Marsh cudweed (Gnaphalium uliginosum L.)

Marsh cudweed is an annual low plant representing the Compositae family. Other names: marsh, voloshka, toad grass, frog, cut grass.

Description:

Low (5-20 cm in height) gray-felt annual herbaceous plant with prostrate-branched from the very base or from the middle of the stem and with a thin root. The leaves are linear, up to 4 cm long and within 0.5 cm wide, narrowed towards the base, entire. The entire inflorescence is covered with ragged felt and consists of small (3, 3.5 mm wide) baskets and branches collected in a head. The heads below are surrounded by twisted longish upper leaves, radiantly arranged, exceeding the inflorescence. The involucre consists of several rows of imbricate, scaly leaflets; external – woolly at the base, bare, brown, shiny, obtuse above, internal – linear, sharp. Flowers tubular, very small, yellowish white; achenes within 1 mm in length with a tuft of serrated hairs. Blooms in June-September. Cudweed grows in the fields,

Harvesting, description of raw materials:

In medicine, the herb cudweed marsh is used – Herba Gnaphalii uliginosi, which is collected together with thin roots, shaken off the ground and dried. Due to the fact that the plant has dense pubescence, drying in the sun is allowed. The raw material consists of plants with flowers and fruits of the described structure. The smell is weak, the taste is salty.

Contains active substances:

The chemical composition of the herb is little studied. Carotene, some tannins, essential oils, resins, traces of alkaloids and ascorbic acid, etc. were found. The active substances were not identified.

Medicinal use:

Cudweed preparations are used in the initial stage of hypertension, in the treatment of patients with peptic ulcer, externally for difficult-to-heal wounds, ulcers, burns. Oil extracts from the herb, used in the form of dressings, promote the regeneration of damaged tissues. With peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, decoctions of cudweed grass with cyanosis rhizomes are especially indicated. for the treatment of wounds, for douching, rinsing; with tuberculosis, they drink a decoction of the herb.

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