Ivy, curly( Hedera helix L.)

Ivy is a relative of the famous natural healers: ginseng, aralia, zamaniha. And just like they belong to the Araliev family. Distributed in moderately moist and shady broad-leaved and mixed forests, found among bushes along roads and in rocky areas, climbing to a height of up to 2000 m above sea level. Occurs in Western, Central and Southern Europe. In addition to Europe, it is also common in the Caucasus, Crimea, Iran, Lebanon, North Africa and the Canary Islands. Ivy is widely cultivated throughout Europe in parks, gardens and in enclosed spaces as an ornamental plant. In the 18th century this plant was introduced into culture in North America.

Ivy has very beautiful dark green five-lobed leaves. Their form was reproduced in the architectural decor and decoration of interiors from ancient times. Ivy leaves can be seen on eaves and columns of buildings, in ornaments and drawings of garden lattices, in wooden carvings on antique furniture. In Asia Minor, ivy branches were minted on coins. Its leaves adorn the eaves of the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral, built in the 13th century. In ancient Greece and Rome,

ivy was a symbol of poets, its leaves were depicted on ornaments of cups and pitchers. In ancient Egypt, he was a sacred "tree of Osiris".Ancient Christians considered it a symbol of immortality, and the custom to grow it on graves has survived.

Being a shade-tolerant plant, ivy often covers the stems of the walls and ceilings of rooms, columns. Sucking air roots allow this climbing evergreen plant to climb to a considerable height. Ivy is used to make garlands, green rugs, curbs. A few dozen garden and room forms of this plant have been put up: with ordinary, corrugated and cut leaves, with yellow or white spots, different shoot growth patterns, for example, very beautiful forms with foliage falling off the "cascade".

Valued ivy has long been not only for decorativeness. Wood was used in turning;a special substance, extracted from ivy, - gum - is used in the production of alcohol varnish, necessary for oil painting. The flowers of the plant, despite their unattractive appearance, attract insects and give the so-called stone honey - it is an unusual white color.

With this beautiful vine, many romantic stories are connected. For example, the legend of the birth of Dionysus, one of the most popular and powerful gods in ancient Greek mythology, the patron of viticulture and winemaking, the god of vegetation. His parents were the thunderer Zeus and the mortal girl Semel, the daughter of the Phi-Van king. Zeus's jealous wife, Hera, after learning about another treason, decided to take revenge on her opponent. Appearing to the pregnant Semele in the image of a frail old woman, she told him to ask Zeus to come to her in full his greatness. At the next meeting, the enamored god, at Semele's request, agreed to fulfill any of her wishes, having sworn by the sacred waters of Styx. Hearing what is the request of the lover, Zeus realized that this is the revenge of Hera, but could not retreat from his oath. The lightning flashed in the palace, thunder rumbled loudly, the palace caught fire from the lightning. Caught by Semele's fire fell to the ground, at this time her son Dionysus was born. It would seem that he was doomed to die in the flames, but here from the ground appeared thick ivy sprouts that encircled the newborn, covered from the fire and saved from imminent death. Since then, along with grapes, ivy is a symbol of Dionysus. They were decorated with temples and statues of this god. Fans of Dionysus( Bacchante) wore wreaths of ivy on their heads. In addition, they regularly eaten his leaves. Now we can explain that frenzied state in which the Bacchantes usually were, by the action on their psyche of special substances, which in the ivy are many.

The ability of ivy to resist fire is not just part of a beautiful legend. It was noticed and used since antiquity. In France, and now ivy, along with rosemary plays an important role in protecting forests from fires. In the south of this country, where fires are frequent,

, these plants are planted in new and sometimes old forest plantations.

There are also numerous beliefs and conspiracies with ivy. It was believed that the rod, carved from ivy wood, prevents throat diseases.

Ivy is long known as a medicinal plant.

There is historical evidence that, as a medicinal plant, ivy was well known to ancient healers. In ancient Rome, it was used to treat the spleen, bladder, ugly scars on the body. Fresh ivy leaves were applied for burns, skin rashes, scabies, purulent wounds.

The great oriental doctor Avicenna, who lived at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, mentioned in his treatises that ivy has a cleansing effect on the body, and the milky juice of the plant has the ability to remove hair and destroy lice. Boiled in the wine, fresh ivy leaves Avicenna recommended for the treatment of wounds. Leaves of ivy in the form of dressings with ointment and wax he considered useful for burns. Medieval Armenian physician and scientist-encyclopedist Amirdovlat Amansia-chi in the book "Unnecessary for the ignorant" recommended the use of ivy in ancestral weakness, amenorrhea.

The plant was mentioned in European medieval herbalists. In German folk medicine, the aqueous tincture of the ivy leaf was used by

in diseases of the liver and spleen, with jaundice, urolithiasis, rheumatism. The ivy leaf was a traditional German remedy for gout.

And in our time, folk medicine extensively uses the healing properties of this creeper. Water tincture of the ivy leaf is recommended for gastrointestinal diseases, chronic rhinitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rachitis, amenorrhea, externally used to treat purulent wounds. Bulgarian folk medicine recommends decoction of ivy leaf with prolonged cough. In Georgia, ivy is a part of the national medicine "Majuni" - it is used for many diseases, including peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum.

The genus of the Araliai family includes 15 species.

The generic Latin name of the plant( Hedera), perhaps, goes back to the Greek language and means "singer, bard".However, some botanists believe that the name has Celtic roots and is associated with the Celtic word "hedea" - "cord".Specific name( helix) comes from the Latin "helisso", which means "curl".