Sparganium simplex. Family Sparganiaceae.
In July, candle-shaped flower stalks of blackhead with yellow fluffy heads strung on them appear in shallow water above the water. The upper "hedgehog balls" consist only of stamens, the lower ones only of pistils. Narrow strap-shaped leaves float on the water, forming a background to the unusual and very showy inflorescence of the blackhead (cf. Fig. 36). A half-meter layer of water - and the same length of the stem; at the boundary between water and air it thickens to somehow hold the inflorescence of the blackhead plant weighted in the air. From the account of external data, it is already clear that the common blackhead is an aquatic plant. It is perennial and its rhizome is creeping.
Not only in the coastal zone of lakes and rivers with slowly flowing water, but also in mochajinas and lakes of aapa bogs one can find other species: northern black-headed dipper, small black-headed dipper, polygonal black-headed dipper. In total, there are about 15 species of it in the USSR. The habitat of the blackhead is simple, very extensive: in the European part the blackhead is common everywhere except the Arctic and Crimea; it is also found in the Caucasus, Siberia, and Central Asia.
Elderberry has some importance as a medicinal plant used in folk medicine. A bouquet (though not thick) of chemical compounds was found in it: alkaloids, saponins, tannins, starch. There are in blackhead simple a number of macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, sodium, silicon) and trace elements (titanium, molybdenum, silver, vanadium, zinc). Used blackhead simple in the form of infusion of leaves (1:10 or 1:5), infusion of blackhead plant regulates blood pressure (increasing it), has a sedative effect on the central nervous system. In the old herbalists indicated other properties of blackhead: the ability to relieve headaches, regulate poor sleep, reduce nervous excitability. There are recommendations for the use of the blackhead plant and for gastrointestinal diseases and some heart diseases.
All blackhead plants serve as food for aquatic animals (nutria, muskrat) and waterfowl.
Rorippa amphibia. Family Cruciferous - Brassicaceae.
Truly the cherub is an amphibious plant that has adapted to life in water and in the marsh. Accordingly, there are aquatic forms of zherushnik and terrestrial forms, clearly distinguished by the shape of the leaves. In aquatic forms of cherub, all leaves are submerged and strongly dissected; in terrestrial forms, leaves are oblong and root leaves are on long petioles. A splendid description of this plant was made by Yu. Linnik: "If the silkworm has strictly two leaf shapes fixed in its genes, the zherushnik has rather programmed plasticity itself: leaf shapes vary widely from lanceolate to pinnate. But one structure is found consistently: the underwater leaves of cherub are dissected comb-like, and their lobes are thin and long. Leaf ridges!. This is a very convenient object for studying the influence of environment on structure: in the cherub we will find both submerged, intermediate and aerial leaves at the same time! This is the phenotypic spectrum, this is a poem of variability. The cranesbill demonstrates the flexibility of the living form... Varying widely, the gerushnik always remains within the bounds of the beautiful."
Amphibian gerushnik blooms at once, covered with bright yellow flowers, quite meeting the main features of its family: four sepals and (cross) four petals (Fig. 38). The plant amphibian gerushnik blooms abundantly and for a long time: June and July. It is distributed almost everywhere: in the European part of the USSR, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
The amphibian gerbil is known for its medicinal (though not as pronounced) and nutritional properties.
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Studies on the chemical constituents of cherub herb have shown that the above-ground part of the plant contains alkaloids, saponins, vitamins C and D, carotene, mustard oil, iodine, and traces of arsenic. The leaves are especially high in vitamin C (up to 0.210%), while the seeds of the plant contain a fatty, semi-drying oil (up to 0.022 %).
The main use of amphibian zherushnik as a medicinal plant in folk medicine is as an anti-scurvy and antihelminthic agent. The green parts of the amphibian gerushnik plant and their sap, harvested in early summer, are considered one of the best vitamin preparations. Note also diuretic properties zherushnika, it helps and helps with bronchitis, anemia. There are known recipes of its external application for the treatment of scrofula, eczema, stomatitis, inflammation of the gums. Tibetan medicine recommends amphibian gerushnik plant for pulmonary tuberculosis, trichinosis, headache. The green parts of the amphibian gerushnik are used to make salads, and the seeds, ground into powder, replace mustards. The whole plant, especially its seeds, is used as an anthelmintic.
Other species of this genus have similar properties: bog cherub, equally widespread; forest cherub, inhabiting the European part of the USSR and the Caucasus; short-fruited cherub, concentrated in the south of Europe and the Caucasus; globular cherub, typical of Eastern Siberia and the Far East. All of the plants listed are characteristic of wet habitats..
