Hogweed
Properties of hogweed - a poisonous plant, burns from hogweed
Botanical characteristics of hogweed
Hogweed is a perennial plant with a powerful hollow, ribbed stem that grows up to 150 cm, and in Latvia the height can reach 3 meters in height. The stem is covered with hard hairs, the branches are in its upper part. Has a pleasant, slightly perceptible spicy smell. The plant has a powerful root system, has large leaves that grow about half a meter in length. The petioles are stalk-enveloping and, like the stem, are covered with scales. The upper surface of the leaves is smooth, hairiness is noted along the midrib.
The plant blooms in June-July. White flowers are collected in a large umbrella. The fruits of the hogweed (two-grain) appear in August. The hogweed grows in central Russia, Siberia, the Urals, the Caucasus, Udmurtia, and Altai. There are about 70 species of hogweed. This plant is capable of self-seeding propagation.
Hogweed - a poisonous plant
Some types of hogweed are poisonous plants that can damage even the human respiratory system. They can be found in the fields, in personal plots, on the banks of reservoirs and on wastelands. The greatest danger is the hogweed in the summer. Severe allergies can be caused by the smell, pollen and sap of a poisonous plant, there are cases when people have received toxic poisoning. Coumarin and essential oils contained in the plant contribute to burns when touched. Subsequently, painful conditions may occur, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness.
During flowering, hogweed is especially dangerous. The sap of the plant, falling on open areas of the skin, increases its susceptibility to sunlight, under their influence, burns appear, and then blisters. The hogweed poses a huge threat to people prone to allergic diseases, the reaction can be the most unpredictable. You need to be careful not to touch this incredibly beautiful plant, both adults and children should be warned about this.
Read more: How to distinguish a poisonous hogweed from an edible one?
Siberian hogweed
The Siberian hogweed does not stand out for its wild growth, it is harmless, it can be seen in many regions of our country. The flowers of the plant are yellowish-green, collected in large complex umbrellas. It has small ovoid fruits. This type of hogweed does not pose any danger to human health, since it contains very little coumarins and essential oils and they have a sensitizing effect.
Before the appearance of cabbage, the roots of hogweed were boiled, salted and consumed in sauerkraut; this plant tastes like cabbage. The roots and fruits of Siberian hogweed contain essential oils, carotene, vitamin C, tannins. The seeds contain octyl alcohol. Siberian hogweed is an excellent medicinal plant, on the basis of which it is possible to prepare all sorts of useful agents for the body, which have a calming effect for various nervous disorders, convulsions, and epilepsy.
Common hogweed
The common hogweed herb is a large perennial plant that grows in Europe and Asia. The seeds of the plant are valuable, they contain oil with a pleasant aroma. The oil contains acetic acid octyl ester. In the composition of the oil of leaves and flowers there are aldehydes, which form alcohol when the seeds ripen.
Hogweed oil easily dissolves in strong alcohol, this liquid is used to obtain octyl alcohol. Hogweed seeds have a calming and anti-inflammatory effect.
The infusion is prepared at the rate of 1 tsp. hogweed seeds per 250 ml of boiling water. The tool is infused for 1 hour. It is recommended to drink it at 1/4 cup 4 times a day for stomach cramps and female ailments.
With diarrhea, dysentery, gastritis, enteritis, edema, it is recommended to take hogweed extract 20 drops each. To prepare it, you need 100 g of fresh crushed hogweed plant to insist for 7 days in 200 ml of 96% alcohol. For muscle spasms, coughs, skin problems, take 10 drops 2 times a day.
Properties of hogweed
Since ancient times, hogweed has been famous for its medicinal properties. Due to the presence of furocoumarins, the plant has a bactericidal effect, therefore it is used to treat animals from helminths. As a raw material, hogweed is used to obtain psoralens - effective substances that are suitable for the treatment of psoriasis.
There is a lot of pollen and nectar in the flowers of the hogweed, this is a honey plant. The plant sap was used in the treatment of ulcers and purulent wounds, asthma and epilepsy. The roots have been used to make medicines for liver pain and to cure jaundice. For hogweed, feeding properties are characteristic. The plant contains carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and trace elements. Zinc, copper, manganese, iron, calcium allow this excellent plant to be used in combination with other crops in the production of cattle silage. The hogweed leaves are rich in chlorophyll, carotene, tannins and essential oils. Cooked food using hogweed has a pleasant vegetable taste and smell.
Burns from hogweed (poisonous)
Sosnovsky's cow parsnip - belongs to poisonous medicinal plants, can cause skin inflammation, similar to sunburn. Damage to plant sap and pollen can form not only when unprotected skin comes into contact with it, but also through clothing. Leaving for nature, you need to protect yourself from a possible unpleasant meeting with a useful and at the same time dangerous plant.
You can distinguish Siberian hogweed (harmless) from Sosnovsky (poisonous) by the flowers: Siberian hogweed has greenish-yellowish flowers, leaves are thin and sharp, and Sosnovsky has white flowers. In addition, the Sosnovsky hogweed is much larger in size (maybe even taller than human growth), the edges of the leaves are not smooth, but slightly bitten, and there are hairs with purple dots on the stem.
Watch a video on how to distinguish Siberian hogweed (harmless) from Sosnovsky (poisonous):
If, nevertheless, contact has occurred and it became clear which plant is in front of you, it is necessary to cover the affected areas from the sun's rays for several days, having previously washed them with soap and water, treated with alcohol or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Also effective is the use of a solution of furacilin and the drug "Panthenol". If the burn has affected the mucous membranes of any organs, then you need to contact the clinic as soon as possible.
The use of hogweed
Cow parsnip is used to treat various nervous and skin diseases. The plant is extremely useful as a sedative for seizures and epileptic manifestations, gallstone disease and kidney inflammation. Healing herbal infusions are used in case of disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, they relieve indigestion, treat dysentery and increase appetite. In the form of baths, drugs are used from fresh leaves of hogweed for rheumatic pains and scabies.
Decoctions are prepared from the roots of hogweed, which are an excellent medicine for lymphadenitis and gynecological tumors. Cow parsnip is the first helper for the cure of jaundice and bronchial asthma.
A quick recovery occurs in patients suffering from diseases of the liver and gallbladder after using the following remedy: 1 teaspoon of chopped roots of Siberian hogweed should be poured with one glass of boiling water, boiled for 10 minutes, insisted until completely cooled and drink the strained broth 3 times a day in the dining room spoon.
Contraindications to the use of hogweed
Before starting the treatment of serious diseases with the help of cooked broths using cow parsnip, you need to know how the body reacts to allergen plants, whether there is an increased sensitivity to substances that cause an allergic reaction. A contraindication to the use of hogweed is individual 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).
