Highlander bird, or knotweed

Common Names: Wasteland Grass, Chicken Grass, Knobby Grass.

Parts used: grass.

Pharmacy name: herb mountaineer bird – Polygon! avicularis heiba (formerly: Herba Polygon! avicularis).

Botanical description. The morphological forms of this annual plant are very diverse. Sometimes it spreads along the plane of the soil, almost sticking to the ground, sometimes it just lies, and sometimes its stem rises up – depending on the habitat. In recumbent forms, the stems are thin, in erect forms, they are more powerful and reach 40 cm in height. The branched stem carries alternate, sessile, elliptical or oblong leaves, the length of which ranges from 0.5 to 3 cm. The inconspicuous, funnel-shaped flowers are pinkish-red, white and even greenish. Blooms all summer, from June to August. It grows on gravelly soils in exactly the same way as on fertile arable ones. It can be found on arable land, in yards, on pastures, on roadsides and railroad tracks.

Collection and preparation. Collected during flowering and dried in the shade or in the sun.

active ingredients. Of the many components that make up Knotweed, we are mainly interested in silicic acid, mucus, tannins, flavonoids, and to a lesser extent saponin.

Healing action and application. Knotweed is an ingredient in several teas used for coughs and lung diseases. It is also found in the so-called blood-purifying teas, as it helps regulate metabolism. In scientific medicine, its importance is small, since horsetail is considered the main raw material that serves as a source of silicic acid. The German National Health Service considers mild catarrhs ​​of the respiratory tract and inflammatory changes in the mouth and throat to be likely indications for the use of this plant.

Application in folk medicine. Due to its wide distribution, due to the fact that the old herbalists speak very well of this plant, it is very popular in folk medicine. It is used almost exclusively in the form of tea.

  • Knotweed tea: 2 tablespoons topped with herbs, pour 1/4 liter of cold water and bring to a boil. Then strain.

With course treatment (for skin cleansing, with spring and autumn preventive courses), 2-3 cups should be drunk every day for several weeks. With diarrhea – 3 cups every day, as well as with many other indications that traditional medicine speaks of: cough and hoarseness, rheumatism and gout, diseases of the kidneys and bladder, urinary retention and periodic pain with hemorrhoids. Against these diseases, Sebastian Kneipp also recommends it. Tea is also used externally, in the form of lotions on poorly healing wounds, especially with trophic ulcers.

Side effects are unknown.