According to many agronomists, honeysuckle is a real find for gardeners. It is valued for its unpretentious nature, fast ripening berries and increased immunity to pests and diseases. That is why in many areas this undemanding culture is so common. In this article we will present such a bush as real honeysuckle - a description of its appearance, useful qualities and care for this garden beauty.
general information
The Latin name of this plant comes from osteum, which means “bone”. This is due to the fairly strong wood of the honeysuckle bush, which has long been used for the manufacture of gun ramrods, canes and seeds for counting. The Russian name “honeysuckle”, according to etymologists, comes from the ancient Slavic “women” - “goat” and the word “be soft” - that is, “milk”. They explain this by the fact that the leaves of this plant are readily eaten by goats and sheep, from which people have long received milk.
There are many varieties of Lonícera (honeysuckle) in nature. However, there are not so many edible species. The most promising varieties are considered Kamchatka, Edible, Turchaninova, etc. But there are also species whose fruits are not eaten, but, nevertheless, decoctions of leaves and flowers are widely used in folk medicine. For example, Tatar honeysuckle, blooming with pink fragrant flowers, grows wildly in a vast territory stretching from the Volga to the Yenisei, as well as in the east of the European part of our country and in the south of Siberia. However, the most common inedible species is real honeysuckle.
Grade description
In the people, this species is also called "forest" or "ordinary", but one name is probably known to many - "wolfberry". The real honeysuckle, the photo of which is presented below, is a low shrub with a grayish-brown ground bark, which is peeled off on old branches by longitudinal narrow strips. The culture grows to two hundred and fifty centimeters. Young shoots have a pubescent appearance and a greenish or reddish bark.
Forest or real honeysuckle has leaves up to seven centimeters in length and five in width. They are not wide, whole-edge and have an oval-elliptical pointed shape. The upper side of the leaf blades is dark green matte, and the lower side is grayish with densely pubescent soft hairs. The central vein is purple. Real honeysuckle gives bisexual, smallish yellow-white flowers, collected in two or four pieces in inflorescences. They are fragrant enough. The sepals of the honeysuckle are shallowly incised, glabrous or hairy. It has a length of up to thirteen millimeters and is sometimes pubescent on the outside.
Fruiting
Specialists know this culture as Lonicera xylosteum. The real honeysuckle got its name in honor of the German physicist, mathematician and botanist Adam Lonitzer, although initially the physician and natural scientist Karl Linney wanted to call it a honeysuckle - Caprifolium. The fact is that in gardens in Europe most often this honeysuckle was grown, which we know more as wolf berry. It blooms very early: during the period when the first leaves just begin to bloom on the trees. This happens around mid-May. Its fruits ripen in late July. They have a round spherical appearance and a bright red color. The present or forest honeysuckle bears fruit only in the third or fourth year. Its berries grow at the ends of fruiting branches, are often doubled and have a characteristic luster. They are very bitter and contain harmful substances, and therefore are considered inedible. It is because of such toxicity of the fruits that the plant has got its name “wolfberry”.
Distribution area
As a wild species, real honeysuckle is found in the northern, central and eastern regions of Europe, as well as in the Urals, the Caucasus and Western Siberia. It grows near rivers, in the undergrowth of coniferous or mixed forests, in ravines. The culture reproduces mainly due to forest birds, which spread the berries. In highly shaded conditions, the plant is practically unable to bloom, therefore, it propagates mainly by the vegetative method.
In recent years, real honeysuckle, the properties of which are described in this article, began to be found near residential buildings. It spreads most often as follows: its branches lie on the ground and take root.
Real honeysuckle - useful properties
For medicinal purposes in folk medicine, only flowers, young shoots of stems and leaves are used. Despite the fact that the fruits of this honeysuckle have a rather bitter taste and are poisonous, nevertheless, they are used in very small portions by homeopaths. In order to treat certain diseases, flowers, leaves and stems should be harvested only in June. And the fruits are recommended to be harvested in September.
Real honeysuckle or forest has good wound healing, antibacterial and analgesic properties. Often this plant is used as a fairly effective emetic and laxative.
Often, real honeysuckle is used as a decorative shrub for fences and decoration of exterior walls. She tolerates a haircut, so you can give it a variety of forms. In addition, this plant gives bees a lot of pollen and nectar. And its very hard yellowish wood is widely used in the manufacture of small crafts.
Application in traditional medicine
Dried flowers and leaves of real honeysuckle have a very strong antiseptic and diuretic effect. Due to wound healing and analgesic properties, they are widely used in folk medicine. Often, honeysuckle infusions are prescribed in the treatment of diseases of the genitourinary organs and with edema of any origin. In homeopathy, this plant is used for diseases of the liver, nervous system, gall bladder, as well as for cough or asthma.
From colic and bloating inward, decoctions of leaves and flowers of real or ordinary honeysuckle are used inside. For the treatment of mastitis, tumors, abscesses and boils, poultices are made from pre-prepared raw materials. A concentrated decoction of flowers and leaves is considered very effective during the treatment of eczema and other skin diseases. An extract from the green mass of honeysuckle present is used in the pharmaceutical industry and is part of some cough syrups.
Billet
For therapeutic use in folk medicine, all parts of this plant, even poisonous fruits, are used. Flowers, young shoots and leaves of all types of inedible honeysuckle are harvested during flowering. Young branches need to break off or trim. This should be done from different parts of the honeysuckle bush, so as not to harm the plant and not spoil its appearance. Then the branches need to be tied up in small bundles and suspended for drying in some shaded and well-ventilated place. As such, they can be stored throughout the winter. As necessary, the right amount of raw material is taken, the therapeutic infusion is crushed and prepared.
Recipes
With kidney diseases, severe pain in the gastrointestinal tract and with edema, a decoction of leaves and young shoots of real honeysuckle is used. To do this, pour a teaspoon of dry crushed raw materials with a glass of boiling water, boil in a water bath or on very low heat for twenty to thirty minutes. Then the broth should be insisted and filtered. It should be taken one tablespoon three or four times a day.
Such a decoction of leaves and young shoots, judging by the reviews, is good to use as a means to gargle during a sore throat.
Infusion of stems and leaves is recommended as lotions for eye diseases. A fresh or dry shredded green mass of real honeysuckle can be applied to the wounds, sprinkled with them to accelerate healing. To prepare an infusion of stems and leaves, pour dry stems and leaves with boiling water, leave for two hours, wrapped, and then strain.
It must be borne in mind that the use of real honeysuckle as a therapeutic agent should be carried out very carefully. Contraindication is the individual intolerance of toxic substances contained in the plant.