Veselka zvichaina – common veselka

Vesnivka dvolista – two-leafed miner

Name: Vesn_vka dvolista – two-leafed hairdresser

Maianthemum bifolium; hare’s blood, hare’s ears, hare’s salt, hare’s flower, winterwort, mouse lily of the valley; Lily family (Liliaceae); two-leafed owner

 

In the second half of May, a low, fragile, very interesting plant appears in coniferous, mixed and, less often, broad-leaved forests, a kind of lily of the valley in miniature. If we take a closer look at it, we will see that the leaves are not quite the same, and the flowers are smaller, and they are located somewhat differently than in the lily of the valley. This is a double-leaved evening primrose, a herbaceous perennial rhizomatous plant, a really close relative of the lily of the valley. Its height (together with the peduncle) is 10-25 cm. The rhizome is creeping, the leaves are heart-shaped and ovate. There are 1 leaves on vegetative shoots, and 2 (rarely 3) leaves on flower stalks. This is where the species epithet – bifoliate comes from. The flowers are small, white, about 5 mm in diameter, bell-shaped. They bloom from the second half of May to the first decade of June. The fruit is a red berry. It is common in the forest zone from the western borders of Russia to Kamchatka. It is well known in Eastern Siberia, where the local population collects it as a medicinal plant. Grows throughout the territory of Ukraine.

The aerial part of the plant is harvested during the flowering period. The collected raw materials are quickly dried in warm, ventilated rooms or outdoors in the shade. Sometimes the fruits are collected and the rhizomes are performed. Fruits and rhizomes are dried in a generally accepted way.

The grass, rhizomes and berries of freckle contain cardiac glycosides similar to glycosides of lily of the valley and digitalis, saponins, esters, organic acids and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

Herbal decoctions and water infusions from it are used by folk healers to treat dropsy, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, and also as an antipyretic for colds. Externally, plant products are prescribed for abscesses and clogged areas. It is better to use fresh crushed leaves to treat clogged areas. The dosage of decoctions and infusions is the same as in lily of the valley.

Freckle berries are rarely used, as they cause a person to have a strong heartbeat and shortness of breath. However, birds, in particular grouse, willingly eat them and spread the seeds without any harm to themselves.