Cotton
Cultivation and application of beneficial properties of cotton
Botanical characteristics of cotton
Cotton is a short annual plant with a strong and branched root system. The stem of the plant is straight, branching towards the top. Erect inconspicuous stems have large leaves on long petioles. The whole plant is covered with hairs and dark spots. Cotton blooms in the period starting in July and ending in September. The flowers of the plant are large in size, yellow in color, located on long pedicels. In early autumn, fruits appear on the stems in place of flowers. Cotton fruit is a smooth spherical capsule. Inside the capsule there are many seeds, which can be oval or egg-shaped. The whole seed is covered with white hairs.
Cotton grows in Mexico, but it is also cultivated in Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, cotton is grown for medicinal use.
Cultivation of cotton
Cotton is a drought-resistant plant that cannot withstand frost and low temperatures. This plant is demanding on the soil, especially on the content of the required amount of moisture during flowering and ripening of fruits. The soil before sowing cotton is cleaned of weeds, loosened and fed. Before sowing, the seeds of the plant can be dried, moistened, or you can simply plant seeds, free of surface hairs.
It is best to sow cotton seeds in the spring as the soil is already warm. The frequency and distance between seeds depends on the variety and plant placement. Cotton plants need regular watering and loosening.
Useful properties of cotton
Cotton plant contains resinous substances, essential oils, organic acids, vitamins and other compounds that are useful to the human body. Cotton plant has antiviral properties. In addition, this plant removes cholesterol from the blood. Cotton plant is used for the prevention of atherosclerosis and its treatment. Preparations from this plant are used for skin diseases, tumors and herpes. Cotton also lowers blood pressure.
Oil is prepared from the seeds of the plant, which is used in the form of ointments and plasters. Cotton bark has hemostatic properties. Cotton plant is recommended for strengthening blood vessels.
Cotton application
Cotton is used in the treatment of infertility, menstruation disorders and toxicosis in pregnant women. This plant is used for shingles, herpes and other viral diseases. People with a lack of vitamin E in the body are recommended to use cotton in any form. Cotton broth is useful for stomach cancer or during the recovery period after surgery. Cotton plant is often used as a styptic.
A decoction of cotton bark for gastric tumors. Take cotton bark and dry it. Now dry grass needs to be crushed to a powder state. We take 1 teaspoon of the finished powder and pour 200 ml of boiling water. We put everything on fire for 20 minutes. Straining the finished cotton broth, it is cooled. Take this medicine three times a day, 70 ml for 30-45 days. Herpes is treated with the same broth.
Contraindications to the use of cotton
At the moment, no contraindications to the use of this plant have been identified.
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).
