Sand sedge
.Sand sedge (sageh - originally the ancient Romans called this word a thorny shrub, and then this name was transferred to sand sedge, arenaria - from Lat. - (living on sand) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the sedge family with a long (up to 10 m long and 3 mm thick), cord-like, creeping rhizome. Stems triangular, scabrous above, with stiff grooved linear-lanceolate leaves. Flowers are in spikelets, the last 6-16 of which are clustered in the upper part of the stem, forming a spike-like inflorescence. The fruit is a nut enclosed in a sac. Sand sedge blooms in May-June (Fig. 53).
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Sand sedge grows on sandy shores of seas and lakes almost all over Europe, in our country mainly in the Baltic regions.
The rhizomes of sedge are used, collected after the plant has wilted and freed from stems and roots. Sand sedge has an odor similar to turpentine, the finished raw material has no odor, the taste is weak, sweetish.
Chemical composition and properties of sedge
The properties of sedge, specifically its rhizome, are poorly understood. In them traces of essential oil, resinous, mucilaginous and, according to some authors, tannins, bitters, saponins, starch, silicic acid are found.
Action and application
.In the scientific medicine of the USSR, the properties of sedge are not used for medicinal purposes.
In German medicine, the rhizomes are used in the form of an infusion to improve digestion and as a substitute for sarsaparilla root; in the GDR it is called German sarsaparilla.
In Austria, the rhizomes are used as a decoction and cold extraction for gout. The properties of sedge will help alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis and serve as a blood-thinning remedy.
In Russian folk medicine rhizomes of sand sedge are used as a diuretic and diaphoretic in the form of water infusion or decoction, with gout, rheumatism, scrofula, colds, choking attacks, skin rashes and boils.
In the old days, doctors prescribed this plant for syphilis. The properties of sedge act antibacterially on the body.
In the past, rhizomes of sand sedge were harvested in Russia in large quantities to replace the valuable root of the South American plant sarsaparilla, used for syphilis, gout, rheumatism and skin diseases.
In Bulgarian folk medicine, the rhizome of sand sedge is used as a diaphoretic and blood-improving remedy for rheumatism, gout, bronchial catarrhs, flatulence, constipation, as well as for chronic skin diseases, in the form of decoction and tincture.
Root rhizomes of sand sedge are used by us in a mixture with roots of other plants for joint diseases.
Parmelia
.Parmelia (lichen), a perennial plant in the Parmeliaceae family, is a symbiosis of two organisms, one belonging to the group of fungi and the other to green algae. Its body is called a puffer, and consists of leathery cartilaginous, narrow, branching, grooved, glabrous lobes of greenish-gray color on the side facing the light. Parmelia, like all lichens, has a weak ability to photosynthesize, but is characterized by exceptional resistance to endure harsh climatic and soil conditions. Up to 16 thousand species of lichens are known in different countries of the world. The most famous are: the lichen of the "cetraria" group - Cetraria Icelandica, or Icelandic moss, and closely related species - Cetraria tenuifolia and Levigata, which are found throughout the northern Soviet Union, Iceland, America and other countries (Fig. 54).
Parmelia vagans is widespread in the steppe zone of the USSR, growing on stony, sandy places.
The puff is used, which is harvested in late April - May. In the dried form has almost no odor, the taste is bitter, somewhat burning, with a sensation of mucilage. Activity does not decrease with prolonged storage, up to 3-4 years.
Chemical composition
.A high content of carbohydrates, close in chemical nature to cellulose, has been found in the lichen layer. Lichen polysaccharides include "lichen starch" - lichenin, isolichenin and euvenin, characterized by their ability to swell and dissolve in hot water, and to precipitate tannin from aqueous solutions. Thus, the main mass of cell walls is represented by carbohydrates such as lichenin, while fiber plays an auxiliary role, and vice versa in higher plants. Protein, fat and ash are scarce in lichens: small amounts of phosphorus, potassium and calcium, lichenic acids (antibiotics) closely related to tannins or tannin, and pigments.
Effects and uses of parmelia
Parmelia vagans is not used in scientific medicine in the USSR.
Inhabitants of mountainous areas of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan use parmelia to treat pulmonary tuberculosis in the form of decoction with milk. The Ural Cossacks recommended the use of parmelia as a fast-acting hemostatic agent.
Parmelia steppe has long been used by the Ural Cossacks as a "cut" herb - one of the fast-acting hemostatic and bactericidal means for treating wounds. During the war years, the doctor of the military hospital in the city. Uralske G. Sviridov used a paste of parmelia powder to treat the wounded and had very successful results.
The use of parmelia is not only used for medicinal purposes. In northern Europe, Asia and the Americas, local people have long used some lichen species for food, mixing them into flour and other products.
In Japan, parmelia is also consumed when needed, and in Germany during World War I, it was widely consumed as food. In France, given the ability of lichens to swell and turn into jelly when cooled, lichenin has long been used to make marmalade. Icelandic cetraria, which is imported from Scandinavia, is used for this purpose.
Residents of the Murmansk region and the Karelian ASSR prepare from decoctions of Icelandic moss thick kisses, jellies with the addition of berry juices.
Parmelia vaganes is used by us to treat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases..
