Common name: goat tree.
Parts Used: Compound leaflets.
Pharmacy name: ash leaves – Fraxini folium (formerly: Folia Fraxini).
Botanical description. This is a tree reaching a height of 30 m. It is easily recognized by black dots and pinnate leaves. Leaves, consisting of 7-13 leaflets, opposite, cruciformly alternating on the branches, develop only after flowering. The flowers are collected in bunches, most often they have neither a calyx nor a corolla, but their red stamens are very noticeable. Fruits with a lionfish tongue are collected in hanging panicles. Blooms in April. Found throughout Europe, traditionally in wet habitats, along rivers and streams, in wet forests from plains to mountains of medium height.
Collection and preparation. Collect young, but already fully developed leaves. The leaves are carefully separated from the midrib before drying. Drying should be done in the shade. When using an artificial heat source, the temperature must not exceed 40 °C.
Active ingredients: rutin, quercitrin and other flavonoids, coumarins, bitters, resin, gums, tannins and essential oil.
Healing action and application. Ash leaf tea has a slight diuretic effect and is used against water retention in the body. The diseased kidneys, which often cause such a delay, are slightly activated, but not irritated. In folk medicine, this tea is also used for rheumatism and gout. Ash leaves are added to a variety of teas to purify the blood, as they are credited with a slight laxative effect.
- Ash leaf tea: Pour 2 teaspoons with the top of the leaves into 1/4 liter of cold water, heat to a boil and let it boil for 3 minutes. After straining and cooling to a temperature acceptable for drinking, the tea is ready to drink. Dosage: 3 cups every day. For rheumatism and gout, a course of treatment should be carried out: 2 cups of tea every day, at least 14 days.
Side effects are unknown.