This plant belongs to the borage family and is a perennial. In length, it reaches 30 cm and has a stiff-haired and erect stem. The leaves of the culture are lanceolate, petiolate, simple and pointed. Lungwort officinalis blooms from April to May. Favorable habitats are forest clearings, clearings, areas under bushes.
Due to its beautiful and delicate flowers, it is used to decorate the garden. Lungwort is also used in cooking, its leaves are added to salads, soups, or used as a condiment. In folk medicine, it has long been prescribed to patients with respiratory diseases. It is also known under other names: honeydew, lungwort, spotted or poultice grass, water springs.
There are a lot of plant varieties. We have 5 species: soft, narrow-leaved, red, Filyarsky, and the most famous - medicinal lungwort. Since the times of the USSR, the Red Book has included this culture, since it is becoming less and less in nature in some areas. To exclude its disappearance, it is necessary to grow the lungwort in flowerbeds, beds and flower beds.
Culture composition and useful properties
Lungwort officinalis is valued for the complex of useful substances it contains. The plant contains:
- micronutrients;
- carotene;
- routine;
- vitamin C;
- tannins;
- mucus;
- macronutrients;
- B vitamins.
Medicinal plants are increasingly being used as the main or auxiliary way to get rid of various ailments. Lungwort has the following effect:
- softening;
- anti-inflammatory;
- wound healing;
- expectorant;
- enveloping;
- antiseptic;
- diuretic.
Use of the plant in medicine
Lungwort officinalis is used to eliminate the following diseases:
- bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis;
- cold with dry cough;
- gastritis;
- intestinal infections, diarrhea;
- anemia;
- diseases of the kidneys and bladder;
- skin problems (purulent wounds, abscesses);
- diabetes;
- uterine bleeding;
- nervous ailments.
Also, this culture is used to increase the protective properties of the body and to activate the human immune system.
Recipes of traditional medicine
For medicinal purposes, decoctions, teas, tinctures and juice are made from medunka. There are many recipes forusing the plant. It should be noted the main ones:
1. For the treatment of diarrhea, cough and hoarse voice. It is necessary to fill the grass with hot water, insist, strain, take 0.5 cups during the day.
2. For the treatment of bronchitis. Lungwort is poured with water (boiling water) and insisted. After straining, the decoction is consumed no more than 4 times a day.
3. For burns, bedsores and wounds. An infusion is made from herbs and water. Used for washing, compresses and lotions.
4. With urolithiasis and uterine bleeding. The decoction is made in a water bath, infused and consumed after straining up to 4 times a day.
5. For the treatment of purulent wounds. It is necessary to take fresh honeydew leaves, wash them, dry them, slightly crush them and apply them to the affected areas.
To use the culture for medical purposes, you can prepare it yourself. Lungwort officinalis is collected during the flowering period, after which it is dried in the open air or in a ventilated room. Lay it out on paper or newspaper in a thin layer. Harvested grass can be stored for a year.
