Cucumber herb officinalis

Annual plant, covered, including leaves, with stiff hairs with a straight, thick, juicy stem, 30-60 cm tall, with splayed branches: lower leaves ovate-oblong, narrowed into a petiole; the upper ones are oblong, amplexicaul. The flowers are large, blue, drooping, at the base in rare leafy inflorescences, curls. Blooms in June-July. Good honey plant.

It is not often found as a weed in the southern and middle lane in the European part of Russia, also in the Caucasus. Occasionally cultivated in vegetable gardens as a salad plant.

With a therapeutic purpose in folk medicine, flowers and herbs of the plant are used. Young leaves of cucumber grass are used for seasoning, as they have the smell and taste of fresh cucumbers. The flowers of the plant contain mucus and because of this they are used (often together with the leaves) as an emollient, diaphoretic and diuretic. Recommended in folk medicine for dropsy, rheumatic pains and inflammation of the kidneys.

The essence of fresh borage leaves is used in homeopathy.

Application

Decoction: 20 g per 200 ml: 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times every day. Infusion: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of crushed raw materials is poured into 1/2 cup of boiling water; Close tightly and leave for 5 hours, then filter and sweeten with sugar. Drink in small sips for 3 days.

Cucumber leaves contain ascorbic, malic, citric acids, a significant amount of potassium nitrates; flowers – mucus and essential oil. Cucumber herb vitamin salad improves metabolism, increases urine and sweat separation, prevents inflammatory processes in the kidneys and intestines, regulates heart function, relieves irritation and calms the nervous system.

For medicinal purposes, fresh and dry borage is used for heart neurosis, catarrh of the lungs, as a mild laxative, for articular rheumatism and some skin diseases.

An infusion of the leaves is taken for chest diseases, neurasthenia, as a sedative; infusion of flowers – as an emollient, diaphoretic and diuretic.

Leaves and flowers have long been used to uplift the spirit, increase the courage of Roman soldiers, or to “make it easy on the heart.” In Central Europe, borage is called “joy of the heart”, “fun”, “heart flower”.

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