The use of meadow cornflower. Meadow cornflower - a piece of nature in the garden

The most common types of cornflower flower are blue cornflower and meadow cornflower. Both types - medicinal plants, which have beneficial properties for the body, and are actively used in folk and official medicine.

Below will be botanical description and photos of species, it is told about the use of cornflower for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.

meadow cornflower

Common cornflower is perennial plant, the height of the stem of which varies from 30 to 100 cm. The stem itself is almost always rough, with the presence of alternately arranged leaves.

The petals of the plant are lanceolate - ovoid in shape with pointed ends. Flowers may be light purple or White color. The gray oblong ovoid fruits of this plant are covered with villi, provided with longitudinal stripes of the achene.

The plant is quite common, has the feature of growing well, and its location is meadows and fields. Meadow cornflower belongs to honey plants, it is also rich in tannins and xantho-glycoside centaurin.

Scope of meadow cornflower

Due to its unique qualities, which include diuretic, choleretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, the plant has received wide application in the field of official and traditional medicine.

Infusions and decoctions of meadow cornflower are used to treat dropsy, hepatitis, and for violations menstrual cycle and also as an astringent for diarrhea.

The beneficial properties of the plant were discovered relatively long ago. And if earlier the flowers of this plant were used only as folk recipes, then today non-traditional medicine fits tightly into the official one.

AT pharmacy network it is quite realistic to purchase ready-made inflorescences of a meadow cornflower, from which you can cook at home decoction. How to cook it is usually indicated on the package. If it is possible to harvest flowers yourself, then you can use the following recipes:

• Pour boiling water over 20 g of cornflower blue and let it brew for one and a half to two hours, covered with a plastic lid. It is recommended to drink the infusion 1/4 cup 5 times a day, preferably before meals;
• grass in any form, you can fresh, pour boiling water over it and wrap it in a gauze napkin, forming pads. They are used as an anesthetic, applying to diseased areas without waiting for cooling.

As for the methods of traditional medicine, there are a lot of recipes from the meadow cornflower, with the help of which it is possible to treat heart diseases, including rheumatism, get rid of headaches, neutralize the manifestations of allergies, and also eliminate muscle strains and diseases of the uterus.

blue cornflower

There are several varieties of cornflowers, among which the blue or blue cornflower Flores Cyani is also known, which is annual and biennial. The plant is characterized by a straight stem with branches, the height of which tends to vary from 15 to 100 cm.

The leaves located below have whole pinnate lobes. While all the others are more linear, slightly puffy.

Baskets on which flowers are located are relatively large in size. They sit mainly at the very top of the stem and branches. The plant blooms bright blue with a purple-blue center.

At the same time, the name of the cornflower speaks for itself, although in a very rare cases flowers are completely white. As for the fruits, everyone has a crest with a reddish tinge. The plant blooms from June to September, usually grows in meadows and is quite common.

Scope of the plant

Blue medicinal cornflower is used mainly in the field of medicine. The collection of flowers is carried out after the flower baskets have fully blossomed, without capturing their inner tubular part.

Collected flowers must be in without fail dried in such a way that they do not get sunlight. Without fail, the inflorescences should be mixed from time to time.

They usually lose color after drying. Cornflower contains centaurin, cyanine, tannins, salts, essential oils and minerals.

In official medicine, blue cornflower flowers have found their use as a cure for nephritis, cystitis, and other disorders. genitourinary system and choleretic tract. The plant can have both diuretic and choleretic effects. Decoctions and tinctures are prepared from it, and the herb is sold in pharmacies in a dried form.

Recipe for making a decoction of blue cornflower at home:

• 20 g of herbs are poured with boiling water in the amount of 1 cup, after which the medicine is infused for 2 hours and filtered. Taken ¼ cup for 4 doses throughout the day before meals;
• Brew 2 teaspoons of raw materials with boiling water. Drink in the form of tea.

AT alternative medicine a decoction of blue cornflower flowers is used as a diuretic, useful in the treatment of whooping cough and severe cough, at nervous disorders, diseases of the stomach, as well as in order to stop uterine bleeding.

Given that the blue cornflower consists of active ingredients, when using it, caution should be exercised and, in case of individual intolerance, stop taking the drug.

It is important: due to its low toxicity, blue cornflower is not recommended for use by pregnant women. In addition, it is necessary to observe small breaks during long-term herbal medicine in order to exclude the possibility of accumulation in the body of cyan compounds contained in the flower.

See video about the healing properties of blue cornflower:

Meadow cornflower, in translation - Centaurea jacea, there are still a lot of synonyms for this growth, I will list some of them: bodyak, beaver, head, dog's head, patchwork, bear heads, rannik, small dedovnik, adodia, patchwork color, head, chick, commotion, burdock-dyatlovnik, field rose, heart grass, cabbage roll, field strosta, kaner, tripushnik, forest flowers, sapshnik, sinegolov, suzik.

The plant belongs to herbaceous perennials. The stem of the field rose is erect, its height varies from forty centimeters to seventy, it is seated with lanceolate-shaped leaves, slightly rough. Flowers in the form of baskets, which are located at the very tops of the branches, they are equipped with a kind of tiled wrapper.

At the same time, each leaf at the top is expanded into a fringed appendage; marginal flowers of pink color and funnel-shaped; middle - dark - Pink colour, tubular. The plant blooms throughout the summer months.

Spreading

Cornflower meadow is common in Russia, for example, it grows in all regions of the European part, as well as in Siberia and the Far East. There is also in Ukraine, mainly on the Left Bank. This plant grows quite scattered in meadows, edges, forest clearings, among shrubs, localized in weedy areas, it can be seen along roadsides, on railway embankments. It is sometimes cultivated for decorative purposes.

Part of the plant used

The field rose uses the aerial part or only flower baskets separately. As for the chemical composition, tannins are present in this plant, the leaves contain up to 120 milligrams ascorbic acid, there is xanthoglycoside centaurin.

Collection and preparation of meadow cornflower

During flowering, it is customary to harvest the roots and the aerial part of the meadow cornflower. The latter is carefully cut off and placed on pallets to dry, which are placed in a ventilated place. Then the finished raw materials are placed in cloth bags and stored for two years.

Application

This plant is used with therapeutic purpose, because it has diuretic, analgesic, choleretic and anti-inflammatory properties. An infusion is prepared from meadow cornflower, which is taken with, with, with, dropsy and this drug is used as a remedy.

An infusion made from cornflower baskets is also used as an external remedy for certain diseases, for example, it is added to baths with, small children are bathed in it with, and lotions are also made with. Steamed grass is recommended to be applied to the body when stretching muscles and tendons.

Recipes

To prepare an infusion, you will need a teaspoon of dry meadow cornflower flowers, which are recommended to be poured with 200 milliliters of boiling water. After that, the drug should be infused a little, at least forty-five minutes, then you can use it, usually it is drunk in small portions throughout the day, somewhere twenty minutes before the start of the meal.

To prepare a decoction you will need a tablespoon of dry crushed cornflower roots, which are recommended to be poured with 300 milliliters of boiling water. Then put the container with the drug on water bath and hold it there for about thirty minutes.

Next, you need to cool the solution for an hour, and then it must be filtered, for this purpose, use a small strainer. It is recommended to drink one or two tablespoons, about four to six times a day.

The drug, which I will now talk about, can be added to the bath, where children are bathed with diathesis that has arisen and, as well. It is also customary for them to treat diarrhea,. You will need one glass of dry grass, which is recommended to be filled with three liters of water, and put on a small fire.

It is necessary to boil this broth for about ten minutes, after which it should cool, and it must be carefully filtered, for this, use either double gauze or a fine strainer. Then it is added to the typed bath, where the temperature should be at least thirty-seven degrees.

Then skin get wet terry towel. About fifteen or ten of these are enough. water procedures, which must be carried out every other day, and they must last twenty minutes.

You can prepare a homogeneous slurry from fresh meadow cornflower grass, which must be applied to wound surface, on the cuts, on for them fast healing. And also such a drug will help get rid of an itchy rash, from swelling, from.

for arthritis and muscle pain you can use the following recipe. You will need fresh chopped grass, it must be put in a gauze bag, which is recommended to be dipped literally for a minute in boiling water, then it is cooled a little, and after that it is applied to the problem area of ​​the body.

Conclusion

Before taking drugs prepared from meadow cornflower, it is recommended to consult a doctor. Remember that the treatment of diseases should be comprehensive.

Be healthy!

Tatyana, www.site
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The healing properties of blue cornflower were described in Ancient Greece. The followers of Hippocrates believed: since the flower is so attractive, beautiful view, it must certainly have useful properties. "Centaurea" is Latin for "centaur". The ancient Greeks associated the name of the flower with the centaur Chiron, who was famous for the gift of healing. From the ancient Greek medical books, the description of blue cornflower and its action migrated to medieval herbalists. The petals and seeds of this plant have been used to treat the most various diseases: pestilence, to stop bleeding, as an antidote for the bite of poisonous spiders, inflammation of the eyes, bruises, suppuration of wounds, skin diseases.

Plant features

Growth area

homeland of this beautiful flower- Mediterranean basin. Cornflower blue (field, sowing) - a well-known and beloved flower by many, distributed throughout Russia. It can also be seen in the Far East and Siberia, in the Central Asian and Caucasian regions. It can grow in forest zones and forest-steppe. Abundant in grain fields, especially wheat and rye. Also often found near roads, in forest belts, roadside plantings. In dry meadows, it can be seen next to chamomile and poppy. Cornflower blue is considered a weed. Long years the plant was exterminated, which led to a significant decrease in the number of field cornflower. Therefore, today this species is under protection.

Botanical description, chemical composition and procurement of raw materials

What are the contraindications to the use of blue cornflower? The flower belongs to slightly toxic plants. With an overdose and a long course, cyanine poisoning may occur. Also, with great care, under the supervision of a physician, the drug is prescribed to pregnant and lactating women, children under 3 years of age. Many Internet sources indicate: contraindications are uterine bleeding. The question remains controversial, since in the old herbalists, on the contrary, the flower is recommended for uterine bleeding.

Healing effect of blue cornflower

What are beneficial features cornflower What diseases is it used for?

• For urinary infections excretory system . The plant is part of the diuretic tea. Helps with kidney disorders Bladder, removes puffiness well, removes excess fluid from the body.
• For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Acts like a lung cholagogue with hepatitis and cholecystitis. Used for acute and chronic inflammation gallbladder, bile ducts and liver. Flowers are part of the gastric fees, which improve appetite and digestion.
• With SARS, influenza. Cornflower flower is used in fever as a diaphoretic, which leads to a decrease in temperature.
• For cardiac disorders. It has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular, nervous system.
• Outdoor use. The flower is famous for its bactericidal properties. Therefore, it is used as an external agent for suppuration, boils, eczema, ulcers, warts, inflammation of the eyes. different nature- barley, blepharitis, conjunctivitis. Also, the infusion of the plant is used to treat night blindness.
• Pain relief effect. Alcohol tincture flowers are used for toothache.

The flower is actively used in homeopathy. They are treated first eye diseases. Also, galenic preparations are effective for headaches, hepatitis, cough, diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and blood.

Application and preparation at home

In folk medicine, decoctions and tinctures are made from the flower for oral administration. They can also be used externally - in the form of lotions, compresses, washes.

• Water tincture of cornflower. For its preparation you will need: 1 teaspoon of flowers and 1 cup of boiling water. You need to insist for 2 hours, then strain, take ¼ cup before meals. This tincture can be taken as a prophylaxis, it cleanses the blood and the body of toxins well.
• Alcohol tincture. It can be purchased at pharmacies. Also for external use, when caring for oily skin in water tincture recommend adding alcohol or vodka (for 1 glass of broth 1 tablespoon of alcohol).
• Hair tincture. Vinegar is added to the decoction of cornflower flowers (for half a liter of decoction, 2 tablespoons of vinegar). It is used as a mask for rubbing, as well as for rinsing after shampooing.
• diuretic tea recipe. To prepare tea, a mixture of such herbs is taken: 1 teaspoon of cornflower flowers, 1 teaspoon of licorice and 3 teaspoons of bearberry. The collection of herbs is poured with 1 glass of boiling water, infused for 1 hour. Take a tablespoon before meals.

Features and medicinal properties of other species

There are about 500 varieties of cornflower. The most common of them are blue, white, meadow, bleached, mountain, pink, yellow, large-headed, oriental, sprawling, Phrygian, rough and others. Garden varieties of cornflowers have also been bred. In addition to Europe, the flower is found in America and Asia. On the territory of Russia, two more species of wild cornflower are widespread - meadow and Russian.

Cornflower meadow

Russian cornflower

• Where does it grow? Russian cornflower is found in the Caucasus, the Urals and Altai, in Central Asia, as well as in the southeastern regions of Europe. He likes steppes, dry meadows, shrub zones, rocky slopes, limestone, chalk rocks. In a number of Russian regions, this flower is under protection and is listed in the Red Book.
• What does a Russian cornflower look like? It's perennial herbaceous plant. The stem is covered with down, 50 to 150 cm high. The leaves are wide, divided into narrow lobes. Flower yellow color in the form of a single basket. Flowering period: July to August.
• How is it used in traditional medicine? Cornflower Russian is not used in folk medicine as widely as meadow and blue cornflower. His medicinal properties little studied, there is no information about side effects when using this type of plant. Its bactericidal property is known, the decoction is used for digestive disorders. Seeds contain oils suitable for food, used for technical purposes. Not only flowers are harvested, but also leaves and stem.

The use of blue cornflower has wide range, since the plant has a diuretic, diaphoretic, choleretic, analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory effect. But still, experienced herbalists refer it to auxiliary additives for diseases of the digestive system. In folk medicine, blue cornflower is most often used as an external remedy for eye ailments.

Cornflowers are grown in the garden and in home gardens for decorative purposes, some species have medicinal value, they are widely used by healers in folk medicine.

Characteristic

Cornflower meadow pink - perennial, family - Astrovye. A herbaceous type plant, with an erect stem up to 1 m high. Rough to the touch, branching in the upper part. Leaves lanceolate, elongated.

It blooms throughout the summer, the marginal flowers are pink-purple, form basket inflorescences. Flowers of two types: marginal - asexual; median - tubular type, closed, in active phase flowering pollen content is portioned (up to 7 portions). The flowers open on contact with a pollinating insect and close until the next touch.

The fruit is an elongated ovoid achene. The plant produces up to 300 seeds.

Distribution medium

Occurs in meadows, forest clearings and forest edges, in cultivated crops as weed plant can be seen along the railway embankments. In the natural environment, the number of meadow cornflower is reduced, it is subject to destruction during grazing, classified as a rare, endangered species.

Contains phytoncides, tannins, glucosides, resins, pectins, vitamins.

Properties

It has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic properties. Recommended as an analgesic, diuretic, choleretic agent.

Application

Used in the form alcohol infusions, oil extracts, decoctions, for the preparation of baths, is part of the complex fees. It is used for cosmetic skin and hair care.

Decoctions are recommended for conjunctivitis, blepharitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes, diseases of the excretory system and kidneys. Alcohol and oil infusions are used to normalize activity digestive system, for the prevention of heart disease, as an appetite stimulant.

Preparations from the flowers of Cornflower meadow improve digestion, relieve toothache and headache, recommended for diathesis, rheumatism, eczema.

cultivation

Prefers sunny areas, grows poorly in the shade. It is advisable to allocate a spacious place in a flower bed or in joint plantings, given the possibility of shading by neighboring crops in the development process. Soils are better fertile, neutral or slightly acidic. Humidification is moderate, does not tolerate stagnant water.

For sowing, selective seeds and those collected in their natural habitat are suitable. Seeds retain normal germination for up to three years. Sow in early spring in a seedless way in April, it is also possible winter sowing since October. Seedlings appear in 10-14 days.

Seedlings can be grown, but only in humus pots, with planting in a permanent place along with a container. They do not tolerate ordinary transplantation, they are prone to damage to the root system.

At the end of summer, you can plant by dividing the bush, part of the root with a sprout bud, or transfer the plant from the natural environment to the site along with a clod of earth on the roots. Planting is neat, the roots are straightened in the hole, sprinkled with soil in such a way that the growth bud is at the very surface.

Prefers wet areas, can tolerate short-term drought. It responds well to regular watering, timely weeding and loosening of the soil between rows.

It is rarely exposed to diseases, if infection is suspected, the aerial parts are cut and burned. The next season, the cornflower will grow with healthy shoots.

To prevent self-seeding, the inflorescences are pruned; it hibernates better in a basal rosette. It can live in one place for up to 10 years, subject to light top dressing with complex mineral fertilizers. Excessive fertilization of the soil leads to yellowing of the leaves, flowering stops.

Raw materials are harvested during flowering. Seeds are collected from plants older than two years of age.

Raw material preparation and storage

Dry in the shade with intensive ventilation. Store up to two years in canvas bags in a dry, dark place.

Hello dear reader!

Unlike its relative, meadow cornflower is less known. The name is "well-known", but sometimes it is believed that blue (field) and meadow cornflowers are one and the same plant. This is not true.

Growing in meadows, forest edges, clearings, they either do not recognize or are mistaken for other plants. But the "cornflower blue nature", if you look closely, manifests itself both in appearance and in useful properties.

Cornflower meadow: description, photo

Our two most common cornflowers are both similar and different at the same time. Meadow cornflower (Centaurea jacea L.) is larger. All parts of the plant look more impressive - and the stem, and leaves, and baskets.

Meadow cornflower baskets

It is a perennial with a short rhizome in the soil. A powerful ribbed stem, branching in the upper part, is able to grow up to a meter. The lowest leaves are on long petioles. They are large, broadly lanceolate, sometimes dissected into lobes. The leaves on the stem are sessile, lanceolate, narrow. To the touch, the leaf blade is rough - both above and below the leaves of the meadow cornflower are covered with short hairs.

By the end of June, the top of the stem and each of its side branches is crowned with a large flower basket. It is spherical, light brown in meadow cornflower, covered with tightly fitting involucre leaves. Flower baskets on one shoot are located close to each other and form an inflorescence resembling a shield.

When the flowers collected in a basket bloom, you can see the very "cornflower blue" that I spoke about. Barren funnel-shaped flowers grow along the edge of the inflorescence. They are the most colorful, conspicuous. Their role is to attract insects. In the center of the basket there are tubular bisexual flowers with five stamens and a pistil. The meadow cornflower usually begins to bloom in July, and blooms until late autumn.

Cornflower meadow - pink flowers in baskets, narrow leaves

This is how the inflorescences of all cornflowers are arranged - blue, Phrygian, rough, Russian and others. But the color of the flowers of meadow cornflower is not blue, but pink or pale purple. Although substances from the anthocyanin group are also responsible for the color of the corollas, it sometimes happens to be pink, but meadow cornflower is never blue.

It is curious that in the normal state the tubular flower is closed. And a small portion of pollen is hidden in his tube - such a compact “briquette”. When a bee, bumblebee or other large insect sits on the basket, a certain “mechanism” works - the flower opens, pushing out the pollen. And the "package" is glued to the abdomen of the insect.

Occasionally they confuse the meadow cornflower with thistles. But let's take a closer look - the bodyak has all the flowers in the basket of the same type, tubular. There are no funnel-shaped flowers along the edge. (In the photo - a basket). When the fruits begin to ripen, the differences are immediately visible. After all, meadow cornflower does not have such long fluffy tufts. Its achenes may have only a few off-white bristles 1–2 mm long.

Bodjak variegated

The benefits of meadow cornflower

This is a wonderful honey plant that gives tasty and valuable honey. The plant is fodder, despite the hard stem, it is well eaten by pets.

Speaking of blue cornflower, I doubted its "harm" as a weed. But almost no one calls meadow cornflower a weed. In the fields, he comes across, but not often.

And, of course, meadow cornflower - a medicinal plant! And how could it be otherwise - after all, almost all representatives of the Compositae family are healing. Collect during flowering stems of meadow cornflower with leaves and flower baskets. Dry "standard" - in the shade under a canopy. Sometimes the rhizomes are also collected. Their preparation should be carried out after the end of flowering, in the fall.

For the treatment of eyes, like blue cornflower flowers, the grass of its relative is unsuitable. She has her own purpose. Used for various inflammatory processes, like many other members of the family.

In addition, meadow cornflower herb has a diuretic and choleretic action helps relieve pain. Lotions from fresh leaves steamed in boiling water can be tied to sore spots. Powder from dried leaves is sprinkled with tumors and swelling.

The main tool is water infusion. 2 teaspoons of dry chopped herbs are poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for an hour or two, filtered.

Drink 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day before meals with jaundice, dropsy, with a delay in menstruation.

A decoction of rhizomes is taken for diarrhea, as an astringent, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent.

The meadow cornflower plant uses only ethnoscience. All recipes on the blog are provided only to familiarize yourself with the properties of plants. For advice on the treatment of diseases, please contact your doctor. Self-medication is very dangerous!

Cornflower meadow - not the only "pink cornflower" in our nature. Phrygian cornflower is very common. I also intend to introduce readers to this plant. If you have not yet subscribed to blog news, I advise you to do it right now by clicking on the picture below.