The lingonberry family is Vacciniaceae
What does it look like? Small perennial branchy bush 15-50 cm tall. Stems and branches with sharp edges. The ovate leaves are leathery, light green on both sides, with net veins on the bottom, finely serrate on the edges. The flowers are collected in few-flowered tassels. Corolla with four bell-shaped teeth, white or pale pink.
The fruit is a juicy black berry that ripens in July-August. Blueberries bloom in May – June.
Where does it grow? In coniferous forests, in forest clearings, in green alder thickets and meadows, in large numbers in the Carpathians, in Roztochchi-Opilla, in Polissia, occasionally in the northern part of forest-steppe areas.
What and when are collected? Leaves—during flowering; berries are completely ripe, they are dried in ordinary ovens or in fruit dryers.
When is it used? Blueberries and berries , rich in tannins, in combination with pectins, blue anthocyanin, vitamins C and carotene and organic acids — citric, malic, amber, lactic, oxalic, which have an antispasmodic, astringent and somewhat diuretic effect, are used in the treatment of many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. They act as an astringent for diarrhea, help with indigestion (dyspepsia), pain in the stomach and intestines, gastritis with insufficient gastric juice, acute and chronic enterocolitis in children, and dysentery. A decoction of berries kills typhoid bacteria. Blueberry berriesstop intestinal bleeding. Mixed with wild strawberries, they are very effective for gout, rheumatism, and other diseases, because they treat constipation, regulate intestinal peristalsis, and normalize gastrointestinal functions; dried berries help with diarrhea and anemia (vitamins C, B1 , B2 , PP, tannins).
With prolonged diarrhea, S. A. Tomilin recommends using the so-called “blueberry wine”: 25 g of dry blueberries are boiled for 20 minutes in a small amount of water, 250 ml of red wine is added and the mixture is boiled for another 10 minutes; drink 1 canteen each
1 For the treatment of catarrh of the intestines (enterocolitis), angina and ulcerative stomatitis in children, an infusion of kombucha (Medusomyces Gisevii), which is grown in glass jars at a temperature of 20° on sweetened with sugar (50-60 g per 1 l) is recommended as a harmless and refreshing agent ) steamed real tea.
A yeast fungus (Torula) and acetic acid bacteria (Bacterium Xylium) live in a gelatinous mass in symbiosis, which ferment sugar, forming alcohol and carbon dioxide, and then convert alcohol into acetic acid.
Seven-eight-day acid infusion of kombucha culture has antibiotic activity, contains a substance similar to ascorbic acid, vitamin B 2 and stimulates the secretion of gastric and pancreatic juices. The inside is used for the treatment of chronic enterocolitis – in a dose of 100 ml, trunci per day (each time after use, you should lie down for 1 hour), for atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and for tonsillitis and ulcerative stomatitis in children, spoons are used for gargling three times a day. before meals until the condition of the stomach improves. Blueberries improve vision (night vision).
Blueberry leaves contain bitter glycosides ericoline and arbutin, pyrogallic and pyrocatechin tannins, ceryl alcohol, triterpenal alcohol, resin acids, anthocyanin glycosides neomyrtilip and myrtilin, which under the name of glycokinin substances reduce the amount of sugar in the blood and treat the function of the pancreas (however, long-term use can cause dangerous poisoning with hydroquinone, a derivative of arbutin).
Used in the form of tea. Take 60 g of blueberry leaves per 1 liter of water , infuse for 12 hours, boil for 5 minutes, steam for 1 hour and drink a glass 5 times a day half an hour after meals. For diarrhea, 1 full teaspoon of a mixture of blueberry leaves and blueberry berries, rhizomes of foxglove and chamomile flowers in a ratio of 1.5 : 1.5 : 2 : 5 infuse for 6 hours in a glass of cold water, boil for 5 minutes and drink in sips throughout the day. Or take 1 teaspoon of a mixture of blueberry berries, chamomile flowers, Icelandic moss grass and foxglove rhizomes in a ratio of 2.5:2.5:1.5:1.5, infuse for 6 hours in 1 glass of water and use in the same way. Or 1 tablespoon of a mixture of blueberry berries, plantain leaves, snake mustard rhizomes, Icelandic moss grass, foxglove rhizomes and chamomile flowers in a ratio of 1.5: 1.5: 1.5: 1: 1: 1 is boiled for 5 minutes in 1 glass of water and drink in several doses during the day. From a mixture (equally) of blueberry leaves, cold mint leaves, nettle leaves, walnut leaves, take 1 tablespoon of chamomile flowers and foxglove root for one glass of boiling water, infuse for 10 minutes, drink 2-3 glasses a day. With diarrhea, you should follow a proper diet.
For worms, a mixture of 50 g of blueberry berries, oleander root, common tansy flowers (in powder) is used (in proportion) in the morning (on an empty stomach), two times a half dose, after 2 hours.
A decoction of leaves (60 g of leaves in 1 liter of water) is used to make enemas for hemorrhoidal bleeding, a little boiled fresh nun berries are used to make daily compresses, a thick layer, on areas affected by eczema.
Crude juice from the leaves is used to treat scurvy gums, ringworm, and urticaria; mixed with water rinse the mouth and throat. “Wild meat” is sprinkled with blueberry root powder.