Verbena Officinalis - Universal Doctor
Verbena Officinalis - Universal Doctor

Video: Verbena Officinalis - Universal Doctor

Video: Verbena Officinalis - Universal Doctor
Video: Universal doctor speaker 2024, March
Anonim
Verbena officinalis
Verbena officinalis

The ancient Greeks and Romans associated this plant with mythological heroes, which is reflected in the names: the tears of Isis, the tear of Juno, the vein of Venus, the herb of Graces, the blood of Mercury, the herb of Hercules.

Our people also have several names for it: witch plant, holy herb, sacred herb, dry herb, chervonny zirki, ostudnik, pigeon, porcelain, iron ore, iron ore, zalinyak.

And these are all the names of one and the same plant - the medicinal verbena (Verbena officialis). Originally from Europe, it has spread across the globe, and is found in temperate and tropical climates on all continents.

What is medicinal verbena? It is a perennial herb up to 80 cm high with a powerful root. Stem erect, tetrahedral, branching upwards. The leaves are rough, petioled, large, with large obtuse teeth along the edge. The higher on the stem they are located, the smaller. The stems end in long inflorescences of sessile small light purple flowers. This plant blooms in June-August, fruiting occurs in September. Seeds are oblong, 3 mm long, wrinkled, brown.

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Verbena officinalis bushes have a characteristic appearance that can be seen from afar. Lush greenery below, and straight twig-like (wire-like) stems rise above it. Apparently, that is why it is popularly called iron ore. It is thanks to this feature that verbena received its generic name Verbena, which is translated from Latin as "vine", "magic rod". Its branches were crowned by priests during sacrifices.

Since ancient times and until now, many peoples of vervain are endowed with magical properties that protect against the evil eye, spells, damage and curses, contribute to the fulfillment of desires, a love spell, pacification, cleansing of temples and dwellings.

And, of course, the ability to protect against disease. In ancient times, verbena was considered a panacea for all diseases. And that was not very far from the truth. It has now been established that verbena has a wide range of actions on the human body: tonic, tonic, analgesic, sedative, antispasmodic, choleretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, healing, absorbable, anti-allergic, expectorant, antipyretic, antipyretic, antipyretic, antipyretic …

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Due to these properties, verbena preparations in scientific medicine and medicine of different nations are used for hypotension, loss of strength, anemia, fever, headache, hepatitis, liver and spleen diseases, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, metabolic disorders, colds, stomach diseases and intestinal dysfunctions, with many female diseases; it is used to increase lactation in breastfeeding mothers; externally - with tonsillitis, stomatitis, rashes, scrofula, difficult healing ulcers, wounds and fistulas, eczema, scrofula.

Despite such an impressive healing "arsenal" of verbena, it is not often found on drugstore shelves. The explanation is simple: now there are many synthetic, it is believed, more effective means for the treatment of all these diseases. Everyone is free to choose. And for those who prefer preparations from natural raw materials to synthetic tablets, I recommend growing medicinal verbena on their site.

They will ask: why not collect its raw materials in nature? Because this is not easy to do. In Russia, it is found mainly in the southern regions, does not form thickets, and it settles mainly on wastelands, along roads, where it is unsafe to collect raw materials for medicinal purposes.

It is very easy to grow this unpretentious winter-hardy plant. Give verbena medicinal a sunny, slightly elevated (so as not to be flooded in spring) place with moderately fertile moisture-absorbing soil, and you will not experience any problems with its cultivation. It is drought-resistant, withstands competition with weeds, winter-hardy. Propagated by sowing seeds in March in a box for seedlings or in May to a permanent place. Seeds are buried in the soil to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Seedlings appear in a week. Plants are placed in the garden every 30 cm. They bloom in the first year.

All parts of verbena are curative: root, grass (stems, leaves, flowers), seeds. The most commonly used herb. It is harvested during flowering. Cut to the root and dry in bunches in the attic. Well-dried raw materials are stored in paper bags for two years.

At home, decoctions, infusions are prepared from it, tea is brewed with other herbs.

It is convenient to prepare verbena infusion in a thermos: for 0.5 liters of boiling water, 3 tbsp. l. chopped dry grass, leave for 1 hour, drain. The infusion can be drunk 1/3 cup 3-4 times a day for half an hour before meals, or used to rinse the mouth and throat, or used externally in a warm form.

Unfortunately, Verbena seeds are not available for sale in garden centers and shops. Anyone who wants to grow this amazing plant will be happy to send seeds of verbena officinalis. They, as well as seeds of more than 200 other medicinal plants, can be ordered from the catalog. Send an envelope with your address - in it you will receive the catalog for free. My address: 634024, Tomsk, st. 5th Army, 29-33, mob. t. 8913-8518-103 - Gennady Pavlovich Anisimov. The catalog can also be obtained by e-mail - send a request to E-mail: [email protected]. The catalog can be found on the website

Gennady Anisimov, Tomsk, photo by the author

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