Wormwood is perceived by gardeners as a weed. This grass is really very difficult to eradicate. And it grows en masse. However, such dislike of wormwood is completely unfair. After all, it is a valuable medicinal plant. Since ancient times, it has been used to combat many diseases. Consider how this plant is useful, how to use it and when to collect wormwood.
Plant description
Wormwood is a herbaceous perennial plant. Botanists attribute it to the family Asteraceae. The plant has a specific characteristic odor. In addition, it has an extremely bitter taste. The stem of a wormwood is branched, dirty purple in color, the leaves have a cirrus-dissected shape. Above, they are distinguished by a dark green color, and a light green palette prevails from below. The flowers of the plant are tubular, small, yellow in color. Grass can reach up to 50 centimeters in height, and sometimes more.
Wormwood blooms, usually in July-August. If inflorescences are needed to prepare the medicine, it is important to remember when to collect wormwood. It is during the flowering period.
This plant is poisonous enough. Grasses that grow near wormwood most often die. Animals carefully avoid it. However, the healers say that this plant is quite healing. Its medicinal properties were also evaluated by official medicine. It is known that if you use wormwood very carefully and do not abuse it, then the amazing gift of nature can cure many different diseases.
Wormwood species
In nature, there are many varieties of this plant. Botanists claim that there are more than 400 species of wormwood. Of course, they all differ from each other in their appearance. However, not every species is healing. Therefore, you should know what wormwood to collect for medicinal purposes. So, healers say that the following subspecies have healing properties:
- lemon;
- silver;
- citrate;
- Tauride (Crimean);
- tree-like;
- bitter.
The most popular is bitter wormwood. This plant is widely in demand in official medicine. Healers have been using this herb for many millennia to combat a wide variety of ailments. Estimated bitter wormwood and beauticians.
This subspecies is easy to distinguish. Its characteristic feature is a grayish-silver color.
Beneficial features
Before figuring out when to collect wormwood, it is necessary to understand what the plant is intended for and in the fight against which ailments it can help. Therefore, initially we turn to its composition.
The bitter taste of the grass is dictated by the glycosides contained in it - anabsintin, artabsin, absintin. Wormwood is rich in tannins, saponins, flavonoids, organic acids. In addition, it contains volatile, vitamins, essential oil. But the main component of the grass is a very toxic substance - thujone. Another active ingredient in the plant is chamazulen. This component has high healing properties.
Wormwood, despite the fact that it contains toxic substances and has a bitter taste, is a remedy. It is included in the official pharmacopeia and is in great demand.
The unique grass has the following properties:
- antispasmodic;
- anti-inflammatory;
- bactericidal;
- stimulating;
- tonic;
- immunostimulatory.
It is known that the plant perfectly stimulates the functioning of the digestive tract, increases appetite, reduces flatulence, activates the production of bile. In addition, wormwood has a calming effect and provides tissue regeneration. Grass is taken as part of choleretic, gastric charges. Its use is recommended for swelling, asthma, pathologies of the gallbladder and liver, malaria. Wormwood is an excellent anthelmintic. In addition, it is often used to treat wounds, with bruises and injuries.
And recent studies have shown that wormwood still has antitumor and oncoprotective effects.
Contraindications
Be sure to remember how any medicinal product, wormwood has certain limitations in use.
So, grass is contraindicated:
- pregnant
- nursing mothers;
- with enterocolitis;
- anemia;
- bleeding.
The use of wormwood is not recommended:
- with gastritis with low acidity;
- stomach ulcers.
In addition, you should know that wormwood is not intended for long-term use. Excessive addiction to this herb can lead to a breakdown of the nervous system, intoxication of the body. Against the background of prolonged use, renal failure sometimes develops, which can lead to extremely tragic consequences.
Doctors and healers recommend eating wormwood for about 2 weeks. The maximum duration of therapy may be 1 month. But only if the patient’s health condition has not worsened during treatment. After such therapy, a break is required. Its duration is at least 2 weeks. And best of all - more than one month.
Where does wormwood grow
The described plant is completely unpretentious. It is able to germinate on almost any soil. That is why wormwood can be found in a variety of areas. It successfully grows on pastures, meadows, near rivers, roads. It can be seen near landfills, residential buildings, in the mountains.
However, it is important to remember when to collect wormwood for treatment, and in which places. For the preparation of medicines, you should choose grass that grows exclusively in ecologically clean places.
When and how to collect wormwood
To stock up on medicinal grass, it is best to choose the areas farthest from landfills, roads, industrial enterprises. It is desirable that this is an ecologically clean area.
Let's look at when wormwood is collected for medicine. Initially, it should be said that all parts of the grass have healing power: flowers, leaves, roots. But it is necessary to harvest them at different periods of time. Therefore, listen to the recommendations of the healers, if you are interested in wormwood.
When to collect raw materials:
- Flowers As a rule, the period of their harvesting is July-August, when active wormwood blooms. It was at this time that the plant contained the largest number of essential oils.
- Leaflets. It is possible to harvest raw materials without stalks. In this case, one leaf is cut off. It is best to collect material before flowering.
- Rhizome. Digging the underground part is recommended in late autumn. This is usually October-November.
Billet drying
Now you know what time it is necessary to harvest wormwood. How to collect and dry raw materials? Consider this point in more detail.
Most often it is the flowering tops that are harvested. To do this, cut off the upper part of the stem (approximately 25 cm), avoiding coarse and thickened shoots. It is not recommended to wash the grass at all. Indeed, in this case, it loses many useful substances. In addition, the washed plant is difficult to dry thoroughly. Therefore, it is recommended to collect wormwood in clean areas. And it is best to select sunny dry weather for the workpiece.
For drying, take away space in the attic or under a canopy. This area should be well ventilated with air. There they spread fabric or paper, and on top lay the raw materials in a thin layer.
Completely dried material is thin stems with flowers and leaves of a gray-green hue. The raw material has a wormwood spicy smell. It tastes bitter.
Wormwood is stored separately from other medicinal herbs in a carefully closed container. Duration of storage is 1-2 years.
Knowing when to collect wormwood for treatment, you can always properly prepare the raw materials. However, grass is not only collected for the preparation of medicinal products.
Wormwood for a bath
Many healers recommend using grass for water procedures. Baths with a unique plant allow you to fight articular rheumatism and gout. To do this, it is recommended to boil 1 kg of grass in 1 bucket of water. Dilute the resulting liquid in the bath.
Wormwood brings great benefit during bathing procedures. It is recommended to hang dry grass brooms in various places of the room. In moist and hot air, the plant begins to secrete essential oils and volatile. It is known that the smell of a plant is able to increase vitality, improve mood, restore strength.
And now we will consider when to collect wormwood for a bath. The healers recommend harvesting during flowering. After all, it is during this period that the grass contains the maximum amount of useful components. For harvesting, it is recommended to cut off the top of the plant (about 25 cm).
Fresh grass is tied in bunches. Dry it under a canopy, in a well-ventilated place, hanging brooms with their tops down.
Wormwood for absinthe
It’s no secret that strong alcohol is made from bitter grass. How and when to collect wormwood for absinthe?
For the procurement of raw materials, the following recommendations must be observed:
- Collect only flowers and leaves. The stems for the preparation of tinctures are not used, because they do not contain the required amount of essential oils.
- Absinthe needs bitter wormwood. This subspecies contains the largest amount of thujone.
- Raw materials must be free from damage (diseases, insects) and without impurities.
- Dry the grass by spreading it on paper or cloth. Store in a hermetically sealed container. This protects it from the weathering of essential oils.
Wormwood for cooking
Unique grass is also used to prepare delicious dishes. In cooking, Chernobyl (ordinary wormwood) is in demand . This plant differs from the bitter subspecies described above in reddish flowers.
For culinary purposes, leaflets are used. They are harvested before or during flowering. Dried raw materials in the air. After that, carefully grind in a mortar and fall asleep in a sealed container for storage. Such a powder is able to give a delicate aroma and an unsurpassed taste to meat dishes and salads.