VERONIKA LIKARSKA —
Veronica officinalis L.
Rannikovi family — Scrophulariaceae
What does it look like? A perennial herbaceous plant 10-30 cm long, with a narrow, branched stem at the base, which forms turf. The stems are covered with thick short hairs. The leaves are narrowed into a short petiole, inverted-ovate, toothed-serrated, slightly rough. Many-flowered, flower-bearing clusters grow from one axil of two opposite leaves. The flowers are pale blue with a purple tint, rarely white. The plant tastes astringent, fresh – odorless, dried – has a pleasant smell. Blooms in June – August.
Where does it grow? Widespread in forest and forest-steppe areas, in Polissia, in the Carpathians; in the south of the Steppe it is found occasionally, in the Crimea – in the mountains. It grows under fences, in groves, among bushes, on the edge of the forest, mainly in coniferous forests, less often in the chernozem strip.
What and when are collected? Flowers with leaves.
When is it used? In the form of tea, it is used for colds, asthma, bronchitis (an expectorant), for diseases of the genitourinary organs (cystitis, sand), for reduced appetite, diarrhea, stomach ulcers, menopause, for high blood pressure, insomnia, nervous exhaustion, rheumatism , aches and pains, as a diaphoretic, with significant exhaustion of the body, especially helps with rashes on the body, eczema, suppurations (pyoderma), as well as with bites of vipers and rabid animals, in addition to preventive vaccinations (due to the synergy of the alkaloid, glycosides of aucubin and veronicin, saponins, volatile oil, bitterness, tannins).
For 1 cup of boiling water, take 1 teaspoon of veronica and infuse for 12 hours. Drink 1-2 glasses a day in sips for stomach disorders and half a glass hot before meals for appetite.
For rashes on the skin (eczema, scrofula, fungal lesions, pyoderma), use a mixture (1 teaspoon each) of veronica , tricolor violet, and sedum grass per 1 cup of boiling water. Drink 4 glasses a day, an hour after a meal (anti-allergic effect). Fresh juice is recommended for gout.
With various types of itching (on the head, body, in the anus), with scabies, an ointment made from 250 g of raw juice is rubbed into the skin (on the head at the roots of the hair). This juice is poured with 250 g of 90% alcohol and infused for 10 days, then filtered through cotton wool, another 250 g of the same alcohol is added to it, filtered again and 10 g of Peruvian balsam (Shostakovski) is added to the filtrate. Before use, the ointment can be diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1:2 and must be shaken. Fresh grass, infused in sunflower oil, heals purulent and contaminated wounds and sunburns on the skin.