Growing And Medicinal Properties Of Rhodiola Rosea

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

Golden root - Rhodiola rosea

There are plants that are legendary. First of all, ginseng can be attributed to them. One has only to ask someone about it, and he enthusiastically begins to list the amazing properties of the relict plant. But the golden root is no less famous. True, most people do not always know that the real biological name of this plant is Rhodiola rosea. Rhodiola received its second, intriguing name because of the bronze-golden glow of its rhizome.

The very name Rhodiola comes from the Greek word meaning "rose", since when the rhizome breaks, it exudes a scent reminiscent of pink.

Rhodiola rosea (Rhodiola rosea) is a dioecious perennial herb. The concept of dioecious means that the male and female flowers are on different plants. Radiola has juicy, fleshy leaves and stems up to half a meter high. It is referred to as deciduous succulents. The flowers of Rhodiola are small, collected in inflorescences at the top of the stems. Since there are a lot of renewal buds on its rhizome, usually Rhodiola rosea forms a bush with an abundance of stems - up to 15.

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This bush looks very impressive, especially during flowering. And it is no coincidence that Rhodiola can be found not only in the gardener's and summer residents' pharmacy beds, but also in flower beds. It is often planted on alpine hills, where it organically fits into the composition of other alpine plants.

It is very important that you can grow your own valuable rhizomes. Indeed, in natural conditions in the growing area - in the Altai mountains, in Eastern Siberia, in the Urals and the Far East, as a result of the active collection of medicinal raw materials, the number of plants has significantly decreased, and now Rhodiola rosea is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

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Growing Rhodiola rosea

Therefore, anyone who wants to use this plant for medicinal purposes should try to grow it in their garden. Agricultural technology is not very difficult, the main thing is to get seeds, and even better - a piece of rhizome with several renewal buds. The seeds of Rhodiola rosea are small, so they are sown on the soil surface, mixed with sand, in the fall (in October) or early in the spring. They sprout hard, stratification is desirable.

It is better to prepare a small bed for breeding Rhodiola in the fall. Soils for Rhodiola require fertile, light in composition without excess moisture. When shoots appear, you need to take care of them - loosen the soil, water regularly, weed out weeds on plantings, feed - it is better with organic fertilizers, for example, fermented slurry thoroughly diluted with water. It is advisable to shade delicate young seedlings for the first time. They are transplanted from a distribution bed to a permanent place in the garden at the age of two.

A more effective way of breeding Rhodiola rosea is vegetative - with a piece of rhizome, on which there should be several buds. When planting on a garden bed, the rhizome is not buried - the buds should be close to the soil surface. According to experts, it is best to divide the rhizome for reproduction in April or at the end of July. Since Rhodiola rosea is a dioecious plant, having bought one rhizome for reproduction, you will not receive seeds - male and female flowers are on different plants. We'll have to propagate only vegetatively.

Tuberous rhizomes of Rhodiola rosea are dug up not earlier than the fourth year of the plant's life. The bush should be strong, overgrown. Rhizomes are not harvested from plants with only 1-2 stems. You can start digging out the rhizomes at the end of flowering, and this can be done until the end of the growing season.

The dug rhizomes are gently washed in running water, then dried in the shade in a draft. Then it is divided transversely into small pieces. A characteristic difference between rhizomes of Rhodiola is that when a fresh rhizome is cut, an aroma resembling pink appears. Experts recommend finally drying the crushed rhizomes in dryers at a temperature of 50 … 60 ° C. Do not dry in the sun. Store the harvested raw material of the golden root in a sealed glass container in the dark for 2-3 years.

Therapeutic Uses of Golden Root

Now Rhodiola rosea, which is also popularly called Siberian ginseng, is a very popular medicinal plant. Scientists have found nearly 140 different components in its underground part. The rhizomes and roots of the plant contain essential oils, rhodioloside glycoside, tyrosol, tannins, malic, gallic, citric, succinic, oxalic acids, glucose and sucrose …

It contains substances that stimulate the nervous system, they also increase the resistance of the human body to various adverse environmental influences.

Therefore, in scientific medicine, the extract from the roots and rhizomes of the golden root is used for neuroses, hypotension, with physical and mental fatigue, with vegetative-vascular dystonia. Preparations from it are recommended to increase mental performance, improve memory. They increase the body's resistance to adverse effects, help with impotence.

There are, like any medicinal plant, contraindications. Preparations of the golden root should not be taken with increased excitability, hypertension, psychosis!

If you were able to grow a golden root in your garden and dry it as described above, then you can prepare medicines yourself, for example, a tincture or decoction.

To prepare the golden root tincture, grind the dried rhizome into powder and fill it with vodka in a ratio of 1: 5 and leave in a dark place at room temperature for at least three weeks. After the end of the infusion, strain - the tincture is ready. You need to take it carefully: 20 drops three times a day 20 minutes before meals with overwork, to increase immunity and with diabetes.

It is not difficult to make a decoction of the rhizome of the golden root. To do this, pour 1 teaspoon of root powder with a glass of boiling water and then boil for 15-20 minutes. Then the broth must be defended and filtered. Take it 1 tablespoon three times a day before meals - with overwork and diabetes.

Before starting taking medications from this plant, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

E. Valentinov