Name: Zimolyubka umbrella
Protected.
Wintergreen – Pyrolaceae.
Parts used: grass.
Pharmacy name: winter-loving herb – Chimaphilae herba (formerly: Herba Chimaphilae).
Botanical description. Perennial subshrub, 25 cm tall, with a creeping rhizome and a ribbed, woody stem at the base. The leaves are evergreen, leathery, dark green above, light below. They have an elongated or ovoid shape and a serrated edge. Flowers are collected 2-7 in an umbellate inflorescence. Each individual flower is drooping, pink-red, shaped like a very wide, almost flat bell. Blooms from June to August. It occurs quite infrequently. Winterlover can be found in dry pine forests on sandy soil, where it grows in large clusters.
Collection and preparation. Collect grass during flowering. Dry in a ventilated place.
active substances. Arbutin (hydroquinone-glycoside), urson (bitterness), tannins and salicylic acid methyl ester are the most important active ingredients of this plant.
Healing action and application. And systematically, and in terms of the healing effect, winter-loving is very close to bearberry. Due to the presence of arbutin, it is used, like bearberry leaves, to disinfect the urinary tract. It works especially well with an alkaline reaction of urine (normally, the reaction of urine is acidic. – Per.), Because then the breakdown of arbutin begins quickly and continues for a long time with the release of the actual disinfectant active substance – hydroquinone. Winter-loving is also used as a tonic.
- Winter-loving tea: Pour 2 teaspoons with the top of chopped dry grass: D l of cold water and, stirring occasionally, let it brew for 12-24 hours, strain and heat a little. In acute catarrh of the bladder, at least 1/g l of this tea should be drunk every day (more is better). With cold infusion, tannins are practically not extracted, which avoids stomach irritation in babies and sensitive patients.
Use in homeopathy. The homeopathic remedy Chimaphik umbellate is prepared from fresh flowering plants. It is recommended for chronic inflammation of the bladder and kidneys with foul-smelling urine and mucopurulent urine sediment. You can try it for diseases of the prostate gland. Usually, winter-loving is prescribed in the form of an initial tincture and in dilution D 1 several times every day, 5-10 drops.
Application in folk medicine. Where this plant is found, it is used for inflammation of the bladder, pain in the kidneys and dropsy. In case of kidney disease, be sure to consult a doctor. Side effects in the above preparation of tea can not be feared.