Nightshade
Useful properties and use of indoor nightshade, black
Botanical characteristics of black nightshade
Black nightshade is an annual herb up to 1 m high. Its stem is erect, branched, slightly pubescent. Leaves are alternate, pointed-oval, up to 13 cm long, up to 8 cm wide. Flowers are small, white, collected in drooping umbellate inflorescences. Fruits are black, less often white or greenish berries of a round shape, juicy, up to 1 cm in diameter. The plant blooms from June to September, the fruits ripen from July to October.
Nightshade can be found almost throughout Russia, with the exception of the northern regions, as well as in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus. It grows on arable land, vegetable gardens, along the banks of reservoirs and rivers, in gardens, among shrubs.
Useful properties of nightshade
Nightshade belongs to medicinal plants with a wide spectrum of activity. For medicinal purposes, leaves and grass are harvested from July to September, fruits - from August to October. Nightshade contains dyes and tannins, carotene, sugars, organic acids. In addition, the plant contains such toxic substances as the bitter glycoside dulcamarine, as well as glycoalkaloids - solanine, solanein, and solacein. In ripe fruits, solanine is almost completely destroyed.
Nightshade application
Nightshade fruits have choleretic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antirheumatic properties. The plant has a beneficial effect on the human body in such diseases as atherosclerosis and hypertension (5-6 g of fresh ripe berries per day), diseases of the bladder and urinary tract, skin diseases. It has a calming effect on the nervous system, relieves pain of various origins. Nightshade is also used for epilepsy, dyspepsia, pyelitis.
Nightshade ointment is used for lichen, boils, ulcers and festering wounds. It helps with malignant blood diseases, including leukemia. A decoction from the aerial part is used for rinsing for throat diseases, festering gums, inflammation of the oral cavity. Since all parts of the plant are poisonous (except for ripe berries), they can be used only after consulting a doctor!
For medicinal purposes, infusions and decoctions of nightshade, fresh berries, juice from ripe fruits, juice from leaves, ointment from leaves are used.
Infusion of nightshade: 5 g of chopped dry grass must be poured with a glass of boiling water and allowed to brew for 3-4 hours, then strain and take 3-4 times a day, 1 tablespoon. This remedy helps well with neuroses, headaches and rheumatic pains, joint pain. You can use it in the form of lotions for boils and lichen.
Decoction of nightshade: 250 ml of boiling water is taken for one teaspoon of chopped grass nightshade, heated in a water bath for 15 minutes, then filtered and taken for 10 days, 1 teaspoon of decoction twice a day. The medicine is recommended for coughs, neuralgia, colitis, bronchial asthma, gastritis, cystitis, as well as for rheumatism and itching eczema.
Decoction of nightshade fruits: a glass of boiling water for 20 g of ripe nightshade fruits is required to cook in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, drain. Dosage - 4 times a day, 1 tablespoon. The remedy is effective for colitis, gallstone disease, gout, rheumatism.
Rinse with nightshade: 50 ml of juice from fresh ripe fruits should be diluted in 150 ml of water and rinse your mouth and throat for sore throat, inflammation of the mucous membrane. With a runny nose - 2-3 drops of juice in the nose.
Nightshade ointment: Nightshade leaves must be ground into powder and mixed with sunflower oil in a 1: 4 ratio. The resulting ointment can be used to lubricate festering wounds and ulcers.
Nightshade flowers
Nightshade grows as a shrub, semi-shrub, sometimes as a tree. This is a very beautiful plant. Flowers bloom on it at the same time, multi-colored fruits ripen and green leaves bloom. In spring, nightshade blooms with dull flowers, but orange-red fruits ripen by winter. The flowers are large, and the plant blooms for a long time and abundantly. There are types of nightshade with white, pinkish, purple and green flowers.
Nightshade berry
There are many types of nightshade. The fruits are juicy berries with a lot of seeds. Their color varies from orange to black, sometimes they are greenish. The berries are round or oval shaped and hang from the stems. Unripe berries are poisonous; only fully ripe berries can be eaten. The berries contain alkaloids, and if they are eaten in large quantities, poisoning can occur. If this happens, it is necessary to immediately perform a gastric lavage. In case of severe poisoning, you should immediately call an ambulance.
From ripe nightshade berries, jam, filling for pies, dumplings are prepared. You can make sauce.
Black nightshade jam: you need 500 g of ripe nightshade berries, 600 grams of sugar, 1 glass of water. The berries need to be sorted out, put in a basin, made syrup from water and sugar, and filled with nightshade. The syrup should be hot. The composition is left overnight. In the morning, it must be brought to a boil and cook over low heat until tender.
Black nightshade jam: for its preparation you will need 500 grams of berries, 500 grams of sugar, 1 full glass of water. The washed and drenched berries should be boiled until they become soft, then grind with sugar and cook over low heat until they are half boiled down. It is necessary to use only ripe berries, unripe ones are poisonous.
Nightshade seeds
One way to breed nightshade is through seeds, which are found in its juicy, ripe berries. You can plant a plant by crushing a ripe berry and lightly sprinkling it with soil. Plants are planted from January to mid-spring. If the watering of the nightshade is excessive, then the base of the stem begins to blacken. For better growth, the plant is pruned twice. Sometimes nightshade seeds themselves can get into the potting soil. Then the shoots are dug up and planted separately.
Nightshade indoor
At home, it is customary to breed only two types: pepper nightshade and false pepper nightshade. In winter, orange-red berries appear on them, and in one of the plants they are edible, and in the other they are poisonous. It is difficult to distinguish between them. Nightshade does not require much more care, in winter it loves coolness. At home, it is advisable to frequently spray the plant with water and prune as needed. If you don't, it can become a weed.
Nightshade loves bright sunlight, but does not tolerate direct sunlight. In summer, it is good to take it out to the balcony or put it outside the window, but protect it from drafts and rain. In the fresh air, the plant will bear fruit better. If nightshade does not bloom well and there are few leaves on it, it means that it lacks light. In winter, the plant especially needs fresh air, but not a draft.
Pepper nightshade is very effective for sore throat and tonsillitis. In addition, the sap of the plant heals cuts and wounds well, promotes the resorption of boils.
Decorative nightshade
Decorative nightshade came to us from South America and from the island of Madeira. This lush green to red shrub with beautiful berries has a year-round growing season. But, despite the attractiveness of the berries, they are poisonous, so it is undesirable to grow decorative nightshade in families with small children. The plant is considered an annual, but if properly cared for, it will bloom for more than one year. Even inexperienced people can easily grow nightshade.
Decorative nightshade is a tropical plant, therefore it loves a lot of light and moisture. But, of course, you shouldn't fill it, especially during wintering. And by the way, in winter nightshade needs a cool temperature, about 12-15 ° C warm. This is perhaps the only obstacle to widespread cultivation of this plant.
Nightshade sweet
It is a perennial, wild, climbing plant. The length of its shoots is from 30 cm to 5 m. The berries of the plant are bright red, oval, shiny, they taste bitter. This species grows throughout Ukraine and in the European part of Russia, it is found almost everywhere in wet and dry places.
Sweet nightshade is widely used in folk medicine. For treatment, trunks with leaves and flowers with fruits are used. They are recommended for whooping cough, bronchial asthma, spastic cough. Sweet nightshade juice is used to treat fungal skin lesions, it is instilled into the nose with a runny nose and into the eyes with conjunctivitis - 1-2 drops each.
Bitter nightshade
It is an annual, wild, herbaceous plant, a common garden weed. The nightshade berries are black, with a bluish bloom, sometimes green. The white flowering of the bitter nightshade differs from other species. Its height is about one and a half meters. The stem of the plant is straight, with many small twigs. There are fine white hairs on the stem and leaves. Oval green leaves are arranged on petioles. The nightshade blooms throughout the summer.
Bitter nightshade grows throughout Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, the Caucasus, and Kazakhstan. Its flowers can be found everywhere: in yards, in landfills and on the street. In wild nightshade, you can only eat ripe berries, all other parts in it are poisonous. In folk medicine, flowers and berries of nightshade are used. They contain vitamin A, carotene, sugars, organic acids.
Tincture from young shoots is used for colds, flu, itchy rashes, inflammation of the middle ear, boils, neuralgia, diseases of the urinary tract. A decoction of flowers is prescribed for pulmonary diseases, whooping cough, bronchial asthma.
Poisonous nightshade
Nightshade berries can be poisoned if they are eaten or not ripe for medicinal purposes. If you eat them in large quantities, severe poisoning is possible. Bright red berries on a green background of leaves look very beautiful on indoor types of nightshade. In some countries, these small trees are used as a Christmas tree. But in families with small children, it is better not to raise them.
Despite the fact that nightshade is poisonous, traditional medicine has long used its herbs, flowers and berries. The berries for medicines are harvested from August to September, and the grass is harvested during flowering. For headaches, pain in the stomach and intestines, as well as pain in the bladder, decoctions and infusions of nightshade are used. They also make mashed berries to heal wounds, mix mashed potatoes with sour milk.
False Nightshade
The homeland of this species of nightshade is Brazil and Uruguay, where it grows everywhere. This evergreen shrub with branched stems is usually grown as an annual plant. Nightshade is poisonous and irritation may occur if nightshade juice gets on your skin. The leaves of the plant are dark green, slightly wavy at the edges, white flowers in the shape of a star, up to 1 cm in diameter. Ripe berries have all shades - from orange to bright red, they are about 2.5 cm in diameter.
The plant needs diffused light, without it the nightshade will bear fruit poorly and there will be few leaves on it. Direct sunlight should be avoided as leaves can burn. The nightshade feels good in the dark, and in the fall, when the red berries ripen, it can be rearranged into the room.
False-pepper nightshade has a tonic, antispasmodic, hypotensive, antiviral and antimicrobial effect. It is a good hepatoprotector. In South Africa, it is used to treat boils, gonorrhea, and stomach cramps. In India, nightshade infusions and decoctions are used to treat drowsiness and acute pain.
Nightshade sunberry
Sunberry is an annual, fast-growing plant that resembles a tomato in its structure. On a tetrahedral stem, black-purple berries ripen, each of them weighing up to 2 g and measuring 2 cm in diameter. The plant is unpretentious and has abundant productivity. Everything is useful in this medicinal plant, from the tops of the stems to the roots. The berries are harvested in September, during their ripening period.
In folk medicine, sunberry is used in the treatment of rheumatism and osteochondrosis. The fruits of the plant enhance visual acuity and have antiseptic, laxative and diuretic properties. This medicinal plant has a pleasant taste.
Contraindications to the use of nightshade
Nightshade is a poisonous plant, so it should be consumed with the correct dosage and under the supervision of a doctor. Preparations from nightshade should not be taken by pregnant and lactating women, children. There may also be an individual plant intolerance.
The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist
Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).
