Male fern is considered a perennial medicinal plant. It has short thickened rhizomes with thin brown roots. The plant can be found in forests. It usually covers a large area. Fern in the forest prefers to grow in moist shaded areas. It grows in the form of continuous thickets. Fern is widely used in folk medicine.
This plant has always been considered sacred. Infusions and decoctions of rhizomes are of particular benefit. In ancient times, it was the fern that helped fight various diseases. Signs indicated that its flowering can be seen once a year on the feast of Ivan Kupala.
Description of the plant
Fern is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Shield family. It has a horizontal rhizome covered with brown and soft scales. Leaves are at the top.
The shield plant reproduces with the help of spores. They are on the back of the sheet. But spores cannot be seen with the naked eye, they can only be seen under a microscope. They startripen in mid-summer. Leaves live one season, and by autumn they fade.
Plant habitat
The male fern grows in spruce and oak forests, in places rich in humus. It can be found in mountain beech forests in the Caucasus, in the spruce taiga of Siberia and cedar forests in the Far East.
The plant has spread throughout the CIS countries. It occupied vast areas in Ukraine, in the Moscow and Tver regions. You can also find ferns in the garden.
How is fern harvesting done?
The male fern is not used in medicine entirely - only its rhizome is needed. When fresh, it has an unpleasant odor and a bitter taste. Cutting the rhizome, you can see that it is yellowish-green in color. Although it is poisonous, it has healing properties.
Rhizomes are harvested in mid-autumn or early spring. You can find ferns in the garden. They need to be dug up, cut off young roots, cleaned from the ground and, if necessary, get rid of the rotten lower part. Then the rhizome must be cut lengthwise and across. It should be dried at a temperature of 40 degrees. You can store such raw materials for only a year. Since it is poisonous, it must be stored in glass jars with tightly closed lids.
Forest fern in some cases is used fresh. But then, for medicinal purposes, the leaves of the plant will be required. They are collected in the summer and dried in the fresh air. The raw material is then used to makemedicinal infusions.
Biologically active ingredients
Forest fern has many biologically active components.
- The root of the plant contains filixic and flavaspidic acids.
- Also contains phloroglucinol, filmarone, albaspidin and aspidinol.
- Rhizome contains essential oil and starch.
The main active substances are fernic acid and filmaron. They are classified as muscle poisons.
Pharmacological properties of the plant
It is known that the anthelmintic effect is what the fern has in the first place. Useful properties and contraindications are a very important point that you need to familiarize yourself with before using the plant.
Preparations made from fern rhizomes have a number of properties:
- they are able to fight worms;
- can relieve pain;
- clear;
- heal.
In medicine, preparations from the rhizomes of the plant are used to remove tapeworms. They are also necessary when bovine, porcine or pygmy tapeworm, tapeworm and other types of tapeworms are found in the body.
The product can be sold as an essential extract or tablets. It is necessary to take drugs only under the supervision of doctors. Fern extracts will be needed for rheumatism, cramps and hemorrhoids. They are also used for varicose veins and inflammation of the ovaries in women. Malefern can be used externally. Its properties help to treat skin diseases.
Use of male fern in folk medicine
Everyone knows that the stinkweed is a poisonous plant. But people have learned to use it for noble purposes. In folk medicine, preparations from its rhizomes are used orally for pain in the gastrointestinal tract. Male fern is also used parenterally for mental and nervous disorders, diarrhea, eczema.
Medicinal tincture can be used as an anesthetic for neuralgia, arthritis and rheumatism. You can also use baths with a decoction of the rhizomes of the plant. They are used for varicose dermatitis, leg ulcers and nerve inflammation.
Besides this, the male fern is able to heal festering wounds and ulcers. To do this, it is enough to prepare a decoction from its rhizome. Then they need to wash problem areas. Herbal remedies are also used as compresses.
But in any case, we must not forget that the fern is a poisonous plant, so you need to monitor the dosage of medicines based on the thyroid gland. Basically, such funds are taken externally.
Drugs and doses
Decoction of rhizomes is prepared from 10 g of dry raw materials and a glass of water. The ingredients should be combined and boiled until the liquid is reduced to half. Then the broth must be filtered.
Accepting the drug from tape parasites is carried out as followsway:
- Children from 2 to 6 years old should take 8 drops at a time;
- Children from 6 to 10 years of age should take the drug 10 drops once;
- 10 to 16 years - 12 drops;
- adults - 15 drops.
Decoction can be taken for other diseases, but in this case it will be necessary to mix it with vodka at a ratio of 1:1. The finished product must be stored in the refrigerator.
Decoction for external use is prepared from 200 g of rhizomes and 2 liters of water. This remedy should be boiled over low heat for about 2 hours. Then the broth must be filtered.
Side effects
Degenerative changes in the liver may occur as side effects. In addition, the following violations are observed:
- Sometimes there is nausea and vomiting.
- Drugs cause diarrhea.
- Dizziness and headaches may occur.
- In some cases, there is a weakening of the heart.
Contraindications of the drug based on the thyroid gland
Not all categories of patients can take this remedy:
- Fern-based preparations should not be taken by children under 2 years of age.
- Also, such a remedy is contraindicated in heart failure, liver and kidney diseases.
- Pregnant women should not take this drug.
- The drug is contraindicated in gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
- The remedy is not prescribed for anemia and tuberculosis.
Folk recipes based on the shield tree
- In case of inflammation of the ovaries, it is necessary to purchase a dry or fresh fern leaf. You need to take a glass of boiling water and a large spoon with chopped leaves. Heat the product in a water bath for about 15 minutes. Then the medicine should be infused for 40 minutes. After that, the broth must be filtered. It is necessary to take it 50 ml 3 times a day before meals. The course of admission can be carried out up to 3 weeks.
- When varicose veins prepare a remedy from the fresh root of the plant. It needs to be crushed to the state of gruel. The resulting mass must be combined with sour milk at the rate of 1:1. A compress from the finished product should be applied in a thick layer to the problem area and wrapped with gauze for 5 hours.
- With oncology, you can prepare a remedy from a fresh root. To do this, it must be washed and crushed. The resulting slurry must be placed in a glass jar. Then pour natural cognac there and close the product with a lid as tightly as possible. It should be infused for about 3 weeks, but every three days the liquid must be shaken. Take this remedy should be 15 ml 3 times a day between meals.
The fern is considered a poisonous plant, but healing. It is used to get rid of many different diseases. In addition to the usual decoctions and infusions, baths based on the shield tree are very popular. It is necessary to take the fern remedy with caution, as it has a number of contraindications and side effects. That is why it is very important to take into account the dose and in no case exceed it.
