Hare cabbage
Herb hare cabbage, useful properties and uses of the plant
Botanical characteristics of hare cabbage
Hare cabbage is a perennial herb of the bastard family. The roots are tuberous-thickened, passing into thin roots. The stem of the plant is cylindrical, erect, succulent, can reach a length of 40 cm. Leaves are opposite, sessile, oval or round, fleshy, glabrous, covered with a waxy coating, serrated along the edge.
Rabbit cabbage flowers - small, can be colored pink, yellowish green or pale yellow; collected in the upper part of the stem in a dense corymbose inflorescence. The fruit of the plant is a multileaf. The flowering period of the grass is July-September. The natural area of distribution of hare cabbage is the European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. The plant grows mainly on sandy soil, in glades and hills, along the banks of rivers and lakes, in pine forests, along roads and among thickets of bushes.
Useful properties of hare cabbage
In folk medicine, both the aerial part of hare cabbage and its underground part are used as medicinal raw materials. The grass is harvested during the flowering period (exclusively in sunny or not rainy weather), the roots - in the autumn period (September-October). The herb is dried in large, well-ventilated areas; after digging, the roots are cleaned from the ground, cut into small segments and dried in a thin layer in a ventilated room.
The chemical composition of hare cabbage contains tannins, flavonoid glycosides, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), starch, carotene, organic acids, B vitamins and calcium salts. Medicinal preparations of hare cabbage have an analgesic, tonic, wound healing and hemostatic effect. The leaves perfectly cleanse the skin of acne breakouts, the juice improves heart function and soothes the nervous system.
The use of rabbit cabbage
Due to its unique chemical composition, such a plant as hare cabbage has found its widespread use in folk medicine. Healing infusions are successfully used for gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, painful and profuse menstruation, bronchitis and severe cough.
Fresh crushed leaves are used as an external agent (in the form of an ointment) for long-term non-healing wounds, acne, fistulas, ulcers, calluses, burns and mastitis (stagnant breast milk). The broth is used as an effective diuretic.
Infusion of hare cabbage
Recipe No. 1. 20 g of leaves are poured with 200 ml of boiling water and infused for four hours, after which the composition should be filtered into a clean container. It is recommended to take the product 50 ml 3-4 times a day before meals. Indications for use - gastritis, kidney disease, prolonged diarrhea, female infertility, general weakness and fatigue.
Recipe No. 2. 50 g of crushed aboveground and underground parts of the plant are poured into 600 ml of boiling water and insisted in a thermos for four hours. The resulting infusion should be used as an external remedy for stomatitis, tonsillitis, ulcers, burns, and cuts. The infusion effectively removes calluses and warts.
Bunny cabbage decoction
To prepare a broth of hare cabbage, pour 20 g of leaves with 200 ml of hot water and put in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. After the broth has cooled, strain it into a clean container and take 25-30 ml 3 times a day for kidney disease.
Bunny cabbage juice
Before preparing the juice, the grass is washed well, poured over with boiling water, then passed through a meat grinder and squeezed. The prepared juice is diluted with purified water in a 1: 1 ratio and then boiled for three minutes. Take 5 ml of juice 3 times a day with meals. The juice can also be used as an external agent, for this, a napkin is moistened with the prepared solution and applied to the affected skin area.
In addition, the young leaves and fresh shoots of hare cabbage are edible. With a pleasant and refreshing taste, the leaves of the plant are included in the recipes of many summer salads and vegetable soups.
Rabbit cabbage flower
The flowers of hare cabbage are small, collected in the upper part of the shoot in a dense corymbose inflorescence. The petals are pink, pale yellow or yellowish green. Each flower consists of five petals, five pistils and ten stamens. The flowering period of hare cabbage is July-September.
Flowers, along with the rest of the aboveground part of the medicinal plant, are used in folk medicine as a tonic, tonic, anti-inflammatory and wound healing agent.
Contraindications to the use of hare cabbage
There were no contraindications to the use of medicinal infusions and decoctions of hare cabbage.
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).
