Common celandine – celandine large

Plants with bright milky juice are extremely rare in the temperate zone. The deep orange juice of celandine is amazing, but at the same time it seems to warn that this plant is unusual. Nature herself warns: grass is dangerous!

Common or May sedum is a herbaceous perennial with a height of 30-100 cm. The stem of the plant is branched, pubescent with thin hairs, as are the leaves. The shape of the leaves is quite peculiar: they are narrowly pinnate, with rounded or egg-shaped, sinuous-blade lobes, grayish below. Flowers on long peduncles, yellow, collected in 2-6-flowered umbrella-like inflorescences. They bloom from the second half of May (this is where one of the epithets of the species comes from) until August. Sometimes flowering plants can be found in early September. The fruit is a pod-like box. Celandine grows throughout the territory of Russia

and Ukraine, except for the Arctic and the Far East. Prefers rich soils – a common plant in littered places, gardens, and gardens. It often occurs in light sparse forests, thickets of shrubs, along beams, in groves and parks. All parts of the plant, especially the roots, are poisonous!

The medicinal effect of celandine outweighs its toxic properties, so the plant has long been used in scientific and folk medicine. For medical purposes, the aerial part is harvested, cutting it at a height of 5-10 cm from the soil surface. Rubber gloves should be worn when harvesting grass, as the milky juice can cause burns if it gets on the skin. They are dried outdoors, in ventilated rooms, in attics. If the raw material dries indoors, you should not stay there for a long time – headache and nausea are possible.

All parts of the plant contain alkaloids: grass — up to 1.87%, roots — more than 4%. In addition, the aerial part of celandine contains essential oil, vitamin C (up to 171 mg%), carotene (provitamin A), flavonoids, saponins and organic acids.

The main condition for the use of celandine products, especially internally, is strict adherence to the dosage, otherwise severe poisoning may occur. In scientific medicine, the plant is used to treat tuberculosis of the skin, lupus erythematosus, papillomatosis of the larynx, warts and condylomas are cauterized with milky juice. Internally, celandine products are prescribed as a diuretic and antispasmodic. It is believed that they have a positive effect on angina, bronchial asthma, rheumatism, as well as cholecystitis and liver diseases. The extract of fresh grass has a bactericidal effect on streptococci and staphylococci, stops the development of fungi and tubercle bacilli. It has been experimentally proven that this tool delays the growth of malignant neoplasms.

In the folk medicine of Western Europe, plant products were used to treat hemorrhoids, scrofula (diathesis), gout, syphilis, and malignant tumors of the skin and stomach.

Folk healers widely use celandine juice to remove warts and corns, treat wounds and ulcers. A decoction of the herb is used in Eastern Siberia as an anticonvulsant for epilepsy and for therapeutic baths when bathing children suffering from skin diseases.

Celandine juice (including for enemas) is usually diluted in the following ratio: 1 teaspoon of juice per 100 ml of water.

Long-term internal use of celandine products causes dystrophic changes in the mucous membranes of the digestive tract. This is important to remember!

The essence from the fresh roots of the plant is used in homeopathy to treat diseases of the liver, kidneys and lungs.

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