Stonecrop - General Description
Stonecrop It is a perennial, less commonly annual plant belonging to the family Crassulaceae, stretching up to 1 meter in height. The stalk of stonecrop is erect, powerful and solid; the leaves are thick, smooth, fleshy and sessile, often notched at the base. The leaf blade is flat, without clay. Small star-shaped flowers are collected in corymbose, umbrella or racemose inflorescences.
Flowers of many species are located very densely to each other. The sedum flowering period lasts from July to October. Fruits form in the fall. Stonecrop propagates by ovoid seeds, cuttings and with the help of rhizomes.
Stonecrop - species and places of growth
The genus Stonecrop is the most diverse and extensive, with more than 600 species. Many of them have a peculiar and bizarre shape, which is why they are highly appreciated by florists for their decorativeness and unusualness. Representatives of the genus are widely distributed in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in the Mediterranean, Europe, Siberia, and also live in Japan and China.
Many types of stonecrops are concentrated in the arid places of the USA and Mexico. So the most famous representative - the stonecrop pink (Rhodiola or the golden root) coexists perfectly even in Alaska, in Greenland, on Novaya Zemlya.
In Russia, mainly in Western Siberia and the Urals, cauliflower with yellow star-shaped flowers is widely distributed, which is considered a poisonous plant. In the European part of our country one can meet another species - stonecrop, growing on rocky places. Its young shoots are used for cooking spicy dishes.
Stonecrop - healing properties
In homeopathy and traditional medicine they use caustic soda. Despite its toxicity, the plant is widely used in the treatment of certain diseases by many peoples.
Use stonecrop caustic for epilepsy, malaria, hypertension, fever, scurvy. Fresh leaves and stems help increase hemoglobin, eliminate hepatitis and reduce atherosclerosis. Often, stonecrop is used as a mild laxative and diuretic that normalizes the intestinal tract. Outwardly it is used to treat ulcers, gangrene, purulent wounds, abscesses and acne. Plant juice effectively fights warts, calluses and freckles.
Stonecrop - dosage forms
In folk medicine, the aerial part of the stonecrop is usually used: leaves, stems and flowers, which are cut in the flowering phase. After collecting the parts, it is necessary to grind a little and scald it with boiling water, dry it in the sun until it dries, and place it in an oven heated to 60 degrees. The finished medicinal raw material retains its properties for two years, after which it is necessary to update the home medicine cabinet.
Stonecrop - recipes of traditional medicine
Acceptance of caustic scum inside should be accompanied by careful monitoring and strict dosage.
- Infusion for hypertension: pour a tablespoon of the dried extract (flowers, stems and leaves) into boiling water (200 ml), simmer with the stove turned off for 5-7 minutes, then cool, squeeze the raw materials and drink the infusion during or after meals on the table. spoon three times a day.
- For the treatment of epilepsy, it is advisable to take powdered dry grass twice a day: morning, evening. Use with a small amount of liquid at 500 mg for 2-3 months.
- Infusion for fever and malaria: put a table in a glass of hot water. spoonful of raw materials, insist, wrapping a warm cloth, 3-4 hours and take half a glass after meals three times a day. Such an infusion can be used for constipation.
- To relieve pain of various kinds (osteochondrosis, neuralgia, arthritis, bruises, etc.) and to treat skin diseases, it is necessary to use poultices from dry, and in summer from fresh, stonecrop grass. To do this, five tablespoons are poured into gauze or a wide bandage, scalded with boiling water and applied to sore and problem areas.
Stonecrop - contraindications
The plant is poisonous! Therefore, its use is contraindicated in children and pregnant women. An overdose can provoke vomiting, dizziness, as well as life-threatening conditions - cardiac arrest and breathing, coma.
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