Name: Evening primrose two-year-old
Oenothera biennis (Oenothera biennis, synonym — Onagra biennis) ; night candle; family Onagrovyh (Opadgaseae); two-year-old sedge
At the beginning of the 17th century, this plant was brought to Europe from North America as a decorative plant, and later it spread widely. Today, it is often used to create garden compositions. Large, bright yellow, fragrant evening primrose flowers open in the evening.
Evening primrose, as its species epithet indicates, is a biennial, but sometimes also a perennial plant. In the first year of life, a rosette of obovate or lanceolate basal leaves grows. The plant expels the flowering stem in the second year. It is straight, 40-50 cm tall. The flowers are large, yellow, bisexual, single, in the axils of the apical leaves. They bloom in June-July. The fruit is a box. The plant grows in all central and southern regions of Russia, in the northern regions – quite rarely; is in the Far East. Most often, evening primrose grows in wastelands, meadows, fields, as well as on open sands, in the valleys of large rivers, and sometimes on roadsides. You can come across it in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine (along the shores of lakes, rivers and ditches, on sandy and clayey places, forest glades throughout the territory).
Medicinal, food and honey plant. For medicinal purposes, the aerial part is harvested during flowering, sometimes the flowers separately, and the annual roots, which are dug up in the fall. Grass and flowers are dried under shelter in the open air or in ventilated attics. Roots and basal leaves are used fresh. Medicinal raw materials are used only in folk medicine.
Evening primrose leaves are rich in flavonoids, tannins, resins, mucus and other organic compounds. The flowers contain a yellow pigment, and the roots contain mucilage and invert sugars. All parts of the plant have β-sitosterol.
Infusion or tincture of evening primrose is taken internally as an astringent in case of diarrhea accompanied by dehydration of the body, it is especially advisable to treat small children with them. An infusion of the plant herb is also drunk for cough, whooping cough, spastic asthma and urolithiasis. It is used as a means that stimulates the work of the stomach, liver and spleen. Thanks to its soothing properties, the infusion is effective in cardioneurosis. In homeopathy, evening primrose products are prescribed for diarrhea.
The annual roots of the plant, collected in the spring, are peeled and eaten raw with salt, they are added to spring salads, and broths are made from the young basal leaves.
Evening primrose and bees are highly valued: 100 flowers of the plant release up to 315 mg of sugar per day, and honey productivity from 1 hectare of plantations reaches 512 kg. Evening primrose honey is dark yellow with a greenish tint.
Herbal tincture. Crushed raw materials are infused in a ratio of 1:5 on 40% alcohol or vodka. Take 20-30 drops 3-4 times a day for diarrhea.
Herbal infusion. 2 teaspoons of the herb are infused in 250 ml of boiling water for 1 hour, filtered. Drink during the day in equal portions with diarrhea.