Watercress luchna (Cardamine pratensis); meadow core
Perennial herbaceous glabrous, sometimes sparsely pubescent plant of the cruciferous family. The stem is erect, rounded, hollow, 20-30 cm high. Leaves pinnate; the leaves of the upper stem leaves are narrowly elongated or linear, the lower stem and basal leaves (collected in a rosette) are mostly round-reniform. Flowers bisexual, regular, 4-petalled, in apical racemes; petals 10-12 mm long, purple-pink, rarely white, with darker veins, three times longer than the sepals; anthers of stamens are yellow. The fruit is a pod. Blooms in May – June.
Distribution . Meadow chervil grows mainly in the northern regions of Polissia on the shores of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams, near swamps, on flooded meadows, in wet forests.
Raw. Fresh grass (tops of stems with flowers) is used to make medicine. The plant is unofficial.
Chemical composition . The grass of the watercress contains the glycoside glucocochlearin, ascorbic acid (160-313 mg %) and other compounds. The flowers contain gluconasturcin and the enzyme myrosin.
Pharmacological properties and use . Cloudberry has diuretic, choleretic, sedative and anthelmintic properties. People use this plant for dropsy, jaundice, colds, pneumonia and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, and nervous diseases accompanied by convulsions and hysterical fits. Salads made from young basal leaves of plants are included in the therapeutic and preventive diet. Dried leaves are used to season soups and instead of pepper. The leaves are salted and pickled.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – infusion (1 tablespoon of fresh grass per 200 ml of boiling water, infuse for 2 hours, strain) for a quarter of a glass 4 times a day;
salad: boiled potatoes cut into parts are sprinkled with washed and chopped watercress leaves and onions, spices are added, mixed and dressed with cream (for 100 g of young watercress leaves, take 100 g of potatoes, 20 g of onion, 20 g of cream or mayonnaise, salt, vinegar and pepper .