On the banks of the great Amur a beautiful and amazing tree grows, which is called Amur velvet. This plant is widespread throughout the Far East. You can meet him in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, on the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, in the Manchu forests, in Korea, China and Japan. A tree is considered a relic. This real natural monument was growing on Earth before the ice age. Nowadays, thanks to the unpretentiousness in the care, the tree is used for landscaping many sites, streets, parks.
Description
The botanical name of the plant is philodendron or Amur velvet, otherwise it is called the Amur cork tree. Belongs to the Route family.
The tree has a beautiful thick openwork crown. A powerful trunk in diameter reaches 1 meter, its height - up to 30 meters. Cirrus leaves, lanceolate. They have their own specific smell, you can feel it if you stretch the leaf in the palm of your hand or rub it lightly with your fingers.
The trunk of the philodendron is covered with a velvety, soft bark, which has a light brown color.
The flowers in the inflorescences are same-sex, regular, small and nondescript, they have petals of a greenish tint.
Berries (fruits) of a tree - a black shiny drupes. They have a bitter taste and a strong specific smell. Amur velvet blooms in late spring, closer to summer. In late August, the fruits ripen, and they hang on a tree until winter.
In order for the tree to develop well, the soil must be fertile and moist. The root system of cupid is well developed, goes deep into the soil, so the resistance to strong winds is quite high.
Reproduction occurs by seed. More often this happens with the help of birds that eat the fruits of velvet. Seeds germinate for about a year. In good conditions, a tree can reach the age of 300 years.
Amur velvet: berries and their application
Philodendron can bear fruit only once in 5-7 years. Therefore, its berries can not be found as often as we would like. The fruits have a spherical shape, resemble pearls. Their color is black, the smell is resinous, specific, the taste is bitter.
The berries of Amur velvet are used only for medicinal purposes. The reviews of those who have tried the action of the remedy themselves confirm a strong effect. This is due to the fact that the composition of the fruits contains many useful substances: myrcene, geraniol, limonin, berberine, tannins, palmatine and diosmin.
The most valued are those berries that hang longer on a tree, in some cases - until the first frost. One cupid tree can produce up to 10 kilograms of berries. They are dried in the open air, and then used for medical purposes. Below we will talk about this in more detail.
Amur velvet: healing properties
Absolutely all parts of the plant contain iatroricin, felodendrin, flavonoids. Each leaf of the tree is rich in various vitamins, essential oils, tannins, at least 10 flavonoids, vitamins C and P are present in the chemical composition.
Berberine is more commonly found in the bast. It also contains saponins, coumarins, terpenoids, sterols, phenol carboxylic acids.
In the fruits of cupid, in addition to the above substances, up to 10% of essential oils are contained.
Thanks to all these substances, the healing properties of Amur velvet make it possible to use it for many diseases. In folk medicine, the plant is used in the form of infusions, tinctures, decoctions. Not only berries are used, but also leaves, bark and flowers of the plant.
With pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, pleurisy, a decoction of the bark and fruits is used. It has an astringent, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and deodorizing property.
Skin diseases can be cured by using a decoction of the bark of the tree and bast.
As studies have confirmed, preparations based on Amur velvet have a fungicidal effect and lower blood pressure. When they are taken, resistance to sarcomas and tumors increases.
Bast is appreciated for its analgesic, antimicrobial, expectorant and tonic properties. Tincture on the bast is used for fungal and cancer diseases.
The substances contained in the leaves of the plant have an antimicrobial, antiseptic, anthelmintic effect.
Honey
Amur velvet blooms profusely in mid-late July. Flower brushes appear first. Some trees have male flowers, others - female. Of these, berries are subsequently formed. The main pollinators of this plant are bees. Sometimes the wind comes to the rescue. When blooming on grass carp, nectar with pollen forms abundantly, which is why the plant is very attractive to bees.
Their honey is dark yellow, with a slightly greenish tint. The taste and smell are very pleasant. The quality of honey may depend on the weather. In good weather, the flowers of the tree are excellent melliferous plants, with bad weather nectar on the flowers is too little.
Velvet honey is very valuable in that it contains a little glucose and many useful substances. It is stored for a long time and does not crystallize. It helps with the following ailments:
- pulmonary tuberculosis;
- flu, SARS, colds;
- tonsillitis, laryngitis; bronchitis;
- gastrointestinal tract disorders;
- increased bile secretion;
- drowsiness and fatigue;
- weak immunity;
- hormonal imbalance.
Contraindications
If you decide to use Amur velvet for treatment, contraindications must be taken into account. The plant contains a high concentration of certain substances, treatment should be carried out with caution and following the recommendations. Categories of persons for which there is an absolute prohibition on use:
- pregnant women;
- lactation period;
- age over 65 years;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- children under 12 years old;
- tendency to allergies;
- oncological diseases.
If the treatment is using berries, then it should be borne in mind that the norm for an adult should not exceed more than 5 berries per day. Shredded dry bark is used in an amount of not more than 10 g, and leaves - 15 g.
Honey can be used in arbitrary quantities, but those who are allergic to bee products should be extremely careful.
During treatment with Amur velvet, you should refrain from fatty foods, caffeine and alcoholic beverages. It is also better to give up smoking. It is forbidden to combine treatment with other medicinal herbs. When taking any medications for compatibility, you should consult your doctor.
Application in traditional medicine. Recipes
The use of Amur velvet in folk medicine is quite common. Due to its unique composition, the plant helps with many diseases. Here are the most common recipes for doctors:
- Broth decoction against parasites, mycoses, with oncology. Take 10 grams of dry cupid bark, pour a glass of water and boil for 15 minutes over low heat. Then cool and strain the broth. It is drunk in three doses in one day.
- Hepatitis and chronic cholecystitis. An alcohol tincture based on leaves will help. 30 g of dry crushed leaves need to pour 200 g of alcohol. The remedy is infused in a dark place for two weeks. Filter the prepared tincture and take it three times a day before meals, 15 drops.
- Hypertension High blood pressure will help reduce velvet berries. Before meals, 1-2 fetuses should be chewed daily.
- Treatment and prevention of influenza. Before going to bed, you need to chew 1-2 velvet berries, do not drink it, hold it a little in your mouth. At the initial stage of the disease, a single use is sufficient.
- Pancreas. Chew 3-4 fruits daily for a week. This will help normalize the metabolism and pancreatic function.
Fruits for diabetes
Treatment with this drug is effective only for type 2 diabetes. Every day, early in the morning on an empty stomach should eat 3-4 berries. Chew thoroughly and hold in mouth. Then do not eat or drink for 6 hours. Treatment in this way for six months will help to fully normalize blood sugar. With advanced diabetes, one course of treatment will not be enough.
Velvet bark will help after operations
Healing of surgical wounds is a long process, it will help to accelerate the use of velvet cupid. In this case, dry bark is used. To prepare the medicine, you need to take 100 g of bark, pour 0.5 liters of water. The remedy should be infused for two days. After this, the infusion should be boiled for half an hour, add 5 g of novocaine and 15 g of boric acid to it. Boil everything for 10 minutes. Cool, strain, squeeze out the leftovers. In this solution, sterile gauze is wetted and applied to the wound. Healing comes faster.
Leaves help increase appetite
To increase appetite, an infusion of Amur velvet leaves is used. It will help improve digestion and increase appetite. 30 g of crushed dry leaves pour a glass of boiling water, close. Leave to infuse for two hours. Strain the infusion, take one tablespoon before meals. Store in a closed place in a cool place.
We grow a tree on a site
The benefits and harms of Amur velvet we examined. Of course, its beneficial properties prevail if you use the product wisely, following all the recommendations.
Many are interested in whether this tree can be grown on the site. I guess, yes. It is necessary to take into account the fact that under favorable conditions a tree can live up to 300 years. When choosing a place for a plant, you need to choose a place where no communications pass, there are no buildings nearby, there should be at least three meters to the paths. Do not forget about the neighbors, so that the shadow from the tree does not block their area.
Sandy soils are not suitable for wood; cultivated loam is the best substrate. A pit with a depth and diameter of 0.5-0.6 m is filled with a mixture of fertile soil. It is best planted in autumn or early spring. Ideal age is considered to be 1-2 years old seedlings.
The soil must always be kept moist. When the tree is strong, water only as it dries. In the first half of summer, you can feed with mineral and organic fertilizers. The soil can be sod.
The overgrown Amur velvet looks beautiful on the lawn, surrounded by ornamental shrubs. Combined with birch, maple and oak. Velvet is beautiful at any time of the year.