Parmelia lichen, or cut grass, grows in the desert-steppe zone, as well as in mountainous areas. This plant is resistant to environmental pollution, it is absolutely unpretentious. About 90 species of cut grass are found in Russia. This plant is widely used in folk medicine. Today, the reader will learn a lot of interesting information about parmelia lichen: use and contraindications, properties, composition. We will also find out how to prepare a decoction of cut grass.
What is it made of?
Parmelia belongs to both the group of green algae and mushrooms. The body of this lichen consists of branched, grooved, leathery-cartilaginous lobes of a greenish-gray color. Cut grass has the ability to photosynthesis, it is very resistant to harsh climatic conditions.
Parmelia lichen, the properties of which can be read below, has a unique and healing composition:
- Usnic acid is a strong natural antibiotic.
- Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant.
- Fiber and complex carbohydrates are very important for the normal functioning of the digestive system.
- Proteins, fats, ash.
- A large number of mineral elements, the main of which are potassium, calcium, phosphorus.
When can it be used?
Parmelia lichen, the application and indications for which can be read in this article, has the following properties:
- Antiseptic.
- Bactericidal.
- Hemostatic.
- Wound healing.
- Immunostimulatory.
Cut Grass can be used in these cases:
- When coughing. Lichen helps to quickly, gently and harmlessly relieve a person of a prolonged incessant cough.
- With bleeding gums. It is enough to make a decoction of cut grass and rinse your mouth with it.
- With diarrhea, acute colitis, duodenal ulcer and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- For severely healing wounds resulting from trauma.
- To fight bacteria that destroy the body, including Koch's wand.
- To prevent the occurrence of acute respiratory viral infections.
- To stop bleeding.
- For the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Common parmelia species
- Wandering cut grass. It grows to a height of 5 cm. In appearance, it resembles a lot of gray-green plates that swell after rain. With a strong wind, lumps of this type of parmelia come off and are transported over long distances, where they take root well in the future.
- Cut grass furrowed. This lichen is leafy and forms irregularly shaped rosettes on the bark of any tree. It can also be found on dry branches, in sheds, on fences, and also on the walls of houses. The furrowed cut grass is bluish-gray in color, it is black below, covered with straight or curved ridges.
Where can I collect?
Branches and trunks of coniferous and deciduous trees - this is where parmelia lichens grow. Less often they can be found on stones and mossy soils. Lichen grows well where there is excellent access to the sun. Most often cut grass can be found in mountain forests. If you do not know where parmelia lichens grow, you can find out in the market from grandmothers selling various herbs. They will tell you where you can collect healing cut grass. And if you don't want to go looking for it, you can just buy it from the same lovely women in the bazaar.
Procurement of medicinal raw materials
If you decide that parmelia lichen should be in your home first aid kit, then you need to know not only where to collect it, but also how to prepare it for long-term storage. It is best to collect cut grass at the end of April and all of May. The collected raw materials must be dried in the wind and sun. Dried parmelia almost does not smell, it tastes bitter, slightly burning. You can save it for 4 years in a plastic bag or glass container away from dampness and moisture.
Restrictions on the use of parmelia lichen
Use and contraindications can be found in folkhealers. In general, cut grass has a minimum number of restrictions on use. You can not use this plant with individual intolerance to the body. Also, with the appearance of urticaria, itching on the skin, it is also worth stopping being treated with this lichen. With caution and only after consultation with the doctor, cut grass can be used in such cases:
- For children.
- Pregnant and lactating women.
Prescription for tuberculosis
Parmelia grass is often used to treat such a serious infectious disease. The recipe for an effective cure for tuberculosis:
- Chop dried parmelia (3 tbsp.) and pour 0.5 l of milk.
- Put the mixture on the fire, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain the medicine.
- Drink up to 1/3 cup three times a day.
Cough decoction recipe
If a person cannot get rid of this unpleasant symptom of a viral infection, then parmelia will help him. The use and indications for the appointment of this remedy can be found in many medical publications. But how to properly prepare a decoction is not written everywhere. Below is the correct recipe for making a healing cough drink:
1. Take 1 tablespoon of lichen, pour 1 liter of water into it.
2. Put the pot with the contents in a water bath (take water into a large container, and find a pot with cut grass inside). Keep for about 2 hours.
Ready-made broth drink 1/3 cup 3times a day for 0.5 hours before meals. Be sure to keep the medicine in the refrigerator. Warm up a little before use.
Attention readers! On many sites it is written that to prepare a decoction, lichen can simply be boiled for an hour on fire. But this cannot be done, because useful substances at a temperature of 100 degrees will simply decompose, without bringing any benefit in the future. Therefore, cough medicine should be prepared only in a water bath.
Recipe for washing wounds, compresses
- Five tablespoons of lichen pour 500 ml of water.
- Boil, cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, insist at room temperature until the medicine has cooled completely.
- Strain, squeeze raw materials into a healing broth.
Use externally for poorly healing wounds.
Preparation of ointment
- Take 200 g of visceral fat. Add 2 tbsp. l. parmelia (you can buy at a pharmacy or grind yourself in a coffee grinder).
- Mix all the ingredients, put them in a saucepan and put in a water bath for 5 hours.
- The final medicine should be viscous.
You can use an ointment based on parmelia and visceral fat to treat ulcers, cuts, wounds.
Where can I buy?
You can buy cut grass at the grandmother's market, on the Internet, and also at the pharmacy.
And there, by the way, you can find out important information about parmelia lichen: application andcontraindications, storage conditions, expiration dates. If a person wants to save money, then it will be cheaper to buy cut grass from grandmothers.
Opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
The famous pediatrician Komarovsky E. O., who hosts a program about diseases that children suffer from, gave his assessment of the use of parmelia in relation to children. He notes that it is not worth using this lichen in the fight against a protracted cough in boys and girls. He says that cut grass is best applied topically - to stop bleeding, disinfect wounds. And he categorically does not advise conducting various experiments on children. Komarovsky Evgeny Olegovich once again repeats that in order to eliminate a cough in a child, you do not need to run to the market and buy parmelia lichen. Parents can save their son or daughter from this residual symptom of a viral infection by simple methods: humidifying and ventilating the room, drinking warm tea or compote to the sick child. And if the mother follows these simple rules, she will not need any cough parmelia or other drugs from the pharmacy. And, by the way, Dr. Komarovsky notes one interesting fact: Americans do not know and do not understand why children should be given expectorants. And in the post-Soviet countries, this practice is quite common. The pediatrician urges parents not to buy cough medicines and not to stuff the child with chemicals or questionable herbs.
Conclusion
Now you know a lot of interesting information about lichenparmelia: use and contraindications, appearance, places of growth. Cut grass has long been used in folk medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis, coughs, lingering wounds, etc. You can buy it on the market, in a pharmacy or order it online. You can also collect this lichen yourself, prepare healing raw materials and later use it to prepare various decoctions.
