Cucumber grass is an unusually pretty plant belonging to the borage family. In the people it is also called borage, borage, borage or gimlet. Borago is cultivated by many amateurs in their gardens in order to obtain early greenery. The smell and taste of this herb are identical to cucumbers. Hence its name arose: borage. Borage is famous as an excellent honey plant, it is practiced in folk medicine and culinary technologies. Useful properties and contraindications of borage will be discussed below.
Distribution area
Southern Europe is considered the birthplace of wild forms of borage. But in our time, specimens of this plant are found in the north of the African continent, in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, South America, Asia Minor and Asia Minor. As a cultivated plant, it is cultivated throughout Europe and the USA. In Russia, wild forms of borage are found in certain areas of the European part, mainly in the south of the country, where it grows as a common weed.
Biological features
Cucumber grass, the photo of which is in the article, belongs to cross-pollinated, rather cold-resistant and drought-resistant plants. But in the hot summer season, its leaves coarsen and a peduncle begins to form. Prefers neutral or slightly acid soils of light mechanical composition. The length of the growing season is 70-80 days. Borage usually grows up to 60-80 cm, on thick stems, hollow inside. The stem is well branched at the top. Those leaves that form in the lower tier have an oval appearance, a long petiole and a large size. On the upper tier, leaves are smaller, oblong, sessile, covered with hard white pubescence.
Borage inflorescences
The flowering stage stretches from mid-summer to August inclusive. And fruiting occurs from July to September. The inflorescence is represented by a panicle, which combines single gimlet flowers on long stems. The flowers are large star-shaped, blue or blue, with purple anthers. Each single flower accumulates up to 5-12 mg of nectar. From the ovary of flowers, a fruit is formed - a nutlet of a dark brown color.
borage seeds
Borago seeds are quite large, easily crumbling nuts, remain viable for 2-3 years. The fruit is up to 5 mm long, ribbed and unequal in shape.
Variety composition
This crop has no generally accepted domestic or foreign released varieties. ATeach locality uses its own varietal lines and populations.
Agrotechnics of borage
Cultural forms of borage are sown in spring or before winter, before the arrival of frost. In subsequent years, the grass can propagate by self-seeding. When sowing, the scheme is used: the width between rows is 30 cm and in the row the sowing step between plants is 10 cm. The seeds are buried in the soil by 2 cm. On the tenth day, shoots appear from the seeds.
Plant care
In the phase of the first real leaf, the plants should be thinned out, leaving 9-10 cm between them. During the growing season, the aisle should be loosened and weeded three times. And in dry summers, water several times. Soil moisture should be constantly maintained at 80% HB. Borage responds very well to fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers. The first top dressing should be carried out with urea during the period of thinning plants. To do this, dissolve 12 grams of urea in a bucket of water and feed the plant with this solution. The second feeding can be carried out 25 days after the first. Here it is appropriate to apply a solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:5 with water.
Cleaning
They start collecting leaves when they are young, even before the appearance of the peduncle. Leaves are not taken from plants left for seed. When the seed pods turn brown, the stems are cut off at the bottom of the inflorescences. From one square meter you can get 20 grams of seeds and 600 grams of greenery. Borage can be grown on a windowsill. Leaves are periodically cut from it and dried inshadows.
Chemical composition
The beneficial properties of borage are due to the rich content of useful chemical organic and inorganic components that can have a healing effect on people's he alth. Available in vegetative mass and seeds:
- essential oils;
- mucous compounds;
- substances from the group of tannins;
- silicon;
- compounds from the group of saponins;
- resin compounds;
- vitamin C;
- zinc;
- potassium;
- carotene;
- malic acid;
- calcium;
- choline;
- iron;
- citric acid and other equally valuable substances.
Reserves of essential oil found in flowers. The oil, which is produced from seeds, is also highly valued. It consists of 20-27% gamma-linolenic acid used in pharmacology. In addition, the oil contains alpha-linolenic acid, the presence of which reaches 10%. In its composition and properties, it is very similar to primrose oil. The presence of essential oil in borage varies between 0.01-0.13%. Moreover, over time, the accumulation of this product by the plant occurs, therefore, there is more oil in old leaves than in young ones. This oil contains 23 volatile compounds, of which aldehydes are especially valuable, as well as non-adcane, tetracosane and heptacosane.
Useful qualities
Useful properties of borage (borage, the photo of which youhave the opportunity to see in the article) have been studied since ancient times. The essential fatty acids present in the plant are of great importance. The human body needs them to maintain the vitality and he alth of the skin.
If these substances are lacking in the body, mood may suddenly fall, immunity is weakened, inflammation of organs and weakening of the heart may develop. Essential fatty acids are responsible for the condition of nails and hair. Children especially need them.
Potassium, found in the plant, favors the removal of water from the body, and with it toxic compounds. Freshly squeezed borage juice can contain up to a third of potassium, while dried leaves contain only 3 percent. Choline has a beneficial effect on the glands that produce sweat, thanks to which the body's thermoregulation occurs. Therefore, the plant is used for coughs, colds and fever. Nicotinic acid has a calming effect on the body, removes anxiety and nervousness.
Westerners habitually eat young borage leaves, adding them to various dishes. Fresh flowers are placed in glasses with drinks or wine, and candied inflorescences are eaten for dessert. Formed leaves can be stewed, used in marinades and pickles. Borage inflorescences are used in industry in the production of confectionery and cognac.
When should Borago be used?
Modern healers recommend using borage as an anti-inflammatory, expectorant,laxative and enveloping agent to cure fever, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, colds, constipation. As a diuretic, borage is used to treat edema, kidney disease, bladder and urinary tract problems. To do this, his infusions are taken orally. Compresses with the use of borage leaves have an antirheumatic and analgesic effect, in the treatment of joint and muscle pain, as well as gout. Borage seeds boiled in grape wine are prescribed to increase maternal lactation.
Borago, or borage (photo, useful properties - in the article), also has a calming property, is widely used in homeopathy, in the treatment of depression, neurasthenia and sleep disorders. Decoctions of its leaves are used to treat skin rashes, eczema, and other skin conditions. Borage mineral s alts improve metabolism, so it is included in multi-component diets.
Alternative medicine advises turning to borage for the following diseases:
- asthenia;
- rheumatic diseases;
- joint pain;
- insomnia;
- gout;
- inflammation of the bladder and kidneys;
- colitis;
- gastritis;
- fever;
- constipation;
- neurasthenia;
- edema;
- colds;
- cardiac neuroses;
- skin diseases.
But before deciding to use medicines made from borage, you should consult your doctor, as self-medication can only aggravate the situation. Therapyfolk methods is effective only in combination with the main drug treatment and under the supervision of a specialist.
Contraindications
Cucumber has few contraindications. Its main problem is the insignificant presence of the alkaloid pyrrolizidine, known for its ability to cause liver cancer. Therefore, you can not use borage for food or for treatment for more than 30 days in a row. It is also forbidden to take borage along with a group of drugs related to anticoagulants. In a separate category of persons, borage can cause convulsive phenomena, pain in the head, nausea or bloating. Usually, all these ailments are mild. The hairs present on the stem and leaves are very coarse and can irritate sensitive skin. Therefore, it is better to wear gloves during the collection process.
The use of borage by pregnant or nursing mothers is highly undesirable. Despite the fact that since ancient times it has always been used as a means of improving lactation, this ban is due to the lack of scientific information about the effect of this plant on the body of women at this time.
It is absolutely forbidden to use the herb for people suffering from epileptic seizures, schizophrenic disorders, convulsions or taking the drug "Phenothiazine". It is better to take decoctions and infusions of borage as part of herbal preparations and consult a doctor before doing so. Some believe that the gamma-linolenic acid present in the plant may favor the growth and reproduction of cancer cells. However, this is still no onenot proven.
Preparation of infusions and decoctions
Before making juice from borage, fresh leaves of the lower tier should first be washed with running water, scalded with boiling water, and then passed through a meat grinder.
The resulting mass is squeezed out through two layers of gauze and we get borage cell juice. The squeezed juice is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and boiled over low heat for 4 minutes. After that, it remains only to cool and strain the broth, and it is ready for use. Take a decoction inside should be three times a day, immediately after eating, 2 tablespoons. In some cases, with skin diseases, it can be practiced for external use.
A healing infusion is also prepared from borage. For this purpose, take 2 tablespoons of dried and chopped leaves or 1 tablespoon of dried flowers and pour them with boiling water in an amount of 200 ml. The mixture, which has been infused for two hours, is filtered and three times a day is used orally, 1 tbsp. spoon, for diseases of the muscles and joints, as well as for gout or rheumatism.
To cure gastritis and inflammation of the kidneys, as well as to normalize cardiac activity, it is necessary to consume 100 grams of borage infusion three times a day, in the preparation of which 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flowers was poured with boiling water in an amount of 200 ml and infused for 6 hours.
