2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43
Iris
Useful properties and use of Siberian Iris
Description of iris
Iris is an extraordinary perennial plant from the popular Iris family. Its height can reach 80 cm. The fleshy thick rhizome of a light brown shade has small adventitious roots on the lower side. When the roots die off, tuber roots are formed again. At the same time, powerful stems and leaves grow at the upper ends of the rhizomes. The xiphoid leaves of this herb are vaginal and whole-edged. They have an unusual bluish-green hue.
Flowering erect shoots on top have from two to four flowers. Large bisexual flowers have one cover. Iris blooms in May and June. Its flowers can be painted in a wide variety of shades. The fruit of the plant is represented by a triangular box, in which there are flattened wrinkled seeds of a dark brown hue. The mass of 1000 seeds is about 85 grams. Iris chooses grassy swamps in meadows and bogs for growth, and also settles along river banks.
Iris is common on the Mediterranean coast, Ukraine and Belarus, the Caucasus and Siberia, and can also be found in the Far East and hot Central Asia. Today it is widely cultivated in many countries of the world as a chic ornamental plant.
Useful properties of the iris
The main medicinal raw material for iris is its rhizomes. Fresh roots have an extremely unpleasant odor; after a thorough drying for 3 months, they acquire a special violet aroma. The powerful rhizomes of the plant contain a significant amount of essential oil. The most valuable active substances are iron, iridium glucoside, organic acids, tannins, starch and special fatty oil.
Such a wonderful expectorant, like the infusion of the roots of the iris easily liquefies phlegm and quickly removes it from the human body.
Application of the iris
Due to the large amount of iron contained in dry crushed rhizomes, irons are often used in the modern perfumery industry. The powder made from the roots of the plant is also used in the alcoholic beverage and confectionery industries. When children are teething, it is recommended to give children a small piece of iris rhizome to facilitate the process. Various pharmaceutical preparations based on the presented plant are indicated for pneumonia, bronchitis, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract.
In some cases, infusions and decoctions of iris rhizomes are prescribed for serious diseases of the gallbladder and liver, as well as for colitis. For pain in the intestines, some drugs can be used as a diuretic. It should be mentioned that the iris is a part of the unique medical collection Zdrenko, which is intended for the effective treatment of anacid gastritis and papillomatosis of the urinary bladder.
To soothe a severe toothache, you can use the juice of the roots of the iris in the form of special lotions and tampons. With epilepsy, this juice is indicated for ingestion. For diarrhea, a miraculous decoction from dry plant roots has long been used.
Iris flower
Single iridescent flowers have a stunning aroma. Some inflorescences lack petals and sepals and petals, as they are composed of small, bright leaves.
Iris root
The thick rhizome of the plant is usually brown. You can always find interesting tuber roots on the adventitious roots. Healing infusion of iridescent roots is made from 50 grams of well-crushed raw materials and 500 ml of vodka. It is advised to infuse the mixture for at least 15 days. After straining, you can take 20-25 drops three times a day, diluted in 100 grams of pure water. With diaper rash and purulent ulcers, you can apply the powder externally, generously sprinkling the affected skin.
With tonsillitis, rinsing the mouth with an effective decoction from the rhizomes of the iris is shown. Such an incomparable remedy is also useful for sore throats and loosening of the gums, and they can also do various douching for inflammatory processes. For cosmetic purposes, the decoction is used to quickly get rid of dandruff.
Iris species
Under natural conditions, the iris grows well in many European countries, in Asia and North America, as well as in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. To date, there are about 250 species of the presented plant. Many species of killer whale also grow in the CIS countries.
Iris Siberian. The distribution area of this species is considered a wide area from the north of Italy to the Far East. Dense rhizomes from above have brown remnants of leaf sheaths. The branched stem has enveloping leaves. Basal leaf plates do not exceed 80 cm in length. Lanceolate herbaceous leaves have a bright green tint. Flowers with a short, small perianth tube are on unequal pedicels.
The capsule does not exceed 2 cm long. Light gray seeds are closely located in it, squeezed on the sides.
Iris tiger. Such a wonderful short-rhizome plant has a variegated color of flowers. The base of its shoots has dark brown old leaves, which are finely split. The height of the stem does not exceed 10 cm. Each stem has two or three leaves. Blue-purple flowers are decorated with streaks and spots. The tiger iris blooms mainly in May. The growth of the plant is carried out by the formation of new shoots. This species happily settles in sandy steppes and on gravelly slopes.
Iris dwarf. The height of this perennial reaches 15 cm. It has a thick, very short rhizome and small rosettes of bluish xiphoid leaves. The special system of adventitious roots is superbly developed. About 3-4 aerial shoots develop from buds annually. A single-flowered peduncle reaches three cm. Each inflorescence is about 5-6 cm in diameter. The color of flowers can vary from white-yellow to dark purple shades. The fruit of the plant is represented by a rather large box.
Leafless Iris. This excellent perennial grows mainly in dense bushes, in forest clearings, along the edges, as well as on loamy soils, ranging from the southern taiga zones to the subtropics of Europe. This species can be found in Georgia and in the mountains of Armenia. The thickness of the rhizome is 2 cm, and the length of the linear-xiphoid leaves does not exceed 45 cm. By winter, all leaves die off. The plant has a fragrant peduncle branching from the very base. Its height can reach half a meter.
The regular perianth has a small tube and an original six-part limb. Small seeds are formed in a cylindrical box. Leafless iris blooms in late spring.
Contraindications for iris
No evidence of the harm of the iris has been identified. However, people with high blood clotting are not recommended to use various preparations from a remedy based on this plant, since some active substances contained in the roots contribute to the thickening of the blood.
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).
