Small duckweed – small duckweed

Name: Small duckweed – small duckweed

Lesser duckweed (Lemna minor); small duckweed

 

Perennial herbaceous plant of the sedge family. The roots are filamentous. The stem has the appearance of a small (2-4.5 mm long and 2-3 mm wide) green round plate floating on the surface of the water. The leaves are not developed. The flowers are very reduced, unisexual, in inflorescences of two stamens and one pistil, located at the base of the shoots in a lateral pocket or in a pit on the surface of the shoot; pistillate flowers have one pistil, stamens – with one stamen. The fruit is nut-shaped, one-seeded, indehiscent. Blooms very rarely (in May – June).

Spread. It grows throughout the territory of Ukraine in standing water.

Procurement and storage . The whole plant is used for medicinal purposes. Raw materials are harvested during the summer. With a fine net, duckweed is drawn to the shore and scooped out with a small net. Dry under a tent or in a well-ventilated attic. Store in a dry, well-ventilated place.

The plant is unofficial.

Chemical composition . Watercress contains flavonoids, anthocyanins, micro- and macroelements – calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, cobalt, bromine, copper, nickel, titanium, manganese, iodine, zinc, vanadium, etc. In dried form, the plant contains 2-4% protein. There is almost no ascorbic acid in the plant.

Pharmacological properties and use . Watercress has antipyretic, diuretic, desensitizing and antimicrobial properties. In domestic and foreign folk medicine, duckweed products are taken internally for urticaria, vitiligo, asthma, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, and swelling of a neurotic nature, as an anti-influenza and general strengthening agent. Externally, in the form of poultices, the plant is used for rheumatism and gout (as a painkiller).

Medicinal forms and applications .

Internally – tincture (1 teaspoon of dry crushed raw material per 50 ml of vodka) 15-20 drops 3 times a day; duckweed powder (prepared in the form of pills, mixed with honey) 1-2 g 1 time 3 times a day.

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