Iris, iris, violet root. Orris root (iris)

IRIS (Iris, Violet ROOT)

Origin and distribution. Iris is native to the Mediterranean. The plant is cultivated in Italy, France and other countries. In the USSR, iris was introduced into cultivation as an essential oil plant in 1929-1930.

Botanical characteristic. About 100 species of iris are known. In industrial culture, German iris (Iris germanica L.), Florentine (Iris florentina L.) and pale iris (Iris pallida L.), belonging to the Iridaceae family, are used. These perennial herbaceous plants differ from each other mainly in the color of the flowers.

The rhizome of the iris is light brown, thick, fleshy, sometimes branched, the flesh is starchy. From below, it gradually dies off, leaving behind young tubers that form leaves and flowering stems. Leaves basal, two-row, vaginal, xiphoid in shape, entire. The peduncle is annual, erect, 70-90 cm high. The flowers are large, the German iris is dark purple, the Florentine iris is white, the pale iris is light blue. The fruit is an oblong multi-seeded capsule.

biological features. The plant blooms in May - June. Iris refers to winter-hardy plants. Vegetation begins in early spring at a soil temperature of 8-10 °C. The plant is photophilous.

Iris is undemanding to the soil. It is cultivated on chestnut, carbonate, sandy and even calcareous and marl deeply loosened soils.

Iris is a drought-resistant plant. Affected by septoria and rust, damaged by wireworms.

Reproduction and agricultural technology. Propagated by seeds and vegetatively: pieces of rhizomes and shoots (annual neoplasms). For reproduction, shoots (children) with well-developed growth points are usually used. In a crop rotation, iris is placed after grain or row crops.

Plowing is carried out to a depth of 27-30 cm. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers are applied under the main plowing (kg / ha): superphosphate - 300-400, potassium salt - 100-150. In the future, the field is periodically cultivated and harrowed to clear weeds. best term planting iris - the second half of September. planting material harvested on specially planted pure-grade mother liquors. Up to 12 young shoots are obtained from one plant. For planting, segments of rhizomes weighing 30-50 g with a urinary system of roots and several leaves are selected. The leaves are shortened by two thirds. Iris is planted in soil with a feeding area of ​​70x30 cm to a depth of 8-10 cm.

Plantation care consists of four to five inter-row treatments and two to three weedings in rows. Under the last deep cultivation (10-12 cm), superphosphate is applied - 200-300 kg / ha, potassium salt - 100-150 kg / ha.

In the second year of the life of the iris, the plantation is maintained in a loose and weed-free condition. For this, cultivation in the aisles and weeding in the rows are used.

Harvesting and storage of raw materials. In the second year after planting in August, the rhizome is plowed up with a plow or cut with a staple. The dug out rhizome is washed and dried in the sun or in special dryers. Store it in a dry place. The yield of rhizomes is 5-8 t/ha. The amount of essential oil in the rhizomes, depending on the form, ranges from 0.2 to 0.7% of absolutely dry matter.

Valuable essential oil is also obtained from iris flowers (0.1-0.3% wet weight). Plants are harvested for oil in May. The flowers are processed by the petroleum ether extraction method.

medicinal properties. In India, the rhizome is used as an astringent, laxative and diuretic. In European countries - as a diaphoretic, expectorant and laxative. In our country, a decoction of rhizomes is taken in the treatment of bronchitis. The crushed dry rhizome is used in the manufacture various medicines. AT folk medicine The rhizome is given to children to chew when they are teething.

Application. The content of iron-on in the essential oil - the main most valuable component with the smell of violets - reaches 15%. The essential oil is used in perfumery for the production of perfumes and colognes of the highest quality, and the ground dry rhizome is used to produce toilet powder and tooth powder. In the textile industry, the rhizome is used for finishing canvas and silk. From the flowers treated with lime, get "iris green" for painting on ivory.

Rhizome flour is used in confectionery, for sweet pastry and sugar products. In not large doses Iris is part of the spices for fish. They are flavored alcoholic drinks. In Armenia, jam is made from flowers; in Russia, kvass and honey drinks are flavored with iris.

Iris is grown as an ornamental plant.

Iris belongs to the herbaceous plants of the family of the same name. It is a perennial, with a rhizomatous tillering type. It grows everywhere in areas with a temperate or subtropical climate. The stems are usually branched. The leaves are usually long, solitary, collected at the base of the stems. The flowers are located at the tops of the shoots.

People have known about irises since ancient times. To its beautiful name it unique plant owes to the ancient Greek goddess of the rainbow - Iris, who descended the earth on her light rainbow wings. (Iris means "rainbow" in Greek.)

These veta flowers are also popularly called irises and cockerels. In nature, there are hundreds of species of this herbaceous plant. Among irises, you can find both very miniature and very tall large-flowered varieties.

Thanks to selection, decorative flowers of the most various forms and colors. Therefore, irises often decorate the flower beds of parks, alleys and suburban areas. The most common plants with purple, blue, yellow, white or mixed (rainbow) color.

The first bright flowers of wild and garden forms appear in early spring or late April and continue to delight the eye almost until July. After rapid flowering, in the place of inflorescences, fruits with seeds are formed. In one three-nested box, there are at least 10 seeds.

Beneficial features

Irises are not only charming flowers. Due to the unique chemical composition, they found wide application in medical practice. AT medicinal purposes, most often, use the root of the plant.

Iris pale, Florentine, and also Germanic are plant varieties whose rhizome is most used in folk medicine. It is usually harvested in autumn. The peeled root, dug out of the ground, is cut in half and dried in the attic, in a place protected from sunlight.

Ready medicinal raw materials are called iris, iris or " orris root". It can also be bought at a pharmacy.

The roots are rich in essential oil, which in turn contains a significant amount of iron (a fragrant substance). It also contains health benefits organic acids, vitamin C, iridine glucoside, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, tannins, fatty oil and starch.

Indications for use

Violet root in folk medicine and homeopathy is valued as an effective sedative, antitumor, analgesic and mild laxative.

In addition, it has an antibacterial and anti-venom effect.

Decoction treats angina, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, relieve fever, colic in the abdomen and stomach.

The peoples of India use the rhizome of the plant as a diuretic (diuretic) and anti-inflammatory agent.

Powdered leaves are used for intense heat. This herbal powder is used to reduce hyperemia and inflammation of the mucous membrane or wound, improve skin regeneration, as an astringent and enveloping agent.

Preparations based on orris root are used to relieve pain during childbirth, from the body.

The essential oil of this wonderful plant is widely used in perfumery and cosmetology. A decoction of iris also relieves freckles. This remedy effectively used for hair loss and to eliminate skin rashes. The root extract gives stunning results in the fight against wrinkles and dry skin.

Powdered dried raw materials are added to culinary, bakery and confectionery products as a flavoring agent.

Jam is made from white iris petals in southern countries. Apart from original taste, it has excellent healing properties: increases vitality, normalizes metabolic processes, saturates the body with glucose, vitamins and trace elements.

Iris infusions in the treatment of ailments

Infusions. They are prepared from the rhizome and used internally for various ailments namely: bronchitis, pneumonia, strong cough, dropsy, kidney disease and Bladder, constipation, poisoning, pain in the stomach. Outwardly water infusion used for rinsing sore throat and mouth with angina, tonsillitis, glossitis and stomatitis.
The root is crushed and brewed in a thermos. For 2 tablespoons of raw materials take 300 milliliters (cup) of hot boiling water. Insist composition in a thermos. Strain after 6 hours. At severe bronchitis, cough and fever drink an infusion of 90-100 milliliters at least three times a day.

With dropsy, kidney disease and edema, they drink the remedy prepared above according to the following dosage: 1 tablespoon three to four times during the day. With myxedema, the medication can be increased.

Wounds, tumors and hardening should be applied to the sore spot soaked in a warm infusion of napkins. Procedures are carried out within 25-30 minutes.

At nervous exhaustion you should drink such an infusion. For 400 ml of hot boiling water, one teaspoon of crushed roots is thrown. Infuse the remedy and take 100-150 ml three to four times a day.

Decoction treatment

A decoction of orris root is taken for treatment inflammatory processes in the body, pneumonia, bronchitis, tuberculosis and cough. It is used to gargle a sore throat, teeth and gums. Lotions with decoction effectively treat burns, festering wounds, ulcers and mastitis. With him take sitz baths for hemorrhoids with nodular cones.

For 200 milliliters of water, throw one tablespoon of the root. Boil the composition over low heat for no more than 8 minutes. Take the finished product strained through gauze inside 1 spoon three times a day before meals. The course of treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases is at least one week. Decoction wash your head with baldness, hair loss and dandruff.

Alcohol tincture

This dosage form of iris is taken orally for many diseases: colitis, spasms in the intestines, constipation, infections, tuberculosis, mycosis. In addition, the tincture is also used externally to treat wounds, heel spurs, mastitis, mastopathy and skin rashes.

Prepare the tincture as follows. The root, freshly dug in the fall, is crushed (preferably in a blender) and poured 1: 1 with alcohol (50-60%). (For this, you can use a proven home-brew.) Put the product in a place protected from light for 15 days. The finished tincture is moistened with gauze and applied to the sore spot. At heel spurs this compress is kept all night. The procedure is carried out every other day.

For diseases of the throat, tongue and gums, the following rinsing is carried out: 180 ml of warm boiled water take 35 drops of tincture. The drug is used for infection respiratory tract and in tuberculosis. Instead of water, in this case, they take a decoction of birch leaves, nettle, chamomile flowers, yarrow grass, creeping thyme, cuff or wild rosemary.

Iris with honey

This remedy is used for constipation and colitis. stem or fresh root plants are crushed in a meat grinder and mixed with honey. Take a tablespoon in the morning, and if necessary in the evening.

Contraindications in the use of "violet root"

Before starting treatment dosage forms from orris root, you should consult your doctor. Some biologically active substances, which are part of the plant, can cause adverse reactions or individual intolerance.

My mother was the first to experience the power of this plant on herself. To distant post-war years was tight with antibiotics and other anti-inflammatory drugs. And my mother often used the dry iris rhizome. Crushed into powder, he always stood on her shelf in a closed jar.

If my sister and I had poisonings, the mother would let me eat an incomplete teaspoon of dry powder from the roots of iris and drink it with warm water. I also made a decoction of them (1 tsp of the powder was boiled for five minutes in 300-400 ml of boiling water, insisted for two hours). Drank a decoction of 0.5 tbsp. 3-4 times a day. So, during the day, with the help of iris, everything fell into place.

I remember in the fall my parents brought home a whole duffel bag fresh roots. And we children helped wash them in several waters, cut them into pieces and dry them. At the break, healthy roots were pink-lilac, and old and unsuitable for treatment were black. And we rejected them.

Some were very elaborate and shaped like a five-fingered hand. Mom said that the people call this plant hand Mother of God (that is, giving help and healing), kasach yellow, tooth root, violet root.

As an adult, I became interested in traditional medicine, learned a lot from books and I know that iris (iris) has an astringent, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, hemostatic, anthelmintic effect.

Used by mainstream medicine as symptomatic remedy(as part of the M.N. Zdrenko collection) in the treatment of certain malignant tumors, bladder papillomatosis, anacid gastritis. In folk medicine, iris preparations are used to treat stomach ulcers, diseases of the spleen, intestines, dropsy, ascites, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.

Iris iris grows in wild nature, blooms with yellow flowers and is considered a rare species. But in culture, representatives of the iris family are found everywhere (for example, iris pale, Germanic, Florentine).

In medicine, all three of the above types of irises are used. Rhizomes are harvested from plants of the second or third year of life.

I also want to tell you how my mother helped our relative. Two months a year with exacerbations of gastritis with low acidity he was admitted to the hospital. Mom used a knife to grind a spine the size of an adult's thumb. It turned out 1.5-2 tbsp. raw materials. I poured 1 liter of boiling water over it and insisted in a warm place until the liquid became dark cherry. Sometimes I added one branch with centaury flowers.

The infusion was very tart, astringent, with a taste of bitterness. You won't drink much of it. Nevertheless, a relative drank from 1 to 1.5 liters of infusion per day (he took it with him to work). After a month of baking, I took a break for two months. All this time kept strict diet. Then he drank infusions of iris roots for another month, and by autumn he had completely recovered.

Here he is, our iris - the color of the sun, the hand of the Mother of God - the help of heaven.

Nadezhda PASTUKHOVA

Marsh iris, water iris, yellow iris, false air iris, water iris, iris iris.

Yer, ir, kazachok, pigtails, kasytsy, porridge, flat cake, luzik, uzik, snakes, borage, ground cucumbers, sedge (grass), wild cucumbers (fruits), cockerel, flower garden, cattail, braids, smaller cinquefoil, core, marsh fipovnik, chistyak, printer, palotnik, flat cake, chikan, chaser, kuga, cane, doll, lapachuga, bulb, bells, shatarok, cordovnik, yellow water lily, wild tulip.

"Royal lily" adorned the national flags and emblems of many European countries. She was the emblem of the royal dynasty, and for the first time her image appeared in France in the 10th century, and on the coat of arms and flag of the French kings - in the 12th century. This flower was found on royal seals and coins.

Iris germanica L. and I. florentina L. - German iris and Florentine iris

And why, in fact, the root - violet?

There are several species of the genusiris, the roots of which, when dried and aged for several years, accumulate essential oils. The most important isiris pale ( Iris pallida Lam.)with lilac flowers, known as commercial name"Florentine iris", as it is cultivated near Florence.Iris Florentine ( Iris florentina L .) with white flowers contains a very high quality oil, the amount of which is very small.Germanic iris ( iris germanica L.)With purple flowers, known as "Verona iris", sod holds a lot of oil with a sharp, somewhat bad smell. Peeled and dried Verona iris roots are used to flavor wines and effervescent formulations and not for distillation or extraction. The main region of its cultivation is India and Morocco.

The main producers of oil from the rootsIris pallida- Italy and France. Pale iris oil from India and Morocco is dark in color and has a milder odor. In Italy, farmers grow iris on dry calcareous soils without the use of fertilizers, without any care, and harvest (remove the roots from the ground) 2.5-3 years after planting.Iris roots are cut and stored for at least two years (preferably three) for accumulation enough oils.At this time, the processes of enzymatic decomposition of iridin occur.(Irigenin glucoside - 5,7,3'-trioxy-6,4,5'-trimethoxyisoflavone).

The essential oil from the roots is obtained either by extraction or by steam distillation. Extraction gives the resinoid. Iris oil is obtained by distillation with water vapor, which, due to its solid consistency, has received (as an exception) the name iris concrete.

The resinoid is obtained by extraction with various solvents (alcohol, acetone, preferably benzene, especially petroleum ether). The yield depends on the type of solvent used.

The oil distillation process has some peculiarities related to the fact that the oil hardens easily. Therefore, the temperature of the distillate is maintained at 60-65 0 . The duration of distillation is 20-25 hours. Selection essential oil from distillate is produced in receiver-separators with jackets for cooling water. One distillation unit consists of three receivers connected in series.

Iris (iris, violet root) is a herbaceous perennial with a creeping thick fleshy rhizome. The stems are usually branched at the top. The leaves are blue-green, xiphoid. Flowers solitary, located in leaf axils at the top of the branches. The fruits are multi-seeded three-celled capsules.

Kasatik got its name from the variety of shades of its flowers. They are white, purple, yellow, sky blue, reminiscent of a rainbow. "Iris" means "rainbow" in translation.

Medicinal raw materials are its rhizomes, which contain essential with a violet smell (whence the name - violet root), starch, tannins, iridine glycoside.

Medicine knows the anti-inflammatory and properties of iris rhizomes, their activity (an extract diluted in a ratio of 1:30 suppresses the bacillus).

Phytotherapists, healers, herbalists use iris rhizomes as an expectorant for treatment, with inflammatory diseases.

Recipes

• Infusion of iris rhizomes:two st. spoons of crushed rhizomes of the plant, pour one glass of boiled and chilled water, leave for 8 hours, filter. Drink three times a day for the third part of a glass before meals.

• Decoction of rhizomes:Art. brew a spoonful of dry rhizomes with a glass of boiling water, 10 minutes. simmer, filter. Take a decoction three times a day before eating one tablespoon.

During childbirth, a decoction of rhizomes is used as an anesthetic.

Lotions with a decoction of the rhizomes of iris (iris) are used for

A decoction of iris is drunk as an expectorant in a third of a glass four to five times a day.

Avicenna in his treatise "The Canon of Medicine" wrote about the iris:

“Decoction (orris root) dissolves hardening, dense tumors,“ mumps ”and dairy. With an equal amount of hellebore ("violet root"), it also removes bruises; it also works on its own. "Violet Root" helps with contaminated, promotes the build-up of meat in fistulas, even when applied in powder, and dresses the bones with healthy meat. Oil ("orris root") dispels fatigue and, if drunk with wine or vinegar, helps with spasms and muscle tears; an enema from it is beneficial for inflammation
sciatic nerve. Rinse it with decoction soothes

Its rhizomes, called violet root, were very popular in oriental medicine. In medical practice, both wild-growing and cultivated decorative irises (Germanic, Florentine, etc.) are still used, and not only rhizomes, but also leaves, flowers, seeds. A decoction of the seeds is drunk infectious hepatitis, seed powder is sprinkled on bleeding wounds. In forked iris, a decoction of roots or herbs is prescribed for inflammation and swelling of the throat, inflammation of the tonsils, tumors in the liver, hepatitis, stomach pain and mastitis. A decoction of the roots of iris thin-leaved is recommended for fetal anxiety in the womb, menorrhagia, and a decoction of the seeds for hematemesis, nosebleeds, uterine bleeding, acute epidemic hepatitis, bone tuberculosis, difficulty urinating, hernia. In homeopathy, pale iris is used for inflammation of the pancreas and salivary glands, with vegetative neuroses.
HEPATITIS (acute epidemic). Pour 7-9 g of seeds of a thin-leaved iris (blue or light blue flowers) with a glass of boiling water, let it boil for 5 minutes over low heat, leave for 2-3 hours, strain. Take 1/3-1/2 cup 2-3 times a day one hour after meals.
BONE TUBERCULOSIS. A quarter of a teaspoon of fine-leaved iris seeds (other types of iris are also possible) pour 1.5 cups cold water, bring to a boil, cook on the quietest fire for 10 minutes, leave for 1 hour, strain. Take 1/3 cup 3 times a day, preferably half an hour before meals.
TUMOR OF THE THROAT, TUMOR OF THE LIVER, INFLAMMATORY OF THE TONGALES, MASTITIS. 3 grams of forked iris root (yellow flowers with a purple spot), pour a glass of boiling water, let it boil slightly for 3-5 minutes, insist for 1 hour, strain. Take half a glass 3-4 times a day. (That is, you need to cook 2 glasses a day.)

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O chemical composition iris no information. There is no mention of contraindications either. Only the strong hemostatic effect of the plant, especially the seeds, suggests that it is undesirable to use preparations from blue and other irises with high blood clotting.