Latin name: Tussilago farfara L.
Description
Belongs to the aster family. The weed is ubiquitous. It grows in gardens and orchards, settles on damp, clayey, and sometimes on barren, bare, stony soils. Most burdensome in crops vegetable crops. A feature of weed biology is a very rapid development and intensive growth, which leads to the complete displacement of other plants.
root system- in the form of brittle rhizomes covered with scales, penetrating the soil up to 1 m. The stem is straight, pubescent, covered with leafy scales. Leaves on shortened vegetative shoots, basal - rounded heart-shaped, serrated. The leaf blades are smooth above, white-tomentose below. The flowers are yellow, bisexual, but sterile.
The fruit is a cylindrical or tetrahedral slightly curved achene with a falling pod of large white hairs. Weight of 1000 achenes is 0.2...0.3 g. Seedlings from achenes and shoots from rhizomatous buds appear in early spring. Cotyledons 4...6 long, 1...2 mm wide, oblong. The maximum fertility is up to 19 thousand seeds, which have high germination capacity and germinate in the soil from a depth of no more than 2 cm.
Control measures
The main measures to combat coltsfoot should be aimed at the destruction of young rosettes. This is best achieved from the earliest phase of their development. Good results are obtained by a combination of surface treatment techniques with layer-by-layer deep loosening and pruning of rhizomes with moldboardless tools. The weed is resistant to commonly used herbicides. positive results reach, using banvel, tordan, which have the ability to penetrate into the rhizomes.
People often try to exterminate coltsfoot from their gardens and flower beds, but she also has useful applications. In addition, remove all of it from land plot extremely difficult.
1 Features and reproduction2 Methods of struggle3 What is useful grass
Features and reproduction
Coltsfoot is a herbaceous plant from the family of perennials belonging to the Compositae. It is well distributed on such continents as: Eurasia, North America and North Africa. This is an extremely unpretentious plant that can grow almost anywhere.
It begins to bloom in spring, when the snow melts. Golden-yellow flowers can often be seen next to the still melting snow cover. The fruits ripen by the end of May, beginning of June. By itself, it is not high, about 25 cm.
The coltsfoot is very fond of the sun, so she prefers unshaded areas. It will grow well in clay or loamy soil. But, despite its unpretentiousness, it does not grow in densely covered with turf areas.
It reproduces mainly vegetatively, but can also be using rhizomes, which occupies the entire territory that it can reach. The leaves are arranged so tightly that they form a cover in which it is very difficult to meet other weeds.
When the plant matures, it becomes like a dandelion. The seeds of the coltsfoot can be dispersed by gusts of wind. Up to 20,000 seeds per season can fall from one plant.
The coltsfoot has a very well developed root system. On its long petiole is a heart-shaped foliage. On the outside, the leaves are smooth and green, and on the inside, whitish and pubescent. The stem is about 20 cm long and ends in a flower.
Fighting methods
This plant is very well known to every gardener, since most of them have an eternal struggle with it. During digging and plowing, weed roots are cut into smaller ones, from which independent plants will sprout. There are several ways to deal with this weed:
The essence of the first method is the complete cleaning of the dug-up earth from all roots. In spring and summer, it is recommended, albeit sometimes, to dig up the coltsfoot. At the same time, get rid of sleepiness.
Weed solutions. Only the shoots that have appeared are poured with a solution and dug out when the earth turns yellow, and only then they are engaged in the formation of beds. This usually happens within 2 weeks.
Cover the ground with an opaque material ( black film or ruberoid), since sunlight they will be missed, then the weeds will die out. But this will happen in about 6-8 weeks.
It will take 2-3 months to cut weeds (only applicable to perennials) with a shovel or chopper, adhering to a 2-week interval.
It will take blowtorch. You can burn the ground parts of perennial weeds at intervals of 15-20 days.
We use herbicides on especially active weeds.
We will perform only in dry weather and in areas with soft, loose earth. With the help of a rake, the surface of the bed is treated from weeds.
Only concerns fruit crops. After the seedlings of plants have appeared on the surface, it will not be superfluous to mulch the earth with peat, humus or straw. The layer must be at least 5 and not more than 8 cm.
The main measures for weed control should be directed precisely at young shoots. Good result surface treatment with layer-by-layer deep loosening and cutting of the rhizome with a non-moldboard tool will give.
What is useful herb
Flowers with leaves to a small extent, but still differ in their composition. They contain: malic and tartaric acid, carotenoids, vitamin C. Decoctions and tinctures with this plant are used as good remedy with anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effect, able to disinfect.
Coltsfoot flowers can only be collected in spring, but leaves can be collected in early summer. Then they should be dried. This can be done both in a slightly chilled room, on fresh air or in the dryer. The main thing is that the temperature does not exceed 30 degrees.
Preparations from coltsfoot are successfully used for cosmetic purposes.
In medicine, it is used as a diaphoretic and excellent expectorant. It contains enough mucus to coat and effectively protect against irritation of the mouth, throat and larynx. In addition, the plant contains saponins and other organic acids that soften and thin the dry products of the inflammation process. Thanks to tannins, carotenoids and sterols, hyperemia of the mucous membranes decreases.
Also, infusions of coltsfoot leaves are used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, because of their astringent properties.
Weed control in the garden
Why fight weeds?
Three Ways to Fight
By appearance weeds can be judged on how fertile the soil and its acidity. So, quinoa, odorless chamomile are especially fond of nitrogen. Yarutka field, thistle field grow better on soils where there is a lot of potassium. You can judge the high acidity of the soil by such weeds as horsetail, plantain, sorrel, tricolor violet. And it is impossible to grow a high yield on such soils without liming.
Beginner gardeners usually underestimate the damage caused by weeds or simply do not know how to get rid of weeds and how to protect against them. Weeds not only reduce soil fertility due to the consumption of moisture and nutrients, but also inhibit crops, shading cultivated plants, on weedy crops, the soil temperature decreases by at least 2-4 °. This reduces the activity of soil organisms, slows down the decomposition of organic matter and reduces the amount of nutrients in the soil.
The roots of some weeds secrete phytoncides that inhibit the growth and development of cultivated plants. Weeds develop a large number dangerous species pests and pathogens that spread to cultivated plants. For example, mites and aphids concentrate on sow thistle and field bindweed, cabbage pests multiply on cruciferous weeds, Colorado beetle at first lives on black nightshade and henbane.
Great harm vegetable plants cause various soil nematodes that breed on field thistle, white marijuana.
Why is it so hard to control weeds?
Due to the significant adaptability to the conservation of the species, weeds have such biological abilities as high fertility, uneven ripening and high shedding of seeds, unfriendly emergence of seedlings, the presence of a dormant period not only for seeds, but also for rhizomes and aboveground stems.
The arable layer of the soil, no matter how cultivated, always contains weed seeds. With a depth of the arable layer up to 25 cm, from 10 to 35 thousand germinating weed seeds can be contained per 1 m2 of the plot. White gauze sprouts throughout the growing season, the seeds are able to germinate in the soil in a very wide temperature range from 3 to 36°C. One plant can produce up to 700 thousand seeds. In the soil, germination lasts up to 8 years, and viability - up to 38 years. So, one plant of field thistle on average is able to form up to 19 thousand seeds, shepherd's purse - up to 73 thousand, wood lice (medium stellate) can produce 2-3 generations over the summer, because. her growing season is only 40 days.
Seedlings appear in early spring at a soil temperature of 2°C. The plant produces up to 25 thousand seeds, which remain viable in the soil for 5-8 years, and viability - up to 30 years.
Long-term practice shows that the more weedy crops are during the growing season, the more, despite the measures taken, weeds remain to autumn period and the higher the number of weed seeds entering the soil.
From all that has been said, we can conclude that weeds should not be seeded either on the beds, or on the boundaries and paths of the plots. Apply only rotted manure. In addition, many types of weeds reproduce by vegetative organs - offspring of roots, underground shoots, bulbs, tubers. These weeds have a strong root system. For example, the root system of the field plant consists of vertical (up to 6-7 m) and a large number of horizontal (daughter) roots of renewal. On the site of one shoot of a bodyak on next year there are more than 60 new outlets.
In creeping couch grass seedlings appear from seeds from a depth of up to 10 cm and from segments of rhizomes 5-15 cm long from a depth of up to 25 cm. The bulk of underground stems (rhizomes) is located in a soil layer of 0-15 cm. per 1 m2 reaches 84 m, and weight - 420 g.
In horsetail, the root system consists of rhizomes up to 100 cm long, which are located mainly at a depth of 30-60 cm, in coltsfoot the root goes deep into 1 m, and to the sides - up to 2 m. consists of vertical (up to 6 m) and horizontal roots. From one plant in 2-3 years, a center of clogging with an area of up to 2 m is formed. The vitality of bindweed is extremely high. This is the most harmful and difficult to eradicate weed in garden plots and you can get rid of it only by combining mechanical methods with chemicals.
Dealing with weeds in a variety of ways
The site must be dug up to the maximum depth (for the entire arable layer) and the root segments must be collected. With shallow digging, weediness may increase next year due to the growth of shoots from root segments.
If creeping couch grass prevails on the site, then you should dig with a shovel. In the presence of root weeds (yellow thistle, field thistle, field bindweed, etc.), it is recommended to dig up the plots with garden pitchforks, because these weeds have more brittle roots and must be dug out carefully. Weeds selected from the soil should be removed from the site or burned. It's best to do this in the fall.
In the spring, on the beds set aside for early-sown crops - radishes, carrots, parsley, dill, etc., harrowing is carried out with a rake. The first row in the garden should be noted so that, knowing the distance between the rows, it is necessary to constantly destroy the newly emerged weeds with a garden pitchfork. After emergence of the crop, the weeds in the rows are harvested by hand. Processing of row spacing should be carried out before closing rows of culture.
In areas allocated for sowing late crops, harrowing should not be rushed. You need to wait for as many weeds as possible to appear, and then destroy them by harrowing just before sowing heat-loving crops. During the entire growing season, crops are regularly loosened, weeding is very important. Weeds must be removed from the beds, because they contain substances that inhibit the growth and development of the crop.
An effective way to control weeds in the garden is to mulch the soil. As mulch, you can use humus, chopped straw, sawdust, old roofing material. Mulch covers areas of soil that are not occupied by crops. At the same time, the germination of weeds is inhibited, the evaporation of moisture is reduced, the formation of a soil crust is prevented, and as a result, plant nutrition is improved. On soils with excessive moisture, mulching is less effective. If the areas where they are going to plant trees, shrubs and strawberries are heavily clogged with perennial weeds, then better fit set aside for a year, using his time to clear the site of weeds. The roots of perennial weeds contain large reserves of nutrients in the form of water-soluble carbohydrates, which provide high viability and the ability to produce a huge number of new plants from individual root segments.
In order to achieve the depletion of root weed species - sow thistle, bindweed, dandelion, coltsfoot, etc., it is necessary to cut the stems and leaves in the very first days after the emergence of seedlings, and bury the roots with a shovel to a depth of 18-20 cm. It must be done in during the summer and autumn several times as it grows.
In the fall, as mentioned above, dig this area as deep as possible and collect all the segments of the roots, because they take root in moist soil and give new shoots.
Three Ways to Fight
Rhizome weeds can be controlled using the following methods: strangulation, fume and freezing.
How to remove weeds by strangulation? Underground organs (rhizomes of couch grass, horsetail, reed, etc.) should be cut into the smallest possible parts. After that, they come out of dormancy and give many new shoots, which are then destroyed with a chopper or shovel, they dig up the soil, carefully closing up upper layer down.
Fume method: drying under the rays of the sun rhizomes extracted from the soil during processing.
Freezing is effective in years with little snow and frost.
In autumn, the site is deeply dug up and left in the form of blocks. Weed roots that are on the surface freeze out. In the spring, these rhizomes must be collected with a rake, and the rest buried deeper.
Since it is very difficult to get rid of weeds, especially perennial ones, it is impossible to completely eradicate them with agricultural technology. And therefore, if the site is heavily clogged with perennial weeds, you can use a weed killer, herbicide, roundup, 36% aqueous solution. It can be applied against weeds in the spring before sowing crops or after early harvested crops. Weeds at the time of spraying should be in a vegetative state. The treatment gives the greatest effect at a weed plant height of 10-15 cm. After spraying, do not weed the weeds for 3-4 weeks, because the herbicide moves through the leaves and stems to the roots, causing gradual wilting, yellowing and death of the plant. Do not allow the herbicide to come into contact with cultivated plants. Roundup, getting into the soil, is quickly decomposed by soil microorganisms.
How to use Roundup against weeds: pour 2 liters of water into the sprayer, then add 80 g of herbicide and add water up to 10 liters, all this is mixed. The consumption of the working solution is 5 liters per 100 m2.
The working solution is prepared immediately before treatment and used on the same day. After spraying, it is necessary that there is no rain for at least 6 hours.
All safety precautions must be observed when treating with a weed killer.
Water burdock, Kamchuzhnaya grass - it's all the same plant that is used in the treatment or prevention of various diseases. It has a strange structure of leaves: the top surface is hard, cold, and the bottom is warm, tender, hence the name. Grass coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications for use, how to prepare useful infusions, decoctions from leaves and flowers at home, find out further.
What is coltsfoot
Common coltsfoot (from Latin - tussilago farfara) is a perennial herbaceous grass. Feature - yellow small flowers tongue-like. They are collected in baskets. Leaves scaly, large. The top of the leaf is smooth, the bottom is pubescent, white tomentose. The plant reaches up to 20 cm in height. Basal leaves from afar look like burdock. Flowering begins in early spring, sometimes it can grow between unmelted snow.
Chemical composition
The herb is used in traditional medicine, has rich chemical composition. Useful substances are found in fresh, dried leaves, flowers. With the help of medicinal raw materials of the plant, decoctions, infusions, teas and other remedies for the treatment of diseases can be prepared. Next, consider what is contained in the flowers, leaves of the coltsfoot:
- mucus-polysaccharides;
- dextrin;
- bitter glycosides;
- inulin;
- organic acids;
- vitamin C;
- vegetable essential oils;
- carotenoids;
- sitosterol;
- saponins;
- tannins;
- flavonoids.
Water burdock flowers contain the following beneficial substances:
- triterpene faradiol;
- tetraterpene taraxanthin;
- arnidol;
- heptacosan hydrocarbon;
- stigmasterol;
- sitosterol;
- tannins.
pharmachologic effect
Dry leaves of coltsfoot have an expectorant, anti-inflammatory effect. Mucus and acids help to thin the viscous secretion that is secreted in the upper respiratory tract, improve sputum production. Flowers with plant leaves:
- have a diaphoretic effect;
- provide a mucolytic effect;
- eliminate inflammatory processes;
- speed up recovery.
Fresh leaves are used like plantain - they are applied to festering ulcers, festering wounds and abscesses. Plant effects include:
- antihypoxic;
- multivitamin;
- antioxidant;
- cleansing.
Healing properties
The medicinal properties of the plant have a beneficial effect on the skin and the human body. Fresh leaves are applied to sore spots, and infusions, decoctions, teas, and ointments are made from dry raw materials. Fresh juice is taken for inflammatory diseases. The herb has a medicinal effect on the adult and children's body:
- improves immune system;
- strengthens the body;
- stimulates the functions of the endocrine glands;
- provides diaphoretic, wound-healing effect;
- expectorant effect;
- stimulates the healing of wounds on the skin.
Indications for use
Beneficial features coltsfoot helps to cope with many diseases. In the following list, you will find out what diseases the plant copes with. This list is not complete because many traditional healers hide recipes from coltsfoot that help get rid of many diseases. Indications for the use of water burdock are as follows.
Respiratory diseases and viral infections
A person and a child can get sick with various respiratory infections throughout the year, and sometimes several times. It's sharp infectious diseases that occur after the penetration of viruses into the human respiratory system. Inside, pathogenic organisms multiply, causing an inflammatory process. Coltsfoot - its medicinal properties and contraindications, will help cure diseases such as:
- laryngitis;
- bronchitis / pharyngitis;
- Chronical bronchitis;
- tracheitis;
- bronchopneumonia;
- pneumonia;
- whooping cough;
- bronchiectasis;
- lung abscess;
- SARS.
Diseases of the gallbladder and urinary tract
The kidneys are essential for the normal functioning of the human body systems. Organs perform excretory, metabolic, osmoregulatory and other functions. If a person has diseases of the urinary tract or gallbladder, this negatively affects the functions of the whole organism. Coltsfoot helps to cope with many problems of these organs and systems:
- chronic prostatitis;
- atherosclerosis;
- hyperplasia prostate;
- thrombosis;
- embolism;
- aneurysms;
- prostate adenoma;
- hemorrhoids;
- urolithiasis;
- kidney cyst;
- arthritis;
- cystitis.
Medicinal properties in cardiovascular diseases
Thanks to the systemic circulation, the functions of the heart are performed, vascular tone is maintained, blood circulation throughout the body. In diseases of the cardiovascular system in folk medicine, water burdock is used to treat. If the functions of the heart, vascular tone are impaired, this can lead to the fact that the organs and tissues will not receive required amount blood and oxygen, there will be:
- ischemia;
- myocardial infarction;
- stroke;
- angina;
- arrhythmia;
- peripheral vascular disease;
- hypertension;
- disorders of the nervous system.
Damage to the skin
The skin is an integral part of our body: it shows the “consequences” of nutrition, a person’s lifestyle. The skin is also vulnerable, like our other organs, to various pathogenic microbes. Subsequently, the skin may suffer from psoriasis, dermatosis, dermatitis. In folk medicine, coltsfoot copes with various diseases skin:
- psoriasis;
- dermatitis;
- dermatosis;
- dandruff;
- hair loss;
- abscesses.
For weight loss
medicinal plant can be not only a panacea for all diseases, but also a means for losing weight. You can use coltsfoot to eliminate excess fat - it has a good effect on the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract). But this effect can be obtained only in combination with sports and proper nutrition. The plant is used as a stimulant, aid to the stomach and intestines.
Features of use for children
For children under two years of age, it is forbidden to use preparations based on water burdock without consulting a pediatrician. Sometimes mothers simply add decoctions of the plant to baths while bathing. Dry leaves and flowers of water burdock should not be brewed for children during a prolonged cough, diathesis or high body temperature, it is better to consult a doctor. Fresh leaves can be applied like psyllium for minor injuries.
For women
Water burdock can treat various problems that are associated with gynecology. The plant and its composition are able to have anti-inflammatory effects on reproductive system women. During pregnancy, you can do enemas for douching or wash with decoction. Used in oncology ammonia solution based on elecampane root. Coltsfoot does not apply during lactation.
Grass coltsfoot– application
Water burdock is used to treat various diseases, but not everyone knows when, in what form and what dosage is needed for various ailments. Coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications are described earlier in the article, below are recipes for preparing infusions, decoctions, fresh juice and other uses botanical plant, dosage for various diseases.
leaf infusion
With poor digestion, cholecystitis, inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, it is necessary to prepare the following infusion:
- 20 g of the plant must be crushed, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for half an hour, strain through a cloth.
- Reception - 1-2 tablespoons 4 times a day.
With cough, acute or chronic bronchitis, pharyngitis, bronchial asthma, hoarse voice, gastrointestinal diseases prepare an infusion of the leaves of the plant:
- 4 tsp leaves are crushed, brewed in a glass of boiling water, insisted for half an hour.
- Then the infusion is filtered, they drink a quarter cup three times a day.
Decoction coltsfoot
With bronchitis, a decoction is prepared in milk. To do this, take a tablespoon of chopped herbs, pour 500 ml of milk, add fresh lard (on the tip of a knife), cook in a sealed container for about 10 minutes. Then the remedy is filtered and taken at night, 50 ml each. With shortness of breath, take 15 grams of crushed dry leaves, they need to be brewed with boiling water (0.2 l), insist until cool, filter. Take a tablespoon every 3 hours.
For pneumonia, you need to take 3 tablespoons of chopped herbs, pour a liter of boiling water into enamel saucepan. Then the infusion should be boiled in a water bath in a sealed container for about 15 minutes, leave to cool. After - the mixture is squeezed and filtered. Boiled water is added to the infusion, a tablespoon of honey is added, and half a glass is taken three times a day.
In case of bronchial asthma, a glass of dry leaves is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for half an hour and filtered. You need to take ¼ cup four times a day. With colpitis, you need to prepare everything for douching. To do this, take a tablespoon of crushed leaves, pour a glass of boiling water, insist for half an hour, strain, add boiled water again. Douching is carried out with a warm decoction twice a day.
Fresh Juice
Fresh juice is squeezed from the fresh leaves of the plant. They can cure a runny nose. To do this, you need to drip into the nose 2-3 drops in each nostril throughout the day. Effective juice during seasonal diseases. To increase the immunity of the body, you need to drink Fresh Juice from grass leaves. For a day you need to drink 1-2 tablespoons of juice 4-5 times. The course of treatment is 1 week in a row for several seasons.
Tea
Tea can be bought in cloth or paper bags, or you can pick leaves from the garden. The botanical appearance of the plant, without any impurities that may be in tea packages, will have a beneficial effect on your body. Tea is taken for dropsy, suffocation, chest diseases, cough. For brewing, take a teaspoon of chopped herbs, pour boiling water (a glass), cover with a lid and leave for up to 10 minutes. The tea needs to be filtered. Use three times a day for a cup in hot form.
Alcohol infusion
Alcohol tincture is prepared from the flowers of the plant and vodka. It can help with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For cooking, it is recommended to collect flower baskets immediately after they appear. The ratio of flowers and vodka is 1:1. The mixture is insisted for a week in the shade. Take 35-40 drops before meals. If there are remains of flowers in the blanks, you can make tea or a new one. alcohol tincture. Store in a thermos.
Powder
The powder is taken for colds, in the form of compresses for thrombophlebitis, for gargling. For colds, it is necessary to take a third of a teaspoon of the powder three times a day, washed down with plain boiled water. To rinse, take two tablespoons of plant powder, pour a glass of boiling water, insist for half an hour, filter. Then gargle with warm infusion 5-6 times a day.
Methods of application at home
Use water burdock at home in different types: baths, applications, compresses or inhalations for various respiratory diseases. To do this, it is not always necessary to boil the mixture. It is necessary to collect the leaves of the plant during flowering, when the grass contains a large amount of nutrients. The following are home remedies.
Applications
Applications from the plant are used for polyarthritis, rheumatism, furunculosis, ulcerative lesions, infected wounds, scrofulous ulcers, calluses. For the use of coltsfoot, you need to collect fresh leaves plants, knead, squeeze. The mixture is spread on the affected area, wrapped with parchment paper, fixed with a bandage. Sometimes you can boil dry leaves with boiling water, cool, apply to sore spots.
Inhalations for respiratory diseases
During colds, inhalations are made based on chamomile and water burdock. Take a teaspoon of herb and 2 teaspoons of chamomile. Then pour 0.5 ml of boiling water, boil over medium heat, cool to a warm state. Next, they bend over the pan, cover their heads with a towel, inhale the steam for 7-10 minutes. At the same time, not only the symptoms of a cold disappear, but also acne with acne.
Foot baths
Foot baths not only help to cope with fatigue and "buzz" of the legs. The plant can help with varicose veins veins in the legs. Baths can be taken several times a week. The duration of the procedure is about 25 minutes. To prepare a bath, pour two full handfuls of leaves with boiling water, insist a little. Then the infusion is poured into a bowl with hot water.
Leaf compress for lactation
During lactation, a woman's body decides when it needs chest fees milk, in what quantities. In order to reduce the appearance of milk, to facilitate this process, to prevent the appearance of hardening and other pathologies of the breast, it is necessary to apply compresses directly to the chest. To do this, take the washed leaves of water burdock, apply them with a shiny side to the chest. Coltsfoot - its medicinal properties and contraindications, is used very often for these problems or possible diseases.
Contraindications and side effects
Despite the usefulness of coltsfoot, its medicinal properties and contraindications also exist. This also applies side effects. The use of this plant can not always bring desired effect from the course of treatment. The instructions say that herbal products should not be taken:
- with increased sensitivity to the components of the drug;
- during pregnancy, lactation;
- children under 12;
- liver disease;
- delayed menstruation;
- eczema.
Overdose can cause symptoms side effects: fever (fever), pain, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, nausea. At the first sign, you should contact your doctor. At home, you need to wash the stomach with warm milk or activated carbon in order to eliminate the symptoms of side effects.
As part of phytopreparations
Due to its qualities, coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications, is used in various herbal remedies. Means contain vegetable raw materials. Coltsfoot drugs can treat various diseases of the respiratory system. Treatments include Broncholit, which contains sage, coltsfoot, Crimean rose, linden, mullein, elecampane root and other tinctures.
Video
Just as soon as the snow came down, here and there on the edges and thawed patches small yellow flowers, familiar to everyone, appear. mother and stepmother plant- this flower has long been famous for its medicinal properties, it was used not only as a cure for colds, but also as a remedy for skin diseases. However, small "suns" can be found on railway embankments, in ravines, along river banks and on lawns in the city. How many names did people give little flower: mother - grass, water burdock, podbel, springweed. You will not believe it, but this nondescript-looking plant is common from Europe to Central Asia, it can also be seen as in North Africa, North America, and in the Murmansk region and the Kanin Peninsula.
plant description
Mother - and - stepmother is a perennial plant. In the month of April, low shoots appear from the ground, covered with brown, scaly leaves, “sits” on top small flower yellow color. When ripe, the podbel is somewhat reminiscent of a dandelion, since its small oblong achenes are pubescent with soft hairs that scatter at the slightest breath of wind. After flowering, these shoots die off and new ones appear in their place - vegetative ones. On long petioles, rounded, heart-shaped leaves appear. They are completely smooth, green on the outside, and pubescent, whitish on the inside. The rhizomes of the mother - and - stepmother are long, creeping. This plant has a peculiarity - it grows rapidly, filling free space with itself. When digging the earth for household plots all roots are recommended to be chosen, because as soon as possible, the plant will immediately start growing.
Beneficial features
All parts of the mother - and - stepmother are medicinal, but most often young leaves are harvested, less often - flowers and roots. Flowers are harvested in early spring, during the flowering period, the leaves are collected in the month of June. Dry green raw materials in dark, cool rooms, for example, in attics or special dryers.
Leaves and flowers differ slightly in their composition and contain: gallic, tartaric and malic acid, vitamin C, caratonitides, tannins and mucous substances, as well as mineral and organic salts. Mother-and-stepmothers use tinctures and decoctions as an expectorant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, astringent and disinfectant.
How to use
Most often, it is used as an anti-cold remedy, which relieves spasms of the bronchi well, thins the mucus. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic effects. Tinctures and decoctions are used both in the treatment of colds, bronchial diseases, and in the treatment of diseases of the oral cavity and as a remedy for the common cold. Among other things, mother - and - stepmother is used in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, for the treatment of skin diseases: wounds, eczema, boils, various skin inflammations.
In addition, it is successfully used in cosmetology. Decoctions are used for washing and wiping with acne, for dry and oily skin. Also, a decoction of podbela is part of the anti-wrinkle mask. In addition, the mother - and - stepmother is used as a strengthening agent for the treatment of weakened hair.
But, like every plant, the mother - and - stepmother has contraindications. It should not be taken by people suffering from liver disease. During pregnancy and lactation, as well as children under two years of age.
Whether in the garden, in the garden
Gardeners - gardeners know how difficult it is to deal with weeds. Plants are no exception, it is so tenacious that it seems that the fight against it is simply useless. When digging or plowing the land with a motor cultivator, small roots quickly germinate, filling the entire space. There are two ways to deal with this weed.
The first is that when digging up the earth, it is necessary to carefully select all the roots, even the smallest ones. And during the spring summer period Plants must be ruthlessly weeded out. Of course, with this method, you will spend a lot of time fighting weeds.
The second way - as soon as the first appeared flower shoots, they are watered with a solution against weeds, for example, "Roundup". After 10 to 14 days, the grass will turn yellow, and you can safely dig and form beds.
However, everything else by flowering, you can track the timing of planting various vegetables and flowers. For example, you can dig and form ridges two weeks after the start of flowering mother - and - stepmother. From the moment of mass flowering of this plant, it will be possible to start sowing cold-resistant crops: carrots, dill, radishes and others.
Agree that grass mother - and - stepmother very useful and necessary. That's how much amazing mother nature has in store for us.
coltsfoot - perennial herbaceous plant Asteraceae family, it is widely distributed in Eurasia, North America and North Africa. The coltsfoot is considered one of the most undemanding plants, it can be found in ravines, on wastelands, in quarries and along the road.
Peculiarities
The coltsfoot has straight, unbranched stems covered with scale-like leaves. The plant has a long and highly branched rhizome. On long petioles are rounded heart-shaped leaves, on the outside they are smooth, green in color, on the inside they are whitish and pubescent. Basal leaves sometimes reach a diameter of 25 cm and resemble small burdock leaves. The stems grow up to 10-25 cm and end with a flower basket.
Coltsfoot blooms in early spring, when the snow is just starting to melt. Its golden-yellow flowers can coexist with unmelted snow; fruits ripen in late May or early June. The coltsfoot is very sun-loving, she chooses unshaded areas and prefers clay and loamy soils. Although this plant is considered one of the most unpretentious, it does not grow on soils covered with dense turf.
reproduction
The main method of reproduction is vegetative, with the help of long white underground rhizomes, however, coltsfoot can reproduce by seeds. It quickly captures all free territories, and its leaves often form such a dense cover that other weeds are almost never found in its thickets. After maturation, the coltsfoot resembles a dandelion, its oblong achenes, pubescent with soft hairs, scatter when the wind blows.
Application
Flowers and leaves are slightly different in their composition, they contain malic and tartaric acid, caratonitides, vitamin C, as well as organic and mineral salts. Decoctions and tinctures of coltsfoot are used as a disinfectant, anti-inflammatory or anti-allergic agent. The flowers are harvested in spring and the leaves in June, then they are dried in dark and cool rooms. Preparations prepared from them are successfully used in cosmetology.
How to fight
Gardeners and gardeners are well acquainted with this weed plant, the fight against it is ongoing. When plowing or digging the earth, the small roots of the coltsfoot quickly germinate, occupying the entire surrounding space. There are two ways to deal with this weed. The first of them is to thoroughly clean the earth when digging, while it is necessary to get rid of all the roots, remove even the smallest ones. During spring and summer, it is recommended to periodically dig up the plant.
The second way to fight is to use a weed control solution, for example, Roundup. As soon as the first flower shoots appear, they are watered with a solution. When the grass turns yellow, this will happen in about 10-14 days, you can start digging and forming beds.