Stork
Medicinal properties and use of common stork
Botanical description of the stork
The stork, or the crane, as it is called in another way, belongs to the genus of annual plants of the geranium family. Depending on the place of growth, it has a large number of local names. These include such as "busennik", "rake", "rake", "buski", "small rake", "needle", "wild carrot", "magpie needles", "worm" and "sock". The stork is a herbaceous plant with a taproot; prostrate, rough, covered with hairs and branched from the base, the stem reaches no more than sixty centimeters in height; feathery, alternate, long-petiolate and pubescent leaves have stipules.
Stork flowers have purple or lilac-pink petals, often with pronounced dark veins. The fruit is a squeezed-wedge-shaped, pubescent brown achene, ending in a spiral appendage. The plant usually blooms from May to September, the fruit ripens from June to October.
It grows as a weed in fields, near dwellings and roads, in crops of cultivated plants. Prefers sandy soils. It is widely found in the Urals, Siberia, in the European part of the Russian Federation.
Quite often, the stork is confused with Robert's geranium similar to it. Geranium differs in an unpleasant strong odor, larger leaves and stems. Geranium Roberta prefers damp and humid places.
Collection and procurement
All aerial parts of the stork, its stem, flowers and leaves are used as medicinal raw materials. Seeds and roots harvested in the usual way are used much less frequently. Most often, the herb of a plant is harvested during its flowering period. This is done as follows: - the stem of the plant is cut at the level of the root rosette of leaves; - they are dried under awnings in the shade, in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C or in rooms with good ventilation.
Properly prepared raw materials are suitable for use for no more than two years.
Healing properties and use of stork
As a result of research, it was found out that preparations made from stork herb have a wide spectrum of action. It includes the hemostatic, astringent and anticonvulsant medicinal properties of the plant. Tincture based on the aerial part of the stork, when used internally, has the property of lowering the permeability of the walls of blood vessels, has a pronounced hemostatic effect, and soothes the central nervous system and cerebral cortex.
It is also recommended to use stork flower tincture as a mild sedative for insomnia, especially in children and the elderly, and for washing festering wounds. The stork is also used for the preparation of various cosmetics. The decoction of the plant is widely used in folk medicine to reduce the symptoms of colds, pneumonia, intestinal distention, pleurisy, gynecological diseases, hemorrhoids and angina pectoris. Stork baths are recommended for the treatment of childhood diathesis, as well as fear and convulsive conditions.
It is known to use dry stork grass in the form of a finely crushed powder for dusting wounds in animals. In addition, the stork has long been considered one of the most useful feed for sheep. It is a good honey plant.
The chemical composition of the stork
All parts of the plant contain a high content of biologically active substances. The leaves and stems contain vitamins, carbohydrates, triterpene saponins and organic acids. The flowers are rich in cyclitols and anthocyanins such as peonidin, malvidin and their derivatives. Stork seeds contain a high percentage of fatty oil.
Stork recipes
For the treatment of seizures, bleeding and gynecological diseases, you can use the stork herb infusion. To prepare it, you need to pour one tablespoon of the herb with one glass of boiled water, insist for seven or eight hours, then strain. Such an infusion is taken 4 times a day 0.5 hours before meals, a quarter of a tablespoon. The same infusion is used to wash small wounds.
For quick cleansing of purulent wounds and ripening of boils, it is recommended to prepare an ointment. Two tablespoons of the herb are poured with half a glass of melted interior fat, infused for four days, then the mixture is filtered and stored in a cool place.
To relieve convulsive conditions, spasms and epileptic seizures, you can use a special infusion of stork herb. One teaspoon of the herb is poured into 1 glass of boiling water, wrapped up and infused for about two hours, then filtered. It is recommended to take this broth 3 times a day before meals, two tablespoons. Also, the herbal infusion, brewed in large quantities, can be used to prepare baths for children suffering from food allergies, with skin rashes and exudative-catarrhal diathesis.
Lotions have a good effect for eczema or for washing the eyes with an infusion of stork flowers for conjunctivitis. Also, this infusion can be used internally to relieve the symptoms of these diseases. To make the infusion, you need to pour 1 tablespoon of flowers with 1 glass of boiling water, stand for 15 minutes in a weakly boiling water bath, then remove from heat, insist for about 45 minutes and strain. It is recommended to take the product no more than three times a day, two tablespoons.
For the treatment of manifestations of epilepsy, you can use a mixed infusion of stork herb and angelica. It is prepared as follows: pour one spoon with the top of the stork herb with one glass of boiling water, wrap it up, insist for about two hours, then strain and take a quarter of a spoon, adding 20 drops of angelica roots infusion (pour 1 liter of vodka 100 grams of carefully chopped roots, insist for three weeks in a dark place, shaking regularly, as it is ready to strain).
For colds of the throat, the following infusion of the herb of the plant is recommended for gargling it. One tablespoon of the herb is poured with 300 milliliters of boiling water, infused for 8 or 10 hours, filtered. It is necessary to take the product at least 4 times a day for 0.5 cups.
Side effects and contraindications to the use of stork
Despite the wide therapeutic spectrum of the stork, there are contraindications to its use. So, for example, it is not recommended to use this plant for thrombophlebitis and varicose veins, with an increase in blood clotting. Also, it is not allowed to take stork drugs by people suffering from advanced forms of diabetes mellitus and severe hypertension. The use of preparations from this plant for the treatment of children under the age of three is prohibited.
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).
