General rules for collection, drying and storage of medicinal plants
The rules of reasonable collection of herbs have been practiced for thousands of years. Plant collectors should have been holy to observe special tricks. They, firstly, were allowed to collect so that "the grass was not hurt", and secondly, it was forbidden to tear all the grass, it was possible only from "taking a lot".
Currently, herbalists have their own rules and taboos. So, it is forbidden to tear those medicinal plants that are included in the Red Book of Russia and are marked in it with the word "protected".Collect only those parts of plants that are considered medicinal. It is not recommended to tear grass in wet weather - during rain or fog. The optimal time is the first half of the day, when the medicinal plants are already dry from the morning dew. You can only take plants growing in ecologically clean areas. The soil should not have been contaminated with waste and garbage, you can not tear plants in landfills, collect them in the city or near highways. Dirty and dusty plants are depreciated, since it is desirable to wash the roots only. For medical purposes, the following plant parts are collected: flowers( inflorescences), leaves, fruits, seeds, buds, bark, grass( stems with leaves and flowers), roots and rhizomes. When making stocks of stems and other aerial parts, you should use cutting tools, and do not pull out the whole plant. Roots are excavated using a shovel.
In Russia, the collection of medicinal plants was usually timed to the day Agrafena - bathing( on July 6, according to a new style) and the next day of Ivan Kupala( July 7).It was a time of mixed grass and mass flowering.
Drugs contain the maximum amount of active ingredients, usually from the beginning of flowering to the formation of fruit. The time of collection of individual plant parts is as follows.
Leaves are harvested by hand during the entire flowering period of the plant. They must be young, fully developed, not damaged by diseases and pests.
The flowers are collected during the mass flowering of the plant, they must be fresh, preferably just bloomed.
Fruits and seeds - in a period of full maturity, in cool, dry weather.
Kidneys - early in the spring, when they swelled, but the leaves had not yet "pierced".
The bark is harvested only in the spring, in a period of abundant sap flow, but sometimes it is allowed to harvest at the very beginning of summer. Cut it from the young branches, when it is easily separated.
Roots and rhizomes are harvested in early spring, but late-autumn gathering is preferable. They are usually excavated when they become powerful and fully developed. The accumulation of active substances in the underground organs of plants, as a rule, coincides with the formation of reserve nutrients, i.e. in the autumn.