This plant is also called healthy grass, youth blood, red grass, twigs, bloodsuckers. St. John's wort perforated settles along roadsides, forest edges, glades and even hides among bushes. The plant is herbaceous, perennial, up to a meter in height (usually about 40 cm.), With a branched rod root.
The leaves are smooth, whole-edge, oblong-ovate, opposite and seem to be punctured due to the numerous translucent light and black dots. The plant blooms from the beginning of June to the end of August (bright yellow broad-chestnut, close to the thyroid, inflorescence). Seeds are brown, small, oblong, hidden in a three-star box. St. John's wort is not toxic to humans, but toxic to animals.
The properties of St. John's wort were known even at Avicenna. He recommended drinking forty days of infusion to cure an "inflamed sciatic nerve." The St. John's wort treatment “for 99 diseases” was known to both Slavic sorcerers and Kazakh tabibs.
St. John's wort juice is used primarily as an effective means of restoring the nervous system (up to the restoration of nerve tissue). It is a wonderful natural antidepressant. Able to regulate metabolism and activate digestion. Hypericum perforatum has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, restorative, wound healing, hemostatic, anthelmintic properties. Useful for stimulating the heart. Improves blood circulation (both venous and internal organs).
It is used for acne vulgaris, otitis media (chronic, purulent), simple vaginitis, periodontal disease, burns, gingivitis, stomatitis, ulcers, catarrhal angina. Inside is indicated for chronic pyelonephritis, diarrhea, enteritis, colitis, gastritis, with insomnia, headaches. For those who are sensitive to changing weather, this plant will help reduce vegetative fluctuations. A wine decoction helps with tuberculosis.
It is used in the form of oils, infusions, tinctures, decoctions.
Now the plant is widely cultivated in suitable climatic zones (most of Ukraine and Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus).
Seeds are sown in October in the dug up flat soil (after making peat compost or rotted manure). Spring sowing is possible, but the seeds in this case should be stratified: mix with sand, moisten (slightly) and let stand for a month and a half in the refrigerator. However, seedlings will be earlier if the seeds are nevertheless sown before winter (they are sown superficially and are not planted in the soil). With a row spacing of 50 cm, the optimal number of seeds is 0.4 g per square meter.
Seedlings are quite tender, develop slowly, therefore top dressing (2 g nitroammophoski per square meter) and three-time manual weeding is desirable.
Hypericum perforatum will begin to bloom in the first year, but expect abundant flowering after two to three years.
Harvesting is carried out when the flowers have just begun to blossom (the beginning of flowering) and until the fruits begin to form (until August). In plants, only the tops are cut off. GOST allows cutting up to 25-30 cm, but St. John's wort rarely reaches such a height. Proper collection involves cutting with left stumps of 15 cm and three pairs of leaves. With a lower cut, the plant either grows poorly or does not grow at all (the bushes weaken and cannot withstand wintering).
St. John's wort is perforated only in the shade (a plant faded in the sun loses its properties and becomes unusable). Drying is better in thin bundles (thick bundles can cause stems to rot). Raw materials are stored for three years (no more). September is most suitable for harvesting seeds.
After collection, it is necessary to apply a little fertilizer (potassium-phosphorus, nitrogen should not be used, since they will cause new growth of the plant itself, while weakening the root).