Kalugnica swamp, description which will be brought to your attention in this article is an elegant spring primrose that adorns the still bare dark earth with its bright yellow flowers and almost lacquered dark green leaves.
In the language of flowers, this plant means thoughtfulness. And really, you can’t get past this amazing joyful sunny flower without thinking about how beautiful the world is!
Why is Kaluga so called
From where, in fact, the name “Cudgel marsh” (Caltha Palustris) came from, one can argue for a long time. So, some researchers believe that the name of this representative of the Ranunculaceae family is closely related to its place of growth. After all, the word “kalugnitsa” is a derivative of the dialectic “kaluga”, which meant a swampy, swampy place. And in the related Ukrainian language there is the word "kalyuzh", which means a puddle, a wet piece of land.
The Dahl dictionary also offers other names for this hygrophilous plant: yellow head, yellow eye, night blindness, water snake, patching, cow grass, marigold color, etc.
The last name, obviously, is associated with the healing properties of the plant, which helps with diseases of the nails. And the Old Russian word “patch” the Slavs called broad-leaved near-water plants.
Features of the growth of calendula
In nature, there are about 40 species of described primrose. It also has a huge habitat that spans Western and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Far East, Japan and North America.
Marsh marigold is a variable plant. So, its forms are known that develop in water or have floating leaves. Depending on the conditions in which this flower grows, it can reach up to 60 cm in height. It can be found both in the form of thickets, and in the form of large groups, which is greatly facilitated by the well-developed ability to vegetatively reproduce the primrose.
The roots of the marigold are thin, fibrous. With the onset of heat, they raise a straight hollow stem branching in its upper part.
The rounded thick leaves of the flower have a noticeable fan-shaped pattern of light diverging veins. By the way, leaves of the cherub, growing under water, have a dark red color, and when on land, they gradually turn green.
How marshmallow blooms
Kaluzhnitsa begins to bloom in April. At this time, the leaves on the trees, as a rule, are still folded into buds. Its unbearably yellow large (up to 5 cm in circumference) flowers delight us until May. On one plant, they can sometimes be counted up to twenty. By the way, from this representative of buttercups you can get yellow paint!
Marsh marsh marshmallows successfully uses its flowers to attract insects. The brilliant, pearlescent petals of the primrose focus the sun's rays, which raises the temperature inside the flowers and attracts insects that tend to climb inside and warm themselves. And this, in turn, greatly increases the chances of the newfound "stove" for pollination.
Fruiting of a cowberry
The fruits of the described plant are spread by water in the form of leaflets on which up to three thousand seeds can be present at the same time, after which the flower-bearing shoots die off, leaving root leaves for vegetation, because the plant needs to accumulate reserves for early flowering next year.
In the summer, leaves of calendula become even wider, but at this time they are almost invisible among the lush greenery.
A young seedling plant forms for a long time: the first time it blooms only at the age of ten.
Especially popular among gardeners is the marsh terry kaluga, which has white and pale yellow inflorescences with many petals. It is planted in open and very humid places (for example, on the banks of artificial reservoirs), where it survives well. The plant tolerates well and shadow, if it is from deciduous plants.
The use of calendula in medicine
In homeopathy, marigold, or rather, its fresh flowering shoots, is used in the treatment of whooping cough, bronchitis, herpes. This plant helps well with painful menstruation in women.
In folk medicine, marsh marigold is not very popular. It is used as one of the components in mixtures in the treatment of diseases of the gallbladder, kidneys or cough. The juice of the leaves of the marigold reduced warts. A decoction of the roots is used for metabolic disorders and anemia. In addition, it has a slight antitumor effect.
Collection and storage
When the marsh marigold blooms, its ground part (namely the upper leaves and buds) is collected for medical and culinary needs. This usually happens from late April to May.
So that the collected raw materials do not lose their healing properties, they are immediately laid out for drying in a well-ventilated room. And when using special dryers, the temperature in them should not rise above 50 ° C.
The roots of the marigold are dug up in spring and late autumn.
How is Kaluga used in cooking
Despite the toxicity (albeit weak), in culinary primrose is processed into a very tasty spicy product called German capers. To do this, 500 grams of unblown buds are poured with boiling water and kept for three hours. Then drain the water and prepare the marinade. It requires a liter of vinegar, a tablespoon of salt and sugar, pepper and bay leaf. Marinade poured buds and boil. Ready-made capers are hermetically sealed in sterilized glass containers. They are used for dressing second courses, hodgepodge and cabbage soup.
In the Caucasus, the tops of young shoots, on which there are unblown flowers, are dried. And in the winter they are added to the roast and meat dishes. If the roots are boiled in salt water, then they can be an excellent seasoning for fish and meat.
What is the manifestation of kaluga poisoning?
Despite the healing properties of marsh marigold, it is toxic, which is especially pronounced before the flowering period begins. Therefore, when using a plant, you need to be careful.
Poisoning is manifested by signals from the digestive tract: bloating, abdominal pain, loose stools. Sometimes it also affects the kidneys, then the patient has a change in the color of urine, urination becomes more frequent, albuminuria (increased protein in the urine) is detected, in addition, patients complain of dizziness and tinnitus.
It is treated with kaluga poisoning by gastric lavage, saline laxatives and enveloping agents. But all this must happen under the supervision of a doctor!
If you burned the skin or mucous membranes with the juice of the named plant, then the affected areas should be washed with warm water and greased with a solution of methylene blue, and inside take an anti-allergic drug that will reduce irritation at the burn site.
Feed value
As food for livestock, marsh cowshell, the description of which is proposed in this article, is not used. Since the toxic substances in it immediately make themselves felt. True, goats do not refuse young shoots, and pigs eat roots with pleasure.
Wild animals: sika deer, elk, deer, beavers are admirers of this first spring flower. And the reindeer even hides the summer shoots of the marigold, so that later, in the winter, they can be scooped out from under the snow and eat.
Seeds that are carried by the water and beaten by the current to the shores are an excellent bird food.
Where is the best way to grow marigold in a personal plot
So that next to the house in early spring you were delighted with wonderful sunny flowers, you can plant marigolds on your site.
To do this, remember that it requires open spaces and sufficient moisture. It is under these conditions that the plant will bloom profusely. True, if the kaluga is constantly watered, then it can grow in dry areas.
Marsh marigold requires rich fertile soil, and with a lack of lighting and moisture, the plant blooms not so abundantly and quickly loses its decorative qualities. With sufficient care, the bush grows wide and spreads with the help of creeping shoots.
What is the best way to transplant a marigold
Every 3-4 years, the plant must be rejuvenated, as it loses its decorative effect. For this, a transplant is made, which is combined with reproduction.
The most effective way for this for gardeners is to divide the bush. Reproduction is best done in early spring or autumn (in September). During the growing season, this can also be done, but the kaluga can in such cases begins to discard leaves and plant, although it does not die.
The larger the transplanted part of the bush, the more abundant and soon the flowering will begin. But small delenki begin to bloom, as a rule, only the next year.
Care for marshmallow
The described primrose is a frost-resistant, unpretentious plant, which is appreciated by gardeners. Caring for it involves weeding and timely watering. In one place, this decoration of the spring garden can grow for a long time, pleasing the eye with beautiful, bright petals that are ahead of the flowering of tulips and daffodils and lasting until the summer.
A few words in the end
Despite its enormous range and unpretentiousness, one of the increasingly rare plants is marsh marsh. Rossi's Red Book introduced this primrose on its pages as unappreciated plants. That is, those whose number is not yet possible to determine. And it will be very unfortunate if, with the coming spring, they do not wake up in swampy ravines and on quiet rivers, bright, like the rays of the sun, funny cow-houses. Protect the environment!