Menyanthes trifoliata. Sem. Menyanthaceae.
The ecological range of the vahta plant is quite wide: from rafts in lakes to forest lowland, aapa and sphagnum transitional bogs. However, the plant prefers strongly watered and rich bog habitats, where it forms extensive thickets.
On the edge of a shaky mire.
"Semaphore" with a flexible stem,
It seems to say:
"You can't go any farther."
Н. Г. Rubtsov
Indeed, the bahta plant likes heavily watered bogs, but grows better where there is good flow. The geographical range of the three-leaved broom grass belongs to the Holarctic, i.e.. е. The plant is found in the European and Asian tundra, in the taiga, in the Caucasus mountains, and in the Far East.
The Latin name of the three-leafed plant was used by scientists from ancient times, such as Theophrastus. Its generic name consists of two Greek words: tep, "month," and anthos, "flower." Indeed, the flowers of the three-leafed fern plant do not close overnight. Round the clock it "stands on watch", as if warning of danger.
Three-leaf broom is an herbaceous plant with a perennial fleshy rhizome and annually dying leaves. In the spring, in early May, the first leaves of baht, their petioles gradually lengthen, and the laminae unfold and grow above the surface of the water. The leaves of the three-leaved bush are triple, large: 8-10 cm each. The shape of the leaves of the bush and gave the plant its second name - three-leafed. In the people of three-leaved cottonwood is often called trefoil, trifolium, troelistka. And the better the conditions, the more leaves develop on the bahta plant (6 to 11 per summer).
In early June, everything is transformed in the bog: the cottonwood grass blooms. Magnificent candle-shaped inflorescences of the plant three-leaved fennel plant on the beauty and tenderness knows no equal. Each brush reaches 10-15 cm, and the individual five-petaled flowers of the vahta are real perfection. They appear shaggy because of the densely pubescent, long, whitish-pink hairs that form a sort of fringe. "As if a thick fog stands over the flower - not everyone in it will get through to the nectaries" (Yu. Linnick). The shade of the inflorescence of the plant varies from dense pink color when buds predominate to pure white with pink blush during the full blooming of the flowers of the three-leaved herb (Fig. 4).
Thanks to its fast-growing rhizomes, three-leaved cottonwood is among the front-runners in the overgrowth of water bodies and the formation of rafts. Rhizomes of the three-leafed plant grow towards open water and float near its surface: air-bearing cavities prevent them from drowning. Intertwined with each other, the rhizomes of three-leafed cottonwood are bound together by roots and plant debris. And already underfoot is a swaying but strong living carpet that can withstand the weight of a man. Under suitable conditions, three-leaved cottonwood can move into the deeper part of the lake at 0.5 m annually. In the offensive on the lake, the plant of three-leaved broom is accompanied by cinquefoil, whitefly, sedges, and horsetails.
How did the bush grass adapt to the abundance of water and constant upward growth of peat? It turns out that it is primarily due to its powerful fleshy and very branched rhizomes, which annually grow up to 30 cm in length. And the total length of a single rhizome of the three-leaved bush plant reaches 1.5 м. Air-bearing cavities, literally overflowing rhizomes of three-leaved bush (both roots and stems) - also a great adaptation to life in the water "waist-deep". The rhizomes of the three-leaved bush are located almost horizontally to the groundwater level. The marsh grows upwards - and the three-leaved bog grass forms a new "floor" at a higher level.
The main medicinal raw material of the plant of three-leaved vahta is its leaves without petioles. The larger and more powerful they are, the better. Collection of raw materials of the plant of three-leaved vahta begins immediately after the end of flowering of the plant
Fig1:
and continue throughout the summer. Experiments have shown that the active ingredient of the three-leaved broom plant is bitter glucosides (menianthin, melianthin). In the leaves of the plant of three-leaved bush, tannins, carotene, vitamin C, alkaloids, phytosterol, flavonoids, substances containing iodine, fatty oils, resin acids were found.
Aqueous and alcoholic tinctures of leaves of the plant three-leafed broom contribute to increased secretion of digestive glands, improve intestinal peristalsis, as a result of which the patient's appetite increases. They also act as a choleretic, so they are used for some liver diseases. Known herb three-leaved fennel and in homeopathy, where all parts of the plant are used. Since ancient times, the herb three-leaved fennel has been honored as a good folk remedy against fever, as an anthelmintic and anti-scurvy. A decoction of the leaves of three-leaf bush is popularly considered an antiseptic that promotes healing of wounds and ulcers, infusion of three-leaf bush is used for mouthwash for gingivitis and stomatitis.
There are other aspects of the economic use of the three-leaved bush plant. Thus, the bitter glycosides of the leaves of the bush are the basis for giving bitterness to beer, tinctures, liqueurs. From the leaves of the three-leaf bush grass, a green dye suitable even for painting is obtained. The three-leaved bush is a good food for moose, reindeer, muskrat, beaver; probably that is why in the Arkhangelsk region it is called beaverberry. Roe deer make long migrations to the thickets of the three-leaved plant, which acts as an anthelmintic for them. As we can see, the bush is a real natural cure for four-legged animals as well..
