Verbena officinalis
Verbena officinalis .
Verbena is a representative of the vervain family, grows on vacant lots and wastelands, along roadsides, in hedges and fences.
Description: a perennial plant with a rough rough stalk, 30-60 cm in height, branching at the top. At the ends of the branches are small pink or pale blue flowers, collected in rare long thin spicate inflorescences. The leaves are opposite, the lower ones are petiolate and maloraschennye, the upper ones are sessile, triple-divided or cirrus-lobed with a serrate margin on the apices of the segments. Blooms from June to September.
Ingredients: iridoid glycoside( verbenalin), essential oil in small amounts, tannins, soluble silicic acid in small amounts, bitterness and mucus.
Cultivation: verbene requires solar patches, all types of soils are suitable. Fertilizing the plot for growing verbena is composted before planting and every spring, mulching is recommended. Reproduction is carried out by dividing the old rhizomes in autumn or spring, after which the plants are planted on a prepared fertilized area. It is possible to grow verbena in tubs.
Collection: Collect all the grass during flowering, air-dried, suspended in bundles. Store in a glass bowl or boxes.
Medicinal properties: tea improves the metabolism, has a diuretic and anti-seizure action, is used to rinse the throat with tonsillitis and catarrhal diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
The so-called "vervain collection", or "verbena tea", is prepared from the leaves of the lippi three-leafed ( Lippia triphylla), also belonging to the vervain family. Lipia tea is very fragrant, thanks to the fragrant essential oils contained in it, and many like to brew "verbena tea" instead of traditional black tea. The native land of Lippia is Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. In Southern Europe, it is grown in gardens.
Application: the verbena is taken by mouth and used as a rinse. Old recipes contain references to the use of verbena to stimulate appetite. In cooking, the roots of medicinal verbena are used for marinating cucumbers to give them a strong and spicy odor. With external use fresh crushed verbena leaves are applied to the wounds for the purpose of healing.