stepping stone (Bryonia alba L.)

White stepping stone is a herbaceous perennial plant from the Cucurbitaceae family. Other names: Adam’s root, white bryony, snake grass, white mippitz, paralytic turnip, overstep, white-colored overstep,

Description:

Herbaceous perennial with a characteristic turnip-thickened or oblong main root and lateral roots. Stem, up to 4 m long, climbing with the help of long, unbranched, curling tendrils, faceted, leafy, glabrous at the base, covered above with short stiff hairs. The leaves are alternate, relatively large, 5.5-17 cm long, longer than their width, palmate-lobed with almost triangular large-toothed lobes, and the middle lobe is longer, at the base with a deep semicircular notch, rough-pilose from short, light, hard hairs, on petioles, which shorter than leaf blades. The lower inflorescences are staminate, racemes on long peduncles, bearing no more than 10 flowers, the upper ones are pistillate, on short peduncles, in corymbs. The flowers at the foot are small, yellowish-green, bell-shaped, five-lobed. The fruit is black, spherical, berry with green flesh. The stepping stone blooms in June-July. The white stepping stone is bred in gardens and parks, runs wild. Occurs occasionally.

Workpiece:

In medicine, the root of the step is used – Radix Bryoniae, which is dug up before flowering plants, cleaned from the ground, washed with water and cut into pieces along before drying. Dry in attics. Fresh foot roots are also used.

Contains active substances:

The root of the foot contains the glycosides brionin and brionidine. Brionin has an irritating effect. It is used in the form of a tincture as an analgesic for gouty and rheumatic arthritis, with intercostal neuralgia. Stepping stones are widely used in homeopathy.

Medicinal use:

In folk medicine, a decoction of the root of the foot is drunk for epilepsy; with a sore throat, drink one teaspoon and gargle; rinse sick teeth; the steamed root is applied to boils, abscesses (it is believed that it “expels boils out”); used for inflammation of the inner ear; a decoction of grass is applied to a sore throat; the step is drunk for malaria; The root is used as a laxative.