What is dog rosehip? Description, properties and application of this plant you can find in the article in question.
General information about the plant
Dog rosehip is a species of plant that belongs to the genus Rosehip and the rose family. Other names for this shrub are "canina rose" and "dog rose". These names were formed by comparing the plant in question with garden roses. There is also another version. According to her, in the 18-19 centuries, dog rose was used to treat animal bites.
Dog rosehip: botanical description of the shrub
The mentioned plant is a deciduous shrub that can reach a height of 1.5-2.5 meters. Its shoots are thick, straight or arcuate. The bark of the stems is green, and on the sunny side it is slightly reddening.
Like all members of the rose family, dog rose has thorns. They are rare and crescent-shaped, laterally compressed and with a very short base. On the main stems, the thorns are almost straight, and on the flowering shoots, they are hook-curved and abundant.
The length of the average leaves of flowering shoots often reaches 7-9 cm. They are naked andonly along the main vein are dotted with short hairs. At the base of the leaflets there is a glandular-ciliated narrow stipules with sharp ears.
Dog rose, the description of which we are considering, blooms in May-June. Its flowers are odorless. They are single or collected in 3-5 pieces in a corymbose apical inflorescence.
The flowers of the plant in question often reach a diameter of 5-8 centimeters. They are white or hot pink.
The sepals of flowers are dotted with small hairs from below, and bare from above. They can reach a length of 20-25 millimeters. After flowering, the sepals fold back and fall off before the rose hips ripen.
As for the petals of the flower, they are flat or cone-shaped and 4-5 millimeters in diameter.
After ripening, the dog rose hips are strewn with smooth and shiny orange-red berries. When mature, they reach a length of 15-26 millimeters. Also, the fruits have a wide oval shape. They are devoid of glands and contain seeds in the form of hairy nuts. Rose hips ripen in August.
Plant spread
Where can you find dog rose hips, the photo of which is presented in this article? According to experts, such a shrub grows in Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It can also be found in the European part of Russia. Sometimes it grows further north (for example, in the Crimea, the Caucasus, Central Asia).
Most often, the plant in question is found in sparse forests, onclearings, clearings, grassy and treeless shrub slopes, on the banks of rivers and streams, in wastelands and along roads.
Chemical properties
In medical practice, dog rose hips are often used. Experts say that such berries contain flavonoids, vitamins and other compounds.
It should also be noted that in terms of the content of ascorbic acid, the fruits of the plant in question are significantly inferior to cinnamon rose hips and other high-vitamin species.
Rosehip dog: application
Most often, the plant in question is used for medicinal purposes. Moreover, the use of dog rose hips is common not only in traditional, but also in folk medicine.
The fruits of this shrub are actively used to obtain the drug "Holosas". It has a pronounced choleretic property, and is also used for hepatitis, cholecystitis and other diseases of the gallbladder and liver.
Followers of traditional medicine very often use tea made from dog rose. In their opinion, such a drink is highly effective for inflammation of the kidneys, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, as well as diseases of the liver, stomach, and intestines. In addition, this remedy is used for tuberculosis.
How is it used?
Before you start treating various diseases with the plant in question, you should carefully prepare the medicinal raw material.
The fruits of the dog rose, together with the grains, are poured with boiling waterand steamed for several hours. Following a strict diet, this drink is taken for gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as for catarrh of the stomach with reduced secretion and anemia.
Dog rose leaves are good for making tea. Experts say that such a fragrant drink soothes stomach pains, and also helps to reduce the urge for diarrhea and improves digestion.
An infusion made from the plant in question is used for diseases of the bladder, liver, kidneys and biliary tract.
As for the medicinal decoction, which is prepared from the roots of dog rose hips, it dissolves stones well and kills malaria parasites.
Features of the plant
Now you know what a dog rose hip is. How to distinguish this plant from other species? Experts say that the bracts of the shrub in question are tightly pressed to the fruit. As for the bracts of other types of wild rose, they usually stand upright.
Harvesting dog rose hips
Harvesting of ripe fruits occurs in late August - early September. They do it manually. After picking the berries, they are dried in ovens and special dryers. Finished medicinal raw materials must necessarily meet all the same requirements as the raw materials of other types of wild rose.
Contraindications
Despite the fact that the fruits and leaves of such a shrub as wild rose have been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times, the plant in question has a number of somecontraindications.
According to experts, the uncontrolled use of this raw material can quite easily lead to failure of many internal organs. Therefore, before using it, you should definitely consult a doctor.
Doctors report that the use of infusions, decoctions and teas prepared with rose hips and leaves is contraindicated in hyperacidity. This is due to the fact that it contains ascorbic acid.
It should also be noted that the listed drugs are strictly prohibited for people who are prone to thrombophlebitis and thrombosis.
Patients with heart disease should be very careful about the use of rose hips. This medicinal plant is forbidden to be taken in large quantities for inflammation of the inner lining of the heart (that is, with endocarditis) and some other diseases.
If a patient has high blood pressure, then in no case should he use alcohol tincture of rose hips. As for hypotensive patients, for them, on the contrary, such a remedy will come in handy.
To lower blood pressure, patients should take only water infusions of wild rose. Moreover, such a decoction is contraindicated for people with low blood pressure.
Long-term use of dog rose hips can adversely affect liver function. In some cases, this use of drugs has even causednon-infectious jaundice.
