This plant has been known since ancient times under the names of dope grass, crazy grass, diva tree, sorcerer's grass, smelly dope, prickly apples, dope potion, etc. Although in medicine the most popular name is dope ordinary. We will consider the photo and description of this plant in this article.
Appearance
This is an incredibly beautiful annual plant. It reaches a height of 1 meter, but sometimes it will melt even higher. The dope plant has an ordinary tap root, wide, spindle-shaped, has a large number of branches. Its stem is branched, erect, hollow inside. The branches are covered with small fluff. The leaves are serrated, large, notched, pointed, petiolate, ovate. Flowers of five white petals reach a length of 10 centimeters and always grow one at a time. They resemble a bell in appearance and have an unpleasant and strong aroma that intoxicates. Datura grass fruits are a small oval box densely covered with thorns. It contains up to eight hundred round, black,flattened seeds.
Growing place
Datura common, the photo of which is given in this article, despite its beauty, is distributed in natural conditions as a weed. It usually grows along roadsides, in wastelands, river banks, landfills, in gardens and orchards, near houses. Habitat - Central Asia, the European part of Russia, Georgia, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Crimea, the Far East and Western Siberia. Datura prefers loose soil rich in nitrogen and a warm climate, although it also tolerates drought quite well.
Plant composition
A full description of the Datura plant is impossible without mentioning what useful elements it contains. It includes:
- potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium;
- vitamin C;
- oleic, linoleic, stearic, palmitic and other acids;
- copper, fluorine, zinc;
- essential oil;
- tannins;
- carotene;
- fatty oil;
- protein, etc.;
- alkaloids (hyoscyamine, atropine, daurine, scopolamine, etc.).
Pharmacological properties
Because the plant contains hyoscyamine, it:
- has a bronchodilatory effect;
- helps to block the activity of cholinergic systems in the human body;
- reduces the secretion of salivary, gastric and sweat glands;
- well tones the respiratory system;
- reduces overall muscle tone.
Datura grass in the pharmacycan be found almost anywhere. It is actively used as various extracts and tinctures.
Agricultural use
The grass is actively used in the form of an insecticidal preparation necessary in agriculture to control various pests. It can get rid of cabbage moth, hawthorn caterpillar, herbivorous bugs and mites. Fresh leaves of the plant are added to feed for piglets to increase fat in meat, while Datura tincture is used for animal convulsions.
Healing properties
Despite the danger when used in high doses, Datura common he alth properties are very beneficial. The plant has soothing, antispasmodic, analgesic properties.
It reduces intestinal secretion, and also slows down digestive processes, cures diseases of the biliary tract and gastrointestinal tract. Stomach colic passes very quickly. Helps with diseases of the colon and uterine prolapse.
Datura ordinary (see photo in the article) expands the bronchial muscles, relaxes, cures diseases of the lymph nodes, convulsive cough and asthma, diseases of the upper respiratory tract. To relieve asthma symptoms, the leaves of the herb are used in the form of smoking. It is used for epilepsy, shortness of breath, hiccups, spasms. With inflammation of the mouth and throat, toothache, rinsing with a decoction should be done.
Tinctures are created for stress, sleep disturbance, nervous system, mental illness, neurasthenia, motion sickness. Datura seasily treats speech disorders and convulsions. For bruises, rheumatism and eczema, compresses and baths using the plant are recommended. With all kinds of inflammation of the eyes, light lotions are made from a decoction of grass.
Datura ordinary in the intimate area helps with painful tension of the penis and increased sexual excitability. In addition, it must be used for inflammation of the genital organs and ovaries, mastitis and mastopathy. It is also used as a traditional remedy for whooping cough.
In microscopic quantities, it can be given to children at least 6 years old. However, the symptoms for its use are the same as in adults.
Use
Alcohol tinctures and powder are made from Datura.
Powder is made from dried leaves. It is used in the treatment of convulsive cough and severe shortness of breath. To do this, the powder is taken orally in small doses three times a day. If a patient with bronchial asthma is in a state of neglect, they are sometimes allowed to breathe the smoke of scorched leaves.
Decoctions and tincture of dope ordinary can be used externally. Boil a glass of boiling water and a spoonful of dry leaves for this boil for a minute. Then insist for half an hour and you can apply. To half a glass of water, add a spoonful of the resulting infusion and use in the form of lotions.
With epileptic seizures, convulsions and mental disorders, an infusion of herbs is used. It is made from a glass of hot water and a teaspoon of the seeds of this plant, then forinsist for half an hour. This infusion is used inside a teaspoon. In addition, it is prescribed for stomach cancer to relieve pain.
It is incredibly useful tincture for hemorrhoids. In this case, sitz warm baths are prepared. It is necessary to pour 20 grams of dry dope with a glass of hot water and insist for one hour. Next, you need to dilute in ten liters of warm boiled water.
Datura vulgaris is widely used in cosmetology. With it, you can get rid of unwanted hair on various parts of the body. To do this, you need to take 150 g of dry raw materials, pour them with one liter of boiling water, then boil until a homogeneous mass appears. As soon as the decoction has cooled, it is smeared on the desired areas of the skin. Such a remedy has a very long shelf life, while it does not lose its healing properties.
Decoction is also used for douching and enemas. To create it, take half a liter of water and a spoonful of dry crushed leaves, boil for 5 minutes over low heat. The finished product is defended for about twenty minutes, then filtered and consumed once a day for three weeks.
The plant is poisonous, therefore, you need to carefully study any changes in the body. If you feel unwell, stop using immediately and consult a doctor.
A single dose for a person is 0.2 g per day, a daily dose is 0.6 g.
Datura oil
Oil is obtained from Datura seeds. The main application is the elimination of unwanted hair on the body. Oil, getting into the hair follicle, destroys it from the inside. Consequently, in this place, treated with the agent, no more hair will grow. The drug is applied in this way: first, epilation should be done, after which it is necessary to take a little oil in the palm of your hand and apply it in a thin layer on the newly exposed bulbs and pores.
The oil of the plant is also used in the removal of fecal stones from the intestines and from the gallbladder stones. It normalizes the work of the gastrointestinal tract, and also improves intestinal motility. In addition, the oil has a calming agent, due to which it effectively helps with stress.
It is used externally for burns, sciatica, eczema and arthritis.
Growing Datura
At the moment, many gardeners grow this plant, as it is unpretentious, while its flowering lasts a long time. The soil for its cultivation should be prepared in advance. Humus, earth and sand from the garden must be added to it. It should be prepared in the fall. Spring is the time for planting seedlings and sowing seeds. Sowing is preferably carried out in small plastic containers, where fresh autumn soil and peat were poured in advance. After 10 days, the first shoots appear.
Next, pour a solution of manganese into the pan in which the grass seedlings will be located. This tool will protect seedlings from fungal infection. Seedlings should be watered regularly, while avoiding stagnation. In summer, dope seedlings can be planted in the ground, while maintaining a distance of a meter between plants. dope,after it grows, it takes up a lot of space. It has spreading branches and is very tall. In order for the plant to develop and grow well, it should be transplanted into loose soil every spring.
Datura care
For planting dope, the place should not be very sunny and bright, while being protected from the wind. The flowering of this plant depends on the quality of the water used for irrigation. It is advisable to water dope with hard water, however, if it is not available, then you can use plain soft water. Although in this case it is necessary to water the dope with milk of lime once a season.
In summer and spring, the grass grows very actively, therefore, at this time it needs to cut off flowers that have already faded and water them 2 times a day. In this case, it is necessary to stock up on seeds that need to be collected from the fruits remaining at the site of the first flowers. To avoid shedding of seeds, special bags should be put on the fruit-box.
Grass pests do not like moisture, therefore, the plant must be sprayed with plain water. Sometimes it is sprayed with a pyrethrum solution.
Blank
Not the whole plant is harvested as a medicine, but only its seeds and leaves. Grass leaves are harvested in dry weather, because when they get wet, they quickly darken when plucked. Then they are dried in ovens at 40 °C. In addition, the leaves can be collected when the seeds ripen, in which case they are dried in dark places in drafts.
The drying process is completed when the prepared raw material breaks easily. RememberWash your hands well when handling this herb as it is highly toxic. Prepared raw materials can be used for two years for medicinal purposes.
Poisoning
Datura common is a poisonous plant, it should be handled with care, otherwise there is a risk of poisoning. The possibility of this appears when the seeds are used for food.
Signs of poisoning:
- incoherent speech;
- dry mouth;
- diarrhea with blood;
- vomiting and nausea;
- difficulty swallowing;
- headache;
- dilated pupils;
- photophobia;
- reddened and dry skin;
- inability to see a nearby object normally, short-term loss of vision;
- deterioration of short-term memory;
- hallucinations and delusions;
- uncontrollable laughter;
- tachycardia.
In a severe case, there is a complete loss of orientation, fever and sudden excitement, convulsions and shortness of breath, lowering blood pressure and blue mucous membrane. Perhaps the occurrence of a coma and loss of consciousness. Sometimes death can occur due to vascular insufficiency and respiratory paralysis.
If symptoms of poisoning appear, call an ambulance immediately. For first aid, it is necessary to induce artificial vomiting, as well as to do an intestinal lavage. You can drink charcoal later.
This effect of poisoning can last up to two weeks. The consequences could beswelling of the legs, forearms and face.
Contraindications
The use of dope is contraindicated in glaucoma. In the absence of this disease, you should first consult a doctor, since the plant is poisonous and can harm the body. You can not use more than the prescribed, as this threatens with serious poisoning.
