Verbena officinalis is a grassy plant or shrub that has a creeping or erect stem reaching a meter height. The culture has small leaves of the opposite arrangement of oblong shape.
Small flowers are collected in panicles-inflorescences, which have various shades and colors. In nature, verbena officinalis is found on almost all continents, including Russia. The flowering period of the plant begins from the first days of summer and lasts until the end of October.
Verbena: Care and Growing
Breeding a flower does not require special efforts and knowledge, however, there are some features of cultivation. To obtain seedlings, seeds should be sown in early February. After emergence in March, it is already possible to dive sprouts and plant them on the site. Shrub prefers loamy soil with abundant humus content.
When growing plants in the soil, it is necessary to add a little nitrogenous fertilizers in advance, an excess of additives will adversely affect the flowering of verbena. The plant prefers warm and bright places, it requires abundant watering.
Verbena: clean vessels
A plant can be given such a characteristic for its useful properties that can be used in folk medicine to cleanse the body. The chemical composition of the flower is high in flavonoids, irid glycosides, steroids, tannins, alkaloids and carotene.
Essential oils, mucous substances, silicic soluble acid, bitterness, which are part of the plant, have a beneficial effect on the human body. Verbena officinalis has a choleretic, analgesic, antispasmodic effect.
Thanks to its tonic, restorative properties, you can easily cope with many diseases. The plant normalizes metabolism, improves the digestive tract. Taking verbena in the postpartum period enhances uterine contractions and stimulates lactation.
Verbena officinalis: application
The plant in folk medicine is used for headaches, colds, colic in the intestines. An excellent medicinal drug are decoctions and teas from flowers and verbena leaves. In addition, the plant is capable of raising appetite, it is used for neurodermatitis, cholecystitis, hepatitis, gastritis, gallstone disease. To treat the aforementioned ailments, an infusion is prepared from one tablespoon of grass, which is poured with boiling water (1 glass) and insisted for 20 minutes. Take, pre-filtered, 2 times a day, 100 grams.
Verbena officinalis perfectly strengthens and cleanses the walls of veins and arteries, restoring the tone of blood vessels and damaged capillaries. Preparations created from the raw materials of the plant are able to reduce blood viscosity, increase the elasticity of blood vessels. The use of verbena tea can strengthen immunity, improve microcirculation, and lower cholesterol. Verbena officinalis is effective in heart disease, thrombophlebitis and varicose veins.
It is not recommended to use the plant for hypertension, children under 14 years of age. With prolonged use, the gastric mucosa may be irritated.