It is believed that fern is one of the oldest plants on Earth. He appeared in the Devonian period. In Russia, it was believed that any secrets and locks would be revealed to a person who found fern flowers. According to legend, the plant arose from the goddess Venus, who dropped her hair. According to another version, the girl fell from a cliff, and there arose a source, and her beautiful hair turned into a leaf of fern, which resembles a bird’s wing.
Let’s digress from the legends and consider how the plant grows in nature, as well as what you need to know before you start a home fern. The benefits and harms of it have been studied since ancient times and, as people say, this plant is really mysterious. Nevertheless, he is often kept at home, used in cooking and treated for his illness.
Fern bracken
The plant under consideration looks like a shrub. In nature, bracken usually grows in whole colonies. This is a living plant that can live even in rocky and sandy soil. If a fern once begins to grow in the country, then it is very difficult to breed it, for which summer residents, of course, do not favor it. It is so tenacious that even after a fire that mowed everything around, it will be the first to give its sprouts.
Description
One of the herbaceous plants of the Osmundian family is the bracken fern. It traditionally grows in the Far East, in China and Korea. In addition, it is found in Russia, Finland, Asia, Mexico, Ukraine. The plant consists of many stems with cirrus leaves.
First, the fern begins its life underground. Here, leaves are formed - vayi, which look like a snail. Then, turning around, they begin to resemble a hook. Propagation of the plant occurs not due to flowers, but due to spores. It got its name due to the similarity of leaves with the wing of a large bird. That's why the fern "Orlyak" bears the name. The benefits and harms of it are revealed in many folk legends that are retold from generation to generation to this day.
When the fern blooms
People have always been wary of him. In ancient times, they did not understand how fern propagated, since they did not see flowering. This time was waiting as a holiday. There is a belief that the one who finds a blooming fern will become fabulously rich, since the Earth itself will show man its mysterious riches. People from ancient times believed in the fact that there is both harm and benefit of fern. What is this expressed in? This will be discussed further.
Beneficial features
Today, science can justify the benefits of fern in terms of composition. The plant is very valuable. It is rich in starch, alkaloids, flavonoids, essential oils and tannins. In the shoots there is carotene, riboflavin, tocopherol and other useful vitamins and minerals.
It also has many proteins, the same as in grain crops. They are easily absorbed by the body and have a beneficial effect on it. The positive effects of ferns are seen in the functioning of the nervous system and in an increase in general tone. There is evidence that fern helps to remove radionuclides from the human body.
Harvesting of rhizomes for treatment is done in September. It is used for problems with the sciatic nerve, calf muscle (convulsions). Those who have tried to be treated with fern, note the benefit of the course, the duration of which is usually three weeks. But remember: do not self-medicate. Before using any drug or product, you should consult a specialist.
Fern is famous not only for its beneficial effect. Its benefits and harms are revealed most of all in popular beliefs. This is discussed today in the article. Let's look at how this plant is used in cooking.
Cookery
Even in ancient times, fern was used for culinary purposes. It uses such species as ostrich and bracken for food, namely their shoots. Leaves are also edible. They are good to add to salads or other dishes in the form of seasoning. Fern shoots resemble mushrooms to taste. They are very loved in Japan and Korea. This is diet food. 100 grams of product contains 34 kilocalories.
The plant is canned or boiled. Raw shoots, or, as they are also called, rachis, are not consumed, since they have a bitter taste. In cooking, the harm and benefits of fern have also been investigated. As already mentioned above, the plant is saturated with a variety of trace elements that can be valuable to the body, and quite the opposite.
The plant is cooked as follows: the leaves are placed in water, salt is added. Then boil for several minutes, drain the water and pour fresh. Boil a second time until cooked. Ready-made rachis should not break, but bend easily. When this state of shoots is achieved, water is drained through a colander and then a fern is used according to the recipe.
A favorite dish for many housewives is salting. The blank will not go bad for a long time and at the same time retain all the useful properties. Its preparation is very simple: a fern is placed in layers in a glass jar, not forgetting to fill it with salt each time. Then the jar is covered with a nylon cover and left for two weeks in a cool dark place. After this, the brine is drained and the shoots are transferred to another container, only in the reverse order, where the top layer should eventually be the bottom. The jar is poured with brine, on the basis that the salt should be 22%. Then roll up the lids and store in a dark and cool place. The blank can be eaten for several years.
The harm and benefits of ferns have been studied for a very long time and it is about the salting of the hostess that they respond most positively, since they say that in this way the largest amount of nutrients is stored.
Harvesting plants and you can buy. Before using such a product, it is first soaked for several hours so that the salt and bitterness go away. Then the water is drained and poured fresh. After two hours, the fern can be cooked for a quarter of an hour without adding spices. The plant is added, for example, to the fried meat at the end of cooking, cut into pieces and left on the fire for a few more minutes.
Known recipe for cooking "in Korean". To do this, first separate the carrot and onion straws separately, then add fern with spices and stew another quarter hour.
Treatment
The harm and benefits of fern are widely known in folk medicine. It is used as an effective painkiller, for example, for joint pain. With rheumatism, baths with a decoction of grass will help. Outwardly, fern is used for abscesses, eczema and scrofula. Also, decoctions of the plant treat diseases of the intestine, spleen, jaundice.
Fern is an excellent anthelmintic. The acids contained in it can kill all intestinal parasites. However, you should be careful when applying fern. The benefits and harms of him are adjacent to each other. And the latter manifests itself due to toxicity. Therefore, it is safer for external use when treating cramps, purulent wounds and rheumatism.
At home, you can cook a decoction of rhizomes. To do this, ten grams is boiled in two hundred milliliters of water, and they drink a teaspoon with honey. You can also add flour to the broth. Sometimes, during the treatment, an enema should be given or a laxative should be taken after the fern is used. Health benefits and harms, as people say, manifest themselves immediately after use. The main thing is to use the product correctly, namely, only after consulting a doctor.
Contraindications
With proper use of a plant such as fern, the benefits to humans become apparent. At the same time, as mentioned above, the use of the plant should be strictly controlled, since it is toxic and harm from it will also not take long.
Fern is prohibited, for example, to pregnant women. In addition, you can not use the plant for fever, kidney disease, ulcer, liver, tuberculosis and a number of other diseases, especially those of a chronic nature.
In case of an overdose, it is necessary to rinse the stomach and consult a doctor.
Fern home: good
There is harm and benefit from indoor plants. People have known this for a long time. House plants improve energy. Fern also belongs to their number. Many people believe that he is able to work miracles.
However, opinions on this issue are very mixed. Some are sure that where the fern grows, the energy improves, while others, on the contrary, claim that it brings only unhappiness. If you look at it simply as a houseplant, it turns out that it is completely unpretentious and can easily live in the shade.
Those who believe in positive qualities say that fern has an excellent ability to appease people. Aggressive and hot-tempered natures change their mood in a more friendly and calm way. Therefore, where family members often quarrel, it is recommended to get this plant.
The same goes for the general atmosphere. In a house with a fern, as if harmony appears. And people also believe that the plant brings good luck in both personal and business life, and also improves the financial situation. Before, for example, very often a leaf of a plant was put into a wallet, believing that money would be found there more often.
Fern home: harm
Before deciding whether or not to keep the fern in the apartment, the harm and benefits of the plant should be fully understood.
There is a point of view according to which this plant is an energy vampire, taking away energy from family members, because of which they become drowsy, tired and unhappy.
Those who believe in spirits should know: it has long been believed that along with the plant brought from the mysterious forests to the house, people brought with them all evil spirits, which also subsequently took energy from them.
Conclusion
If you analyze all the information received, it turns out that such a plant as a room fern has more positive features (its benefits and harms were presented to your attention in the article). If you use the plant correctly, then it has an excellent therapeutic effect. If you get a fern in the house, peace and tranquility will reign. How to relate to this plant is a purely individual matter.