Spurge is an annual herbaceous plant that forms loose thickets and belongs to the spurge family. The second name is euphorbia. Used for the treatment of many diseases, including skin. In folk recipes, juice, root and stem are used. What are the healing properties of the herb spurge?
Types of Euphorbia
The spurge herb has 2000 varieties. There are about 170 items in the CIS countries. The plant is common in countries such as Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine. There is grass in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Euphorbia grows in the form of shrubs, perennial and annual grass, small trees. The presence of caustic juice in it unites all its varieties.
What does spurge herb look like? The general appearance of plants is very diverse. The stems of some are ordinary, without thorns, others are prickly, and others are fleshy and faceted. It has yellow lobed leaves. The plant throws out its color in May, by July it grows and completely drowns out the nearby vegetation. The shape of the milkweed flower resembles a glass.
Procurement and storage
To correctly collect flowers, you need to make sure that the harvested plant is Euphorbia. Indeed, in the case of collecting the wrong herb, this will not have the desired effect, otherwise poisoning or other negative consequences may occur.
When harvesting spurge herbs, do not allow other medicinal plants to fall into the collection. It is better to collect in an area where a large amount of it grows.
In folk recipes, the root, stems and juice are used. All these parts must be prepared separately. The juice is obtained from the fresh plant. Then it is evaporated in a water bath and placed in glass containers. Store blanks only in a cold place.
The roots of milkweed are harvested in early spring. This is done before the appearance of the first leaves. You can harvest them in late autumn, when the plant begins to fade. The dug roots are cleaned of dirt, washed, treated with boiling water and dried at a temperature of 40 degrees.
The stalks and grass of milkweed are harvested before it blooms. After harvesting, the juice is squeezed out, and the plant is laid out for drying.
The color of euphorbia is harvested in rare cases, and then laid out in places where the sun's rays do not fall. Ready raw materials are placed in glass jars for storage.
The dried plant can be stored for no more than 1 year. After this period, its medicinal properties are lost.
Use of milkweed
In the Euphorbia family there is suchhouseplant like croton. Croton oil is obtained from it, which was quite popular in the 19th century. It was often used in perfumery.
Another type of little tea is cassava. It produces roots that can be eaten. You can only eat them boiled, because they are poisonous when raw.
Many types of milkweed are dangerous to he alth, so they were used by the indigenous people of Africa and the Caribbean as weapons. If its juice got into the eyes, people could become completely blind within a few minutes.
The castor bean plant is a plant from the milkweed family, from which castor oil is produced. It is popular and can be used for hair growth.
Among many types of plants there is a weed grass spurge, which brings great harm to gardeners. Its negative properties will be discussed later in the article.
Composition of milkweed juice
White-milk juice has a burning taste, but it is completely odorless. It stands out from the incision of the plant and quickly hardens in the air.
The composition of milkweed herb juice includes: saponins, alkaloids, gum, tannins and other components.
Euphorbia is a natural aphrodisiac that enhances the body's defenses. The sap of the plant has antiseptic and antibacterial qualities.
Useful qualities
What are the medicinal properties of spurge herb? Plant-based preparations are actively used to heal wounds on the skin. They are used in the form of baths ortinctures for the treatment of fungus and gout. Milkweed juice copes well with warts that are smeared with it. The most common way is treatment with a decoction of the plant.
In folk medicine, euphorbia was used as a remedy with laxative, anthelmintic and diuretic properties. At present, the range of its use has increased significantly.
Spurge slows down the growth of neoplasms, cleanses the blood and prevents the growth of metastases. The lactones in the herb have anticancer properties. Due to its healing qualities, euphorbia is used to treat various neoplasms. Often it is used for sarcoma. Effective plant in the period of restorative chemotherapy.
You can use spurge inside to fight worms. A decoction of the plant is effective for anthrax, rabies and paralysis.
Women can use it to treat mastopathy, uterine fibroids and infertility.
Spurge is often used to treat anemia. It is used in case of serious development of tuberculosis, as well as in the complex therapy of bronchitis, bronchial asthma and pneumonia.
Possessing bactericidal properties, spurge can relieve inflammation in cystitis. With diarrhea, the decoction relieves symptoms due to the presence of tannins in the plant.
The root of the herb is used to treat headaches and treat problems in the male genital area. Euphorbia root extract is considered a powerful emetic. Therefore, it can be used for bites of rabid animals and acute intestinal infections.diseases.
Currently, the properties of milkweed are also used in official medicine. Its infusions in low concentrations are used in the treatment of kidney diseases, hemorrhoids, eczema and skin fungus. The herb relieves inflammation and reduces pain.
Overweight people can take a decoction of milkweed. The plant helps to increase the protective functions of the body. It is best to use it in the autumn-winter period for the prevention of colds.
Due to the poison contained in the plant, care should be taken when applied externally.
Folk recipes from milkweed
The healing properties of milkweed have been used in the treatment of the following diseases:
- Tincture for the treatment of fungus, eczema and lichen. 1 teaspoon of herbs is poured into 500 ml of boiling water. Infused for half an hour and filtered. The product should be used as baths. For the treatment of lichen, the juice of a fresh plant is used, which is lubricated with a sore spot. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse thoroughly with water.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. 5 grams of the root is poured into 1/2 liter of water. Boil the liquid for 10 minutes. Take the remedy 3 times a day for a tablespoon a quarter of an hour before meals.
- Getting rid of freckles or age spots. Lubricate the face with the juice of the plant, wash it thoroughly after 10-15 minutes.
- Treatment of corns. This recipe has been known since antiquity. Lubricate the corns with grass juice and put on socks. The procedure is carried out at night, for 6-7 days. Wash off the juice in the morning and apply a pumice stone.
- Depilation. To facilitate the process, add a teaspoon of plant juice to 100grams of boiled water. Wipe the place where the depilation is planned. The procedure will be faster, and the hairs will grow back more slowly.
Using the herb spurge in the treatment of diseases, you can quickly reduce their symptoms.
Spurge garden
What does euphorbia herb look like? Gardeners begin to fight this weed in early spring. The herb is a plant with spiky leaves, a hard stem, and a white milk that it secretes. Its root system goes deep into the soil, and its depth can reach 1 m.
Experienced gardeners remove spurge weeds only with a shovel. Constant deep weeding, digging up the soil in spring and autumn, the use of herbicides are the main methods of dealing with it.
Great damage is done to grain crops, which, due to milkweed, cannot develop normally. It also interferes with plants that are grown in the garden. Possessing a developed root system, little tea sucks out all the useful substances from the soil. This causes the death of other plants.
Despite its harmful qualities, the plant is a good soil indicator.
Ways to deal with milkweed
Spurge is a weed grass, so there are several methods of dealing with it. Use folk methods or modern drugs. Sometimes both methods are used.
It is best to start weed control in early spring, when leaves are just appearing on the plant. It is imperative to uproot the grass without leaving a single particle of it in the ground. If this is notdo, the spurge will sprout in the soil again.
When fighting a plant, it is completely uprooted.
The second method used to control the herb Euphorbia field is the use of herbicides. By combining these two methods together, you can completely get rid of the weed in the garden.
Properties of common milkweed
Spurge contains juice in the stem, which is very poisonous to animals. For the treatment of a person, it has many useful properties. It is effective to use it in the treatment of childhood skin diseases.
The herb Euphorbia has a laxative and anthelmintic. For internal use, a decoction is prepared from the plant. Pour 2 tablespoons of the plant with a liter of hot water. Boil for 10 minutes and insist throughout the day. Drink on an empty stomach 200 ml in the morning.
Sometimes the plant is used to treat hemorrhoids and intestinal colitis. You can drink infusion to improve metabolism.
Contraindications to the use of milkweed
When using milkweed, we must not forget that the plant is poisonous. All funds from it must be prepared with strict observance of dosages and rules of administration.
Treatment with milkweed should take place under the supervision of an experienced specialist. After all, he can suggest the correct and safe regimen. With prolonged use of the plant, side effects may occur. The finished product should not get into the eyes or on the face, if this happens, then the medicine must be washed offwater.
Main contraindications:
- individual intolerance;
- pregnancy and lactation;
- allergic reactions on the skin.
All milkweed remedies are contraindicated for children. With prolonged contact, a burn may occur on the skin, so the affected area must be washed with water and a cold compress applied. Be sure to give your child an antihistamine.
Conclusion
Spurge is an amazing plant that has many varieties and has medicinal properties. Due to the fact that the plant is poisonous, it must be used with caution.
