LINDEN —
Tilia cordata Mill.
The Lypovi family is Tliaceae
What does it look like? A long-lived tree with a tent-shaped crown, up to 25 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped, finely toothed, dark green above, bluish below. Flowers are yellowish-white, fragrant, 5-16 in inflorescences with a yellowish-green membranous bract. The fruit is nut-like, reddish-fluffy. Blooms in June – July. Honeysuckle
Where does it grow? Almost throughout the territory of Ukraine — in forests of forest and forest-steppe zones, in parks, along alleys, near estates.
What and when are collected? Flowers with bracts.
When is it used? The flowers contain volatile oil (farnesol, which gives a pleasant smell to flowers and tea from them), flavonoids (hesperetin, rutin, isoquercitrin, hesperidine), a diaphoretic glycoside tiliadin, which acts on all types and possible variants (mutants) of the most pathogenic influenza virus strain A, coumarin, tannins, mucilage, carotene, vitamin C, phytoncides. As a diaphoretic agent for colds, flowers of linden, scepter and black elder are used in a ratio of 5:2:3 and separately. Due to the fact that they contain a lot of mucus, they act as a pain reliever and anticonvulsant (for fainting, headache, hysteria, epilepsy). they are added to other mixtures for diseases of the stomach, liver, intestines, bladder and kidneys, for urolithiasis, pain and cuts in the abdomen, rheumatism.
In the form of tea, it is prepared like this. Take 1 tablespoon of flowers for 1 cup of boiling water and infuse for 10 minutes. Sweetened with honey or sugar, it is drunk hot at night also for flu, cough, measles, mumps. Patients with atherosclerosis are recommended to drink linden tea for a long time, against polyglobulia and excessive blood viscosity; linden blossom is added to the mixture to treat diabetes. A fine powder is prepared from linden coal, which is taken 3-4 teaspoons a day for diarrhea, flatulence, belching, and dysentery. Decoction of lindenflowers are gargled with sore throats. Buds or pulp from the cambium of linden bark (also boiled young bark) crushed to the consistency of dough are applied to burnt places, hemorrhoidal boils, abscesses, compresses are made from them for mastitis, and painful places for gout. Bleeding from the nose (in a lying position) and from wounds is stopped with the dust of powder from seeds (peanuts).
In cosmetics, a steam of crushed linden flowers is used – 2 tablespoons of flowers are infused in 1 cup of boiling water for 20-30 minutes. The drained face is wiped with oily skin. Face masks are made from a thick mass of 1 tablespoon of crushed linden flowers , poured with 0.5 cups of boiling water and boiled for 5 minutes on a low flame, for oily skin – warm, for dry skin – cold. After 15-20 minutes, the mask is removed, the face is washed with water and the dry skin is lubricated with an oily cream.
For oily skin, it is recommended to add some almond bran to linden flowers. Such masks are repeated every other day for 1 month.
And also pay attention to the article Small- leaved linden