Name: Forest strawberries
FOREST STRAWBERRIES —
Fragaria vesca L.
The rose family is Rosaceae
How do they look? Perennial herb 5-30 cm tall. The brown rhizome is horizontal or oblique, with long, creeping shoots. The stem is straight, hairy. The leaves are triangular, basal, with 3 sessile, oval-rhombic large-toothed leaves, dark green, almost bare above, bluish-green below, fluffy. Inflorescences coriaceous, bisexual flowers sit on long peduncles, fluffy from hairs pressed to the stem, flower petals are white. Strawberries bloom in May – June. Fruits are numerous dry seeds on a berry. Berries with a pleasant smell and taste, greenish-red or bright red, contain a lot of iron, ripen in June – July.
Where do they grow? In forests, among bushes, on forest edges, meadows, on dry grassy slopes, log cabins. In forest areas and in the semi-nocturnal and middle parts of the forest-steppe, they grow naturally, in the direction to the south they become rarer, in the Crimea they grow in the foothills and in the mountains.
What and when are collected? Leaves – during flowering (in May – June), berries – when they are fully ripe, rhizomes – in September – October.
When is it used? For anemia, vitamin deficiency, rheumatism, liver diseases, to purify the blood for boils and rashes on the body, eczema, for catarrh of the respiratory tract and diarrhea (astringent effect), increased blood pressure and high viscosity, and also as anthelmintic. If you eat herring with onions the day before, and then eat a lot of strawberries every day (M. A. Nosal), roundworms, tapeworms, and even tapeworms with a head can appear. Echinoderms also do not tolerate strawberries and accumulate near the anus (see bitter wormwood). Strawberries contain a lot of sodium and acids (malic, salicylic, citric, henna), contain tannins, iron, dyes, volatile oils, sugars and vitamin C, B 1, carotene, tannins and other substances in rhizomes. The strawberry season lasts 3-4 weeks. For patients with disorders of the urinary and biliary tract (stones), with anemia, patients with atherosclerosis, hypertension, gout, arthritis, gastric ulcer disease, catarrh, spleen disease, the season of strawberries , blueberries, watermelons, grapes is a home holiday season . These products are medicinal, they always bring benefits, except in cases of idiosyncrasy to strawberries, with congenital enzyme deficiency. They are also contraindicated in long-term hepatic colic, gastritis with increased acidity, and chronic appendicitis. A decoction of leaves and rhizomes works similarly to berries for rashes on the body, diarrhea, bleeding, jaundice, night sweats, urolithiasis (diuretic) and colds (diuretic), gout, constipation.
Used in the form of tea. Take 2 teaspoons of leaves for 1 cup of boiling water and infuse for 10 minutes. Drink 2 cups a day, in sips. In the case of metabolic diseases, the treatment is long. People’s health would improve significantly if it became a habit to drink a drink made from strawberry leaves as tea. (For catarrh of the respiratory tract, gastritis and colitis (see Common thyme). A drink from the leaves is used for asthma (jadus). This drink has a hemostatic effect in excessive menstruation, and a decoction of the rhizomes is a good remedy for hemorrhoids
In case of long-standing eczema (with suppuration, cracks, scabs, often smelly ulcers), crushed strawberry berries (or boiled blueberries — Vaccinium myrtillus L.) or dry or fresh steamed strawberry leaves are applied for several days in a row. scabs are treated with lotions, for example, from a mixture of burdock roots, rose petals (which are used for jam), marigold flowers, oak bark, horsetail grass and dry sedum grass in a ratio of 2:2:2:1:1. A handful of this mixture is boiled for 7-10 minutes in 1 liter of water, infused for 20 minutes, filtered, poured into a bottle and used for lotions, which are made several times a day. Poultices from dry leaves reduce liver and toothaches, as well as hemorrhoids.
Freckles, spots on the face, acne, ringworm are removed with berry juice or their aqueous infusion. Aqueous infusion of dried berries or leaves is used to rinse the mouth with sore throats as an antiseptic; it eliminates bad breath.
And also pay attention to the article Forest strawberry