Gorichnik Russian – Peucedanum ruthenicum В i e b. The Ukrainian name is sovd ruska.
Umbelliferae family – Apiaceae (Umbelliferae).
The roots are used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs in the south of the forest-steppe and steppe zones, more often in the southeast. It grows on the slopes of gullies and river valleys, among steppe shrubs, on steppe forest edges and glades, sometimes on roadsides, barrows, cemeteries. Usually forms small groups, sometimes thickets. Preparations are possible in Voroshilovgrad, Donetsk, partly in Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.
Stocks of raw materials are small (a few centners of roots can be harvested annually), but there is a tendency to reduce them due to the plowing of the remaining steppe areas.
Russian gorichnik is a perennial herbaceous plant. From short rhizomes with remnants of leaf petioles, thick, taproot, slightly branched roots depart. Stem one (rarely several), erect, furrowed, branched above, 50-20 cm high. Basal and lower stem leaves are long-petiolate; medium – smaller in size, with short petioles, having sheaths, less complex; the upper ones consist only of the vagina. Inflorescence – an umbrella at the top of the stem and its branches, reaches 18 cm in diameter. Flowers small, yellow. Fruits are flat, elongated or oval. Blooms in June – July. The fruits ripen in August – September.
Harvesting of mountain hornwort, which is found in the same areas as Russian hornywort, mainly on the second river terraces, is not allowed. Outwardly, they are easy to distinguish.
The roots are harvested during the dormant period – early in the spring before regrowth (April) or in the fall after the death of the aerial parts (October), digging with shovels. Then they shake off the ground, cut off the aerial parts and cut the roots into pieces.
After drying in the open air, they are dried in attics under an iron roof or in dryers at a temperature of 40-50°, spreading a thin layer (3-5 cm) on cloth or sieves.
According to FS 42-538-72, raw materials consist of whole roots or their pieces, sometimes cut lengthwise. The roots are cylindrical, tuberous, woody, 7-30 cm long and 0.8-7.5 cm thick, light yellow at the break, with black, peeling bark in places and a few tubercles of dead lateral roots. The smell is strong, characteristic. The taste is slightly bitter. Humidity is not higher than 13%. In raw materials, no more than 2% organic and 1% mineral impurities are allowed. Ash content should not exceed 19%, and peucedanin should not be less than 1.5%.
Raw materials are packed in double bags up to 20 kg and bales of 50 kg. Store in dry, well-ventilated areas on racks or storage boxes. Storage period 2 years.
Dry roots contain furocoumarin, peucedanin. The latter is used for the complex treatment of malignant neoplasms. Currently used to treat vitiligo and circular baldness.