Soft bedstraw is a perennial grass reaching a height of 125 centimeters. Its stems are branched, slightly ascending and quadrangular. Leaves are collected 6-8 in whorls. They have a linear-oblong shape, pointed, up to 2 centimeters long and 2.5 to 4 millimeters wide. Their inflorescence takes the form of a spreading panicle. White flowers on their short pedicels, have a width of up to three millimeters. Soft bedstraw blooms throughout the summer.
Where grows
Grass grows in the European part of the Arctic, in Ukraine, in Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and in the western part of Siberia. Soft bedstraw prefers meadows, pine and occasionally oak fringes, rocky slopes, lakes and rivers, as well as roads.
In folk medicine, flowers, leaves and stems of grass are used.
Composition
Rhizomes and the aerial parts of the plant contain many useful substances. These are tannins, and coumarins, saponins, steroid, purpurin and pseudopurpurin, rubiadin and primiroside rubiadin, mollusks, various acids, flavonoids and many other trace elements.
Due to its rich composition, the plant is considered very useful for the body.
Types of Bedstraws
Soft bedstraw, the description of which we examined, is just one type of plant. But other varieties of this herb are also known. Let us briefly consider each of them.
Common bedstraw is a tall plant with small linear leaves. Its flowers have a gentle golden hue. They are at the ends of shoots in large numbers. Flowering time - from late June to late summer. It contains many essential oils, tannins, acids and flavonoids.
Real bedstraw is another well-known species of this plant. Has a branched straight stem, yellow flowers and spreads a very pleasant honey aroma. A real bedstraw can be found, for example, in hayfields. He loves nutritious good soil, where it grows in large numbers. However, despite its delicate aroma, the taste of the plant is bitter and slightly astringent.
Fragrant bedstraw - a beautiful grass, reaching a height of 65 centimeters. Inflorescences consist of fragrant flowers, have the form of semi-umbrellas with a diameter of not more than seven centimeters. The plant begins to bloom in mid-spring and continues to exude aromas throughout the summer. Also has a very rich composition of this bedstraw. The medicinal properties and contraindications of it should be studied in detail before starting use. In folk medicine, the plant is used in the treatment of many ailments.
Clinging bed is considered a harmful species. Its stems have small cloves, thanks to which it is convenient for him to climb the straws. White flowers are located in rare semi-umbrellas. However, it is also widely used in the treatment of diseases. So, grass juice is drunk from cancer, dropsy, and liver and goiter diseases. This is an excellent diuretic, which also helps with skin diseases.
Northern bedstraw prefers to grow in forest meadows, marshy outskirts and rocky placers. He has beautiful white flowers, and the leaves, like those of other species, are collected in whorls. In folk medicine, any bedstraw is used.
Medicinal properties and contraindications
Grass is used for medicinal purposes not only in Russia. It is also used in Ukraine, in Belarus. She is known in France, as well as in other countries.
The plant has an antispasmodic, sedative, astringent effect. Traditional healers often recommend it for heart diseases, hypertension, osteralgia, kidney pathologies and female ailments. Soft bedstraw has repeatedly proved its effectiveness when a positive result was achieved with cancerous tumors, scurvy, scrofula, as well as gout, epilepsy and gastrointestinal diseases. It is noteworthy that in various places its healing properties are known and used in their own way.
Given the strong effect of the plant, do not forget about caution in the treatment. So, infusions and herbal tea are not recommended for pregnant women and children. Bedstraw has the ability to thicken blood and is poisonous. Therefore, you should carefully monitor the dosage.
Application
Bedstraw soft application has different. It is consumed inside, making juice. One tablespoon is drunk four times a day for gout and epilepsy. Also, the grass is included in the phytosport, from which tea is made and stomach diseases are treated. Tincture rub, for example, sick hands. They treat the heart with broth, and baths with the addition of infusion provide a sedative effect, which is very useful for children who are too excited.
Here is a simple recipe for making an infusion: three tablespoons of grass, previously chopped, add 500 milliliters of boiling water and insist for an hour, covering the pan with a lid. Then it should be filtered and taken at 100 milliliters four times a day.