Name: Robinia common – robinia false acacia
Common Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia); white acacia, Robinia pseudoacacia; the Legume family (Fabaceae); robinia false acacia
White acacia is sung by poets and engraved by artists. She is a symbol of warmth and tenderness. When we think of its fragrant flowers, associations with the south immediately arise. Indeed, in the middle zone of Russia, acacia does not always withstand frost. But it has taken root perfectly in the southern part of Russia and Ukraine. The tree came to us from North America. Its scientific name is robinia, but in our country the plant is called white acacia.
This is a deciduous tree with a height of 25-50 m. The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate, long-stalked, and the stipules are in the form of rather long and sharp spines. The flowers are large, white or pinkish, fragrant, in thin, drooping tassels, blooming in May-June. Pollen is yellow. The plant usually blooms in the 5-8th year of life. In Ukraine, robinia is grown as a decorative, honey-bearing, fodder, dyeing and phytoremediation plant throughout the country. It is widely used in landscaping.
Robinia is valued not only for its beauty, it also has medicinal and honey properties.
The plant is used only in folk medicine. They usually collect flowers, less often tree bark. The flowers are harvested at the height of flowering, spread out in a thin layer in the shade on paper or cloth and dried in the fresh air. The bark is harvested in the spring, before the leaves bloom, and dried in a warm, ventilated room.
The chemical composition of the plant was studied. Robinia ordinary contains a complex of various compounds: sugars, essential oils and organic acids. The bark contains tannins, it should be noted that it also contains poisonous compounds.
Infusion of robinia flowers is used as an antipyretic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, hemostatic, mild diuretic and laxative. It is taken for the treatment of colds, pain in the stomach and intestines, gastric bleeding, inflammation of the urinary tract. Bark infusion is used for high acidity of gastric juice (hyperacid gastritis), stomach and duodenal ulcers. The essential oil obtained from white acacia flowers is used in homeopathy.
White acacia is one of the best honey bearers. Bees actively visit it from early morning to dusk, collecting nectar and partially pollen. One robinia flower releases up to 7.2 mg of nectar per day, and the honey productivity of the plant reaches 700-800 kg from 1 hectare. During the flowering of acacia, the bee family harvests 8-
12 kg of honey. It is transparent, light, extremely fragrant and delicate to the taste. It crystallizes slowly into a white fine crystalline mass.
In places where white acacia grows, its dry flowers are a favorite delicacy of children. dried up
13 thickened nectar, they are sweet and aromatic.
Infusion of flowers. 1 tablespoon of raw material per 300 ml of boiling water. Insist for 2 hours, filter. Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day before meals.