An annual herbaceous plant with ascending tetrahedral stems and a creeping rhizome. Leaves lanceolate, sessile, arranged in whorls of 6-8. The flowers are small, white, in semi-umbrellas; corolla lobes obtuse, fused to the middle, lanceolate, slightly recurved; 4 stamens adhering to the corolla tube. The fruit is dry, spreading into 2 nuts. Blooms in May-June.
The whole plant smells like coumarin or fresh hay. It grows in shady forests, thickets, on damp humus soil. It occurs in the middle zone of the European part of Russia, in all regions of the North Caucasus.
Medicinal raw material is the aerial part of the plant. Collect grass in dry weather during flowering, dry quickly (so as not to turn black) and store in a dry place. However, even with proper drying, the grass still darkens a little, only partially retaining its green color. The dry plant smells like coumarin. The raw material contains coumarin glycoside, essential oil, bitter and tannins, resins.
A decoction of the herb has a slightly laxative and mainly diuretic property, it also helps to dissolve sand and stones in the bile ducts, gallbladder and kidneys. The infusion is used for neurasthenia, insomnia, palpitations, diarrhea, kidney stone disease, as a diuretic for edema and dropsy. Outwardly, festering wounds, ulcers are washed with infusion, compresses are put on abscesses and with some other skin diseases.
Application
Decoction: 10-15 g of chopped herbs in 5 glasses of water, boil for 3-5 minutes and drink half a glass 3-4 times every day, also add to other medicinal products that improve metabolism.
Infusion 1: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of dry chopped grass is poured with a glass of boiling water, allowed to cool, filtered and drunk 1 tbsp. spoon 3-4 times every day.
Infusion 2: 10-15 g per 1 liter of boiling water, drink half a glass of warm 3-4 times every day – for diseases of the liver and gallbladder, etc., and at night, before going to bed, 1 glass as a sedative.