Having many names (oak grove, Ivan da Maria, scrofulous or Peter's grass, yellowness, fireflower, cushion, lucreta, etc.), the annual herbaceous plant stands out as a bright spot on a summer meadow due to unusual double-colored flowers - contrasting lilac-blue bracts with egg-yellow corollas.
This amazing herb has a very pronounced healing effect and has always been used by Russian healers. An interesting plant and its medicinal properties will be discussed in this article.
Mariannik oak: description
Being a semi-parasitic plant, the mariannik adapted to survive at the expense of its neighbors. It attaches with its thin, but sucked-up root to the roots of grasses, shrubs or trees growing nearby and successfully sucks nutrients and water. Depending on the type of plant counterpart, oak grove grows to different heights. For example, attaching to an alder or a hazel tree, it reaches a half-meter height, and when fed from a lunatic or snivel, its growth will not exceed 15-20 cm. But in the full sense the plant is not a parasite : it is able to create substances necessary for development from water and carbon dioxide. Short-lanceolate-linear linear leaves of biloba, pairwise located on the stem, dark green, even along the edges, smooth on top and slightly lowered from the bottom, are characteristic of such a plant as oak broom. The photos presented in the article introduce the reader to this traditional meadow grass.
The flowers of the plant are collected in loose brush inflorescences in the form of one-sided ears. They consist of pubescent calyxes with four prongs, a yellow two-lipped nimbus, and blue-violet upper covering petals. The abundant release of nectar, characteristic of the plant, puts it on a par with recognized honey plants. Rounded seeds ripen in an oblong box, opening on both sides, and spill out onto the ground. Wind and insects, attracted by the smell of the essential oil present on the seed, contribute to the spread of the plant. It is noted that the beginning of its flowering coincides with the appearance of the first forest mushrooms. The national sign is that the oak grove blossomed - the mushroom season began.
Spread
The ability of the plant to adapt to any growing conditions has given it the opportunity to spread throughout Europe. In Russian territories, it is found in the northern and middle zones, in the Caucasus, birds and insects brought to the lands of Western and Eastern Siberia.
The plant perfectly develops in open pastures, clearings and meadows, in shrubbery zones, in small forests and sparse forests. Rarely grows on chalky slopes and marshes.
Chemical composition
The plant is poisonous, and therefore requires a very careful attitude. When used for medicinal purposes, this should be remembered, since all its parts contain traces of alkaloids, dulcite, and the seeds contain the substance aucubin, which has a narcotic and irritating local effect. Poisoning by them is dangerous - cardiac activity is weakened, the first symptoms of malaise are weakness, drowsiness, slowing of the pulse.
The insidiousness of browning lies in the fact that, getting together with other meadow herbs in the stomach of domestic animals, it provokes poisoning, which manifests itself in the same way as in humans. Tremor, drowsiness and the appearance of blood in the urine of livestock are a sure sign of poisoning by brow. First aid in this case consists in taking laxatives, and then in a mandatory course of therapy aimed at maintaining cardiac activity.
In addition to hazardous constituents, a variety of valuable substances are present in mariannik: flavonoids, organic acids, pectins, salts and sugars. We will not list the complex names of all the components, we only note that their unique compounds have a vivid healing effect.
Pharmacological properties
Not being a pharmacopoeial plant, oak browning is not used in traditional medicine, but is considered very promising in pharmacological studies. It was experimentally established that the infusions of this herb dilate blood vessels, reducing pressure, and cause a calming effect similar to the effects of tranquilizers. Plant extracts, showing neuroleptic qualities, have a significant sedative, hypotensive and inhibitory effect of seizures. The experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of the use of herbal infusions of bruiser in the treatment of the initial stages of epilepsy. Its addition to drug anticonvulsants can reduce their dose.
Mariannik oak: use in medicine
Long-term experience of folk healers proves the effectiveness of cooked infusions and decoctions from the leaves of the plant. Medicinal raw materials are all aboveground parts and seeds. Grass is harvested during flowering, and seeds are harvested as they mature. Dried raw materials in the air under an opaque canopy.
In addition to a pronounced anticonvulsant effect, oak grove has an insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, high wound healing effect. Decoctions and teas from the plant are effective for hypertension, dizziness, heart and gastrointestinal diseases, various neuralgia, epilepsy. External use (poultices, baths) helps to alleviate the condition in skin diseases, such as serious ones like scrofula, skin tuberculosis, scabies, various diathesis, eczema. In addition, significant reduction of articular and rheumatic pains is attributed to Marianne.
A comprehensive intake of infusions (externally and internally) is very effective in the treatment of skin rashes of various origins, scrofula.
Common recipes for infusions and decoctions
The oak grove, which is used internally for hypertension, is prepared as follows: pour one tablespoon of grass with one glass of boiling water, insist for half an hour, filter and take a tablespoon three times a day. The same infusion is used for epilepsy, changing the dosage - half a glass twice a day.
Three tablespoons of the herb is infused for two hours in a liter of boiling water, filtered and applied externally for baths, lotions / poultices and washes for skin diseases.
Caution in use
The use of herbs in the treatment of various diseases requires extreme caution. And not only because the plant is poisonous. Since this is a potent herbal remedy, the possibility of its use, as well as dosage and duration, must be discussed with a doctor.