Elderberry herbaceous: medicinal properties, cultivation rules, application

Elder grass is not only an ornamental shrub that can decorate your garden. These are also useful berries, which are widely used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. We invite you to find out why elderberry is needed, planting and caring for this plant, as well as recipes for medicinal preparations and tinctures.

General information

Elder grass is a perennial, reaching a height of 60 to 150 centimeters. It has straight branched stems and pinnate leaves. Flowering occurs in June-July. The flowers are very small and gather in white inflorescences. There are red stamens in the middle. The inflorescences are quite large (up to 20 centimeters in diameter), rounded in shape. Black berries ripen in August-September.

Landing and care

Elder grass is an unpretentious plant. She feels great in the shade, tolerates frosty winters, lends herself to curly pruning. The only requirement for a good harvest is well-drained soil. Therefore, you should always monitor the level of moisture in the landing site.

If the soil is poor in minerals, then it is recommended to apply fertilizers and top dressing. The best time for this is the beginning of the growing season. Elderberry is resistant to pests and diseases. But there is still a small risk of aphids and mites.

Propagation of elderberry herbaceous occurs vegetatively and by cuttings. In the first method, above-ground shoots, root suckers, other parts of the bush, underground creeping rhizomes are disconnected from the shrub. In the case of cuttings, in June-July, branches from 8 to 12 cm in length should be cut from elderberry.

Elder grass - application

This perennial is used as an ornamental plant and for medicinal purposes. Black elderberry flowers, berries, rhizome, leaves, bark, twigs - all are used to create various decoctions, infusions and preparations.

Perennial has unique medicinal properties. It can be combined with other herbs to enhance the health benefits. Berries can also be eaten raw. But at the same time, precautions must be taken, because with an excess of them in the body, poisoning can occur.

Medicinal properties of elderberry

There are two main areas in which elderberry is used. The medicinal properties of this perennial are most apparent when used as a diuretic or to lower blood sugar levels. Therefore, various decoctions are recommended for use in diseases of the kidneys, ascites, and diabetes.

Also, elderberry preparations can be made to treat constipation, obesity, back pain, gastritis and digestive disorders, colds. There are excellent folk recipes for preventing the flu and boosting immunity.

Recipes for infusions and decoctions

  1. Infusion of elderberry and other plants from edema, polyarthritis and gout. Make a mixture of dried flowers (10 grams), herbaceous elder root (15 grams), (15 grams), knotweed (10 grams), horsetail (10 grams), flowers (10 grams), corn columns (15 grams), leaves (15 grams) and birch buds (15 grams). Pour four tablespoons with one liter of water and let it brew for twelve hours. Before use, boil for five minutes and cool slightly. Drink half a glass four times a day, half an hour after eating.
  2. With hemorrhoids. Make an infusion of eight herbaceous elderberry leaves, one tablespoon of sage, and one cup of boiling water. Let it all sit for one hour and add another teaspoon of honey. You need to take half a glass a day for a month.
  3. For sick joints, with gout, arthritis, neuralgia, paralysis. Boil the flowers of black elderberry and chamomile. Soak a bandage in this decoction and apply a compress to the affected areas of the body.
  4. For the treatment of sciatica. Let it brew for one hour in boiling water (0.5 liters) of elder flowers (1.5 tablespoons). Take half a glass of tincture three to five times a day before meals. The duration of treatment is ten days, then you need to take a break.
  5. For insomnia and headaches. Take a decoction of black elderberry roots and flowers.
  6. With various gastric diseases and atherosclerosis. Make a decoction of the bark and take it at night.
  7. For skin rashes. Make a decoction of the bark, flowers and berries of black elderberry and take a bath in it.

To prevent colds and flu

Dried black elderberry flowers and add them to tea to ward off colds or as a flu remedy. For three teaspoons of tea leaves, you need one teaspoon of flowers.

For dessert, you can make elderberry syrup. To do this, perennial berries are blanched and 1.4 kilograms of sugar are added to one liter of juice. The syrup needs to be boiled for a long time to make it thick. Use it for making sauces, jellies, as toppings for ice cream, pancakes, cakes.

For those who love homemade wine, elderberry is also useful. Perennial berries do not lose their medicinal properties in wine, and the drink itself turns out to be very tasty.

Recipe for making wine:

  1. Take two liters of apple juice, ten liters of black elderberries, one kilogram of sugar.
  2. Break up the berries.
  3. Add juice and sugar.
  4. Move everything and leave to roam for five or six days.
  5. Then strain the drink, squeeze the juice and bottle everything. The container must be closed with a cork and secured with wire (following the example of champagne).
  6. Bottles are placed in a cold room (cellar, cellar).

Contraindications

It is strictly forbidden to use black elderberry for pregnant and lactating women, children under twelve years of age. It is not recommended to drink decoctions and infusions from this perennial for people with impaired functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

There is also a risk of getting poisoned if you use elderberries in excess of the amount indicated in the recipes.

mob_info