Marsh forget-me-not is recognized as one of the most spectacular representatives of the Burachnikov family. These flowers grow in moist meadows or along the banks of water bodies. For several years this plant has been widely used in flower arrangements and for decorating flower beds.
Forget-me-not is shrouded in many legends. One of them says that at the time when the goddess Flora was distributing names to all the plants, she did not notice a small blue flower, and when she left, she suddenly heard a thin voice behind her: "Do not forget about me." Flora looked around and saw a pretty pale blue flower. She gave him a name - forget-me-not, endowing him with the ability to restore memory to people.
Forget-me-not: Description
This is a perennial plant thirty to fifty centimeters high. Forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris) got its name from two Greek words: myos, which translates as “mouse,” and ous, which means “ear.” And in fact, the leaves of this plant, pubescent with numerous short hairs, resemble the ears of a rodent.
Forget-me-not forget-me-nots growing in partial shade and in the shade along the outskirts of the marshes, on the banks of water bodies, in moist forests. The plant is widespread in Siberia, in the European part of our country, in Belarus, Mongolia, Ukraine, as well as in South Africa and Asia. Very popular in Germany, France, Sweden and England. In our country, there are other names of forget-me-nots - the grunt, the handful, the feverish grass.
The marsh forget-me-not is propagated by seeds and cuttings. It tolerates transplantation, and even during flowering, the soil prefers loamy, well-fertilized humus, loose. This kind of forget-me-nots has a well-developed, superficial, fibrous root system.
Leaves and stem
Forget-me-not swamp has strong, tetrahedral, branched, rough almost bare stems. Leaves are linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, sessile, four to eight centimeters long and about two and a half centimeters wide. Painted in bright green. Growing, the plant forms the ground cover.
Forget-me-not flower
Forget-me-not flowers need to dwell in more detail. First, let's figure out what a chart is. This is the projection of the flower onto a plane perpendicular to the axis of the flower. It is made up of cross sections of unblown flower buds. You can see the graphic image of the diagram below.
The calyx is slightly shorter than the corolla tube. It consists of five leaflets fused together. Corolla also consists of five fused petals. At the border of the blades and tube, there are five thick yellow scales that form a ringlet, a breeder that covers nectar and prevents its evaporation. The corolla tube is short, and the corolla is wheel-shaped in shape. On the inner surface of the tube are five stamens. The pestle has an upper four-lobed ovary. A column with a capitate stigma grows from its middle.
Around the ovary, a nectariferous roller is clearly visible. In the marsh forget-me-not, tiny hook-like spikes are located along the dorsal edge. They are necessary for the distribution of fruits.
Forget-me-not application
Today, landscape designers use marsh forget-me-nots to design a spring flower garden. Its use as a container culture is quite justified in the spring decoration of the porch, terrace, arbor. Forget-me-not swamp will be a wonderful decoration of the shore of a reservoir. The plant is used in borders, groups, mixborders, alpine hills.
You should know that after the plant fades, it loses its decorativeness. In this case, you should carefully select neighbors for it with a lush rosette of leaves (ferns, hosts) or remove this plant from the flower garden, changing it to annuals.
The most spectacularly forget-me-not marsh looks next to multi-colored daffodils and tulips, in the shade of trees next to a lily of the valley. Such flower beds do not need complex care, because the plants form a dense cover on the surface of the soil, which makes the growth of weeds impossible. In addition to flower beds, this type of forget-me-not looks great in balcony drawers. It is more advisable to plant a lot of these blue flowers. In addition, these pretty flowers can be cut and put in a vase, in which they last about two weeks.
Healing properties
Forget-me-not swamp has many healing properties, but for medicinal purposes they use plant grass, juice and powder made from flowers of stems and leaves. The presence of healing properties is explained by the content of fatty acids, alkaloids and lipids in the composition. Aliphatic hydrocarbons were found in the seeds.
Tea with leaves and forget-me-not flowers is recommended as a diaphoretic for respiratory infections. A decoction of marsh forget-me-not is used for eye diseases in the form of lotions. Powder and grass juice are used for diseases of the genital organs, as well as tumors of the oral cavity, including malignant ones. From the leaves and stems of forget-me-not marsh, an essential extract is prepared, which is an effective antibacterial agent.
Forget-me-not infusion
To prepare such a healing composition, you will need three tablespoons (tablespoons) of chopped dry grass and half a liter of boiling water. The resulting mixture is infused for an hour, and then filtered through cheesecloth. Take the infusion three times a day for 1/2 cup in a warm form. Achieving the maximum effect of treatment with this tool contributes to strict adherence to the formulation and admission standards. And of course, you need a consultation with your doctor.
Forget-me-not reviews
The vast majority of reviews are associated with the decorative properties of this plant. Florists consider the swamp forget-me-not, the description of which we presented in this article, a spectacular decoration of a garden or summer cottage. It goes well with many annuals and perennials. Its shortcomings include only a short period of decorativeness: it is limited by the flowering time.
The medicinal properties of the plant are also noted. First of all, this concerns its antibacterial properties and the treatment of certain eye diseases. But before using forget-me-not preparations, a specialist consultation is necessary.