Name: Erysipelas – stem-rose pink
Althaea rosea (Althaea rosea, synonym – Althaea rosea); garden rose ; Malvaceae family; stem-rose pink
In the Malva family, many plants have similar properties – althea, lavatera, mallow, and also rosehip. All of them are decorative, they are often bred in homesteads. There are also full forms of mallow and rosehip. These plants are favorite garden forms in front gardens and along fens in the southern regions of Russia and throughout Ukraine.
Rosa rosacea is a native of Southern Europe and Asia Minor. In Russia and Ukraine, it is known only as a plant in culture. This is a herbaceous perennial, densely covered with rough hairs. The height of the straight, almost unbranched stem reaches 250 cm. The leaves are alternate, 5-7-lobed, rounded or heart-shaped, bluntly toothed at the edges, the upper ones are three-lobed. The flowers are large, 5-7 cm in diameter, five-petalled. The corolla is white, pink, red, purple, sometimes almost black. Located in the axils of 1-2 leaves, on very short peduncles, they form a spike-like inflorescence at the top of the stem. The plant blooms in July-August. The fruit consists of numerous seeds.
Rosehip is not only beautiful, but also useful, its flowers and rhizomes are used in traditional medicine, and the roots are close to althea medicinal in terms of their medicinal effect.
The flowers are harvested during the flowering period, together with the calyx, sometimes only the petals are collected. It is believed that flowers with a dark color have a stronger medicinal effect: the darker, the better. The raw materials are dried in the sun and dried in the open air under shelter or in ventilated attics. Harvesting of roots is carried out in autumn, after the death of the aerial part. The excavated roots are quickly washed with cold running water, dried, the bark is removed from them and cut lengthwise into 2-4 parts. Then the obtained raw materials are quickly dried under shelter or in a dryer at a temperature of 30-35 °C.
The flowers are rich in tannins, mucilage and dyes; the roots, like althea roots, contain a lot of mucilage.
Infusions of flowers and roots have astringent, enveloping and expectorant properties. Usually, their use coincides with the use of altea medicinal.
The dyes contained in the rose petals are used to color food products, medicinal products, soft and alcoholic drinks, and confectionery products.
Infusion of petals. 10 g of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water, infuse for 10-15 minutes, filter. Take 1 tablespoon three times a day.