essential oil is extracted from juniper wood.

Medicinal plant Mint

Mint English, peppery, cold, multi-colored Cultivated in large quantities in Yaroslavl, Tula, Voronezh, Tambov, Mogilev, Kazan, Saratov, Kharkov, Kyiv, Poltava, Podolsk and Tauride regions. Most suitable soils are chernozem loams and sandy-silty alluvial deposits along river banks. In the non-chernozem zone, treated and fertilized loamy or sandy loam soils are good for the previous plant. Sufficient soil moisture is a necessary condition successful culture mint. It can withstand flooding without harm. mint plant is not afraid of shading, but contains less essential oil. Of the different varieties of mint, you should prefer white and black mint for planting.

White mint It blooms earlier and produces an oil with a particularly delicate aroma, but is quite sensitive to both frost and drought, and produces slightly less essential oil than black mint. Black mint is more resilient, blooms somewhat later, produces 15-20% more oil, but has a worse aroma. In the south, where both varieties bloom almost simultaneously, it can be advantageous to produce a mixed crop of black and white mint. Mint should not be propagated by seeds, but exclusively by cuttings. Mint cuttings(pieces of rhizomes) in early spring in the south are planted directly in place, in furrows. In the north, mint cuttings are often planted first in. Planted mint cuttings in the south are watered several times. Caring for a mint plantation consists of shelving and carefully loosening the soil.

Mint harvest time produced during flowering; If for the first time you do not cut off the entire plant, but only the flowering tops, then the collection can be repeated two or three times, and the last time you usually have to cut off plants with unopened colored buds. The last cut is made to the very root. In the south, mint overwinters without any cover; in the middle provinces, it is better to cover it for the winter with a dry leaf, loose soil and manure. Mint can be kept in one place of the plantation for three years. If you want to preserve the plantation for a longer time, then it must be thinned out and surface fertilized in the fall with rotted manure or watered with slurry in the spring.

Mint can be included in crop rotation; the writer of these lines cultivated mint in the Kharkov region. on low meadow, partly flooded land in the following crop rotation: 1) strong manure fertilizer and hemp on it, 2) fodder beetroot, 3, 4, and 5) mint, 6) grain bread. The harvested mint is tied into bunches and dried, hanging under a canopy. 1 teaspoon of dry mint is obtained from 5 teaspoons of raw mint. Peppermint essential oil can be driven from both wet and dry. The harvest of raw mint per tithe is 100-200 poods. Oils from tithes with good culture from 20 pounds. up to 1 pood.

Mint plant

Curly mint . The culture is the same as peppermint. In medicine, the entire herb, cut during flowering, is (rarely) used. Essential oil is extracted from fresh or dried trap.

Digitalis , (). Not found in the wild. The culture is possible in the southwestern provinces, but with the risk that the rhizomes will freeze in winter. In any case, the plant is so important medicinally that experiments with its culture are necessary. In England, foxgloves are cultivated in vegetable gardens, sowing 6 lbs per tithe. seeds Leaves collected during flowering are used in medicine. Digitalis leaves should be dried at a temperature not exceeding 40°. Under the influence of even slight dampness, the product loses all medicinal value during storage.

Medicinal plant Fern

Fern . It grows wild in most of Russia, in forests and between bushes. The upper part of the rhizome, cleared of shoots and leaves, is used; collection takes place in August-September. Browned (stale) fern rhizomes are rejected.

Medicinal plant Moss

Plaun ,(Boxthorn). Grows in abundance in coniferous forests and birch groves of northern and central Russia, less common in the black earth zone. Moss moss spores are used in medicine. They collect the still immature spikelets and let them mature, spreading them out on paper. The spilled moss spores are collected in jars.

Sagebrush . Everywhere in Russia, on black soil (in fields, hills and wastelands).

Chamomile . It grows wildly in fields and weedy places in central and southern Russia. In Tula, Kharkov, Poltava regions. cultivated in significant quantities. For the crop, light soils are selected if possible. The first sowing of chamomile is done in the fall, 1 lb. is sown per tithe. seeds Sowing is scattered and dense. The seeds are covered with a roller. At the end of June or early July, the first harvest is made, the soil is loosened with a cultivator and the second sowing is carried out. Second chamomile collection in September. For chamomile seeds leave special area with early shoots; Plants are harvested for seeds when; the baskets have already dried out, but the seeds have not yet fallen out of them. Mown plants in small sheaves are placed under a canopy for final ripening. In medicine, colored heads of chamomile are used, cut without the stem if possible. When drying, to prevent fermentation, the flowers are laid out in as thin a layer as possible.

Persian chamomile

Grows wildly in the mountain meadows of the Caucasus. It is successfully cultivated in the Kyiv and Volyn regions. Seeds are sown in spring on garden beds with very fine seeding. Chamomile loves soil mixed with lime. At the end of June or beginning of July, seedlings are planted on the same ridges. Next spring they are transplanted into place, and perhaps often weeded. From the end of July, chamomile heads are collected as they open. Every year in the spring, before the buds begin to develop, the ridges are dug up and at the same time propagation is carried out through rhizomes. You can cultivate chamomile in July.

The land is well prepared in the fall, plowed again in the spring and carefully harrowed. Row sowing is done in a mixture with seeds of quickly germinating plants (mustard, rapeseed), which are then pulled out. Main care consists of thorough weeding and inter-row loosening. In the fall, the plants are thinned out, and those pulled out are replanted. Flowering in the second year. They leave the plantation in one place, applying mineral fertilizers from time to time, until at least 10 poods are obtained from the tithe. powder. The newly opened heads are collected and dried in the air, in the shade. 2,000 dry heads weigh 5 pounds. Dry heads are ground in a special mill, and in this form they go on sale under the name Persian and Dalmatian powder.

Rhubarb plant. The culture is known in the Tula province. Soil for growing rhubarb needs to contain lime. It is better to propagate rhubarb from rhizomes, planting them first on ridges and then replanting them in places at a distance of a fathom from each other. The ground must be dug up. Fertilizer with bone meal or phosphate (in no case manure). Stagnation of water in the arable horizon is destructive for rhubarb. Since rhubarb leaves die off at the end of July, intercrops of vegetables with a shallow root system or chamomile are possible along with it. For the winter, each rhubarb bush is covered with manure. Full maturation of roots requires 10-12 years. The dug rhubarb roots are carefully sorted, all flabby, spongy pieces and small roots are discarded; the black outer bark is peeled off; the selected roots are cut into pieces, strung on a thread and dried.

Licorice , (licorice, sweet root, licorice). Licorice grows wild; on the solonetz soils of southeastern Russia and the Transcaucasus. Licorice can be cultivated in loose deep sandy soils. Licorice is planted in furrows 11-12 inches deep. one from the other, by sections of roots or basal shoots. The first collection of roots is obtained 3-4 years after planting. The field can be maintained with a good harvest for 20-25 years by loosening the soil after harvesting. To collect licorice roots, they are dug up with a plow, and some of the shoots remain in the ground, and the field is renewed by itself, requiring only the planting of roots here and there on bald patches. After collection, licorice roots are kept in heaps for some time, where they acquire a brighter yellow color. The aged licorice roots and shoots are then washed, cleaned and scraped from the side roots.

Medicinal plant ergot

Ergot , (horns). Formed on ears of rye. Ergot is removed from the ears or separated from the rye grain during threshing and winnowed.

Sage , (kalufer). Found wild in gardens and vegetable gardens near Odessa, Yekaterinoslav, Kharkov and Kursk. There are also 15 species of wild sage, but none of them are suitable for medicine. Cultivated in Yaroslavl and Poltava regions. The soil for the crop requires dry, light, but rich in humus and lime; Strong sunshine is required. The best way to propagate sage is by dividing old bushes. In winter, sage freezes to the root; in the fall it should be hilled up to protect the root buds. In medicine, dried sage leaves (exclusively cultivated plants) are used, cut before flowering or at its very beginning.

Medicinal plant Saffron

Saffron , (crocus). Cultivated in large quantities in Baku and Dagestan. It can be cultivated in the southern part of Russia, where it ripens, in areas facing midday, with dry soil. It's best along beams protected from the north; the proximity of a river or damp meadow is very favorable; In wet years, the saffron yield is always higher. The soil for growing saffron should be well loosened and well fertilized. Saffron bulbs are planted in July in furrows 13 cm deep, spaced 13-18 cm apart from each other.

A saffron plantation can be left in one place for up to 6 years if liquid or mineral fertilizer is used from the third year. Saffron begins to bloom in the first year, but produces the largest number of flowers in the third year. Since saffron leaves appear only at the end of summer, it is recommended to sow some other plant among the saffron that produces an early harvest, for example, chamomile. In medicine and confectionery, stigmas of saffron pistils are used, mixed with as few anthers, stamens and styles as possible. The most important part Saffron culture is harvested and dried. Picking saffron flowers carried out over 2-3 weeks, on dry autumn days, in the morning, when the flowers open. Now after collection, cleaning is carried out, i.e. separation and selection of stigmas from flowers, and it must be completed no later than by morning next day. The separated product is dried on sieves over a brazier with coals or in an oven until it becomes hard.

Tarragon . Grows wildly in the southeastern provinces. Flower tops and young tarragon are used in medicine. The flowering tops of tarragon are collected. To the instructions given for individual plants, it is necessary to add a few general remarks about the collection and drying of medicinal plants. Collection should always be done on a clear sunny day, and after the dew has completely disappeared. Tender plants and, in particular, flowers can only be collected in baskets. Start drying immediately after

collection You can dry tarragon in the shade in the air, on ropes and in attics, directly on the floor, on matting or canvas, or, which is much better, on special lattice frames raised above the floor. Drying can also be done in barns, barns, cages and sheds, as long as they are dry and have sufficient ventilation. When drying, tarragon is placed in a thin layer or tied into small bunches. Both bundles and layers of product need to be turned over more often. Rain or dew can, if not completely spoil, then greatly reduce the quality of the product.

In most slulai, it is better to dry tarragon roots in a Russian oven or in a vegetable oven, without raising the temperature above 50°. If there is no dryer, and it is not possible to arrange one, then it is convenient to dry the roots in attics, under the roof, placing them on a scaffold in a thin layer. Tarragon roots are usually collected either in the fall, after the foliage has withered, or in the spring, before it develops. The roots are washed with cold water and then prepared for drying in different ways, some by cleaning and cutting, others not (see instructions under the description of individual plants). Tarragon seeds are harvested when ripe and usually do not require special drying.

The fruits are also usually picked when ripe and then dried. The purer the product, the more the color of the fresh plant has been preserved in it, and the more carefully its packaging, the more expensive it is. If these conditions are met, the price increase can reach 250-300%. Before you start preparing a particular product, you should find a place to sell it and purchase a ready-made sample of a good product from a pharmacy warehouse, to whose qualities you should try to match your product. When preparing medicinal herbs, all the more attention should be paid to ensuring that herbs that are similar only in appearance, but are not mixed with them medicinal properties not having.