Leuzea Safflower Or Maral Root (Rhaponticum Carthamoides) - A Valuable Medicinal Plant

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Maral root, similar in healing properties to ginseng, can also be grown in garden plots

One of the most valuable plants of the Siberian, and not only Siberian, flora is the safflower leuzea or maral root, as it is called by the indigenous population of Altai, Sayan, Kuznetsk Alatau.

On the slopes of these mountains at an altitude of 1700-2100 meters on the border of the taiga and subalpine zones, this wonderful plant grows in natural conditions. As a Tomsk citizen, I am especially pleased that the exceptional merit in the study of this plant belongs to Tomsk scientists. The famous researcher of Siberia, Academician G. N. Potanin, in 1879 first reported on the use of leuzea in folk medicine. From the words of the local population, he recorded that this grass is eagerly eaten by marals during the rutting season. Altaians believe that the maral root "… lifts a person from 14 diseases and fills him with youth." Later, scientists from the Tomsk Medical Institute conducted a study of leuzea, and since 1961 its preparations have been included in the state pharmacopoeia.

The form of this plant is impressive. It has deeply rooted pinnately dissected leaves up to a meter long, straight ribbed stems up to two meters high, they are crowned with large (fist-sized) capitate inflorescences-baskets of pink-purple flowers. They bloom in early July, and at the end of the same month seeds ripen: large (up to 8 mm long), tetrahedral, ellipsoidal, dark brown achenes with a tuft.

The list of medicinal properties of leuzea is no less impressive. Preparations from its roots have a stimulating and tonic effect on the nervous system; promote vasodilation, stabilize blood pressure, normalize the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in the blood, improve blood circulation; have adaptogenic properties, increase the body's resistance to adverse conditions; useful in cancer. Together, they have a ginseng-like effect on the human body. Liquid extract and tincture of Leuzea are used for physical fatigue, mental fatigue, impotence, chronic alcoholism, anemia, general weakness. After a 10-20 day course of treatment, there is a noticeable improvement in the general condition, mood, sleep and appetite are normalized, efficiency is increased,there is an increase in sexual function. The industry produces a galenic preparation - Leuzea extract. At home, prepare an alcoholic tincture (50 g of dry roots insist in 0.5 liter of 40% alcohol) or an aqueous infusion (1:10), which are used 1 tablespoon 3 times a day before meals. The preparations are stored in a cool, dark place.

Intensive harvesting of the roots of the maral root under natural conditions has led to the fact that leuzea has become a rare plant and is included in the pages of the Red Book. Back in the 50s, work began on the introduction of the maral root into culture, and now there are plantations of this plant in Russia from Karelia to Sakhalin, as well as in Belarus, Bulgaria, Poland. The maral root also grows well on personal plots. Leuzea propagates by seeds and division of rhizomes. If you do not have leuzea, the easiest way is to dilute it with seeds. They can be sown before winter or early spring, and stratification is not required. When sowing podzimnym shoots appear 2-3 weeks earlier. The seeds are very large, therefore, when sowing in spring, there must be enough moisture in the soil for them to swell. The seeds are soaked for a day. They are buried in the soil to a depth of 1.5-3 cm. A distance of 20 cm is left between the rows, and plants are placed in a row every 6-8 cm. By autumn, seedlings with 3-5 leaves will be ready for transplantation to a permanent place. It is better to transplant in the fall, since in the spring the plant starts growing early. For the maral root, a well-lit, protected from the winds (in the wind on hot days the plants are tied) a site without stagnant water is taken away. In one place, leuzea grows for a long time (in nature, fifty-year-old individuals are often found), so the soil is prepared carefully, and, most importantly, they dig deeply. Mulching has a good effect, since the maral root is moisture-loving. Plants bloom from the second or third year. For the maral root, a well-lit, protected from the winds (in the wind on hot days, the plants are tied), a site without stagnant water is taken away. In one place the leuzea grows for a long time (in nature, fifty-year-old individuals are often found), so the soil is prepared carefully, and, most importantly, they dig deeply. Mulching has a good effect, since the maral root is moisture-loving. Plants bloom from the second or third year. For the maral root, a well-lit, protected from the winds (in the wind on hot days the plants are tied) a site without stagnant water is taken away. Leuzea grows in one place for a long time (in nature, fifty-year-old individuals are often found), so the soil is prepared carefully, and, most importantly, they dig deeply. Mulching has a good effect, since the maral root is moisture-loving. Plants bloom from the second or third year.

Harvesting roots and rhizomes from the third year. They are dug up in the fall, when the plants have stored the maximum amount of nutrients in the roots. The roots are cleaned of earth, washed in cold water, cut into pieces, ventilated for 1-2 days under a canopy and dried in the oven at 35-40 ° C until brittle. Raw materials are stored in paper bags in a dry place for three years. Anyone who wishes to grow this valuable medicinal plant on their own can order maral root seeds adapted to flat conditions from the catalog. It contains descriptions of over 200 other rare plants. It is enough to send a marked envelope - you will receive the catalog in it for free. My address: 634024, Tomsk, st. 5th Army, 29-33, mob. t. 8913-8518-103 - Gennady Pavlovich Anisimov. The catalog can also be received by e-mail - send a request to E-mail:[email protected]. The catalog can be found on the site