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Medicinal properties and use of the common stork
Botanical description of the stork
The stork, or crail, as it is otherwise called, belongs to the genus of annual plants of the geranium family. It has a large number of local names depending on the place of growth. These include such as “bead”, “rake”, “grabel”, “beads”, “small rake”, “needle”, “wild carrot”, “magpie needles”, “worm” and “sock”. The stork is a herbaceous plant with a tap root; prostrate, rough, covered with hairs and branched from the base, the stem reaches no more than sixty centimeters in height; pinnate, alternate, long-petiolate and pubescent leaves have stipules.
Stork flowers have purple or lilac-pink petals, often with pronounced dark veins. The fruit is a compressed-wedge-shaped, pubescent brown achene, ending in a spiral appendage. The plant usually blooms from May to September, the fruit ripens from June to October.
It grows as a weed in fields, near dwellings and roads, in crops of cultivated plants. Prefers sandy soils. Widely found in the Urals, in Siberia, in the European part of the Russian Federation.
Quite often, the stork is confused with Robert’s similar geranium. The differences between geraniums are an unpleasant strong smell, a larger size of leaves and stems. Geranium Roberta prefers damp and damp places.
Collection and Procurement
All aerial parts of the stork, its stem, flowers and leaves are used as medicinal raw materials. Seeds and roots collected in the usual way are used much less frequently. Most often, the grass of a plant is harvested during its flowering period. Do it like this: – the stem of the plant is cut at the level of the basal rosette of leaves; – dry under sheds in the shade, in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C or in rooms with good ventilation.
Properly prepared raw materials are suitable for use for no more than two years.
Medicinal properties and use of stork
As a result of the research, it was possible to find out that preparations prepared from stork grass have a wide spectrum of action. It includes the hemostatic, astringent and anticonvulsant medicinal properties of the plant. Tincture based on the aerial part of the stork, when used internally, has the property of lowering the permeability of the walls of blood vessels, has a pronounced hemostatic effect, calms the central nervous system and the cerebral cortex.
Also, tincture of stork flowers is recommended as a mild sedative for insomnia, especially in children and the elderly, and for washing festering wounds. The stork is also used for the preparation of various cosmetics. A decoction of the plant is widely used in folk medicine to reduce the symptoms of colds, pneumonia, bloating, pleurisy, gynecological diseases, hemorrhoids and angina pectoris. Baths with stork are recommended for the treatment of childhood diathesis, as well as fright and convulsive conditions.
It is known to use dry stork grass in the form of a finely crushed powder for powdering wounds in animals. In addition, the stork has long been considered one of the most useful feed for sheep. It is a good honey plant.
The chemical composition of the stork
In all parts of the plant, a high content of biologically active substances was noted. The leaves and stems contain vitamins, carbohydrates, triterpene saponins and acids of organic origin. The flowers are rich in cyclitols and anthocyanins such as peonidin, malvidin and their derivatives. Stork seeds contain a high percentage of fatty oil.
Stork Recipes
For the treatment of convulsions, bleeding and gynecological diseases, you can use an infusion of stork grass. To prepare it, you need to pour one tablespoon of grass with one glass of boiled water, insist for seven or eight hours, then strain. Such an infusion is taken 4 times a day 0,5 hours before meals, a quarter of a tablespoon. The same infusion is used for washing small wounds.
For quick cleansing of purulent wounds and maturation of boils, it is recommended to prepare an ointment. Two tablespoons of grass are poured with half a glass of melted interior fat, infused for four days, then the mixture is filtered and stored in a cool place.
To relieve convulsive conditions, spasms and epileptic seizures, you can use a special infusion of stork herb. One teaspoon of grass is poured with 1 cup of boiling water, wrapped and infused for about two hours, then filtered. It is recommended to take this decoction 3 times a day before meals, two tablespoons. Also, an infusion of herbs, brewed in large quantities, can be used to prepare baths for children suffering from food allergies, with skin rashes and exudative-catarrhal diathesis.
Lotions for eczema or eye washing with infusion of stork flowers for conjunctivitis have a good effect. Also, this infusion can be used internally to relieve the symptoms of these diseases. To make an infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of flowers with 1 cup of boiling water, soak for 15 minutes in a low-boiling water bath, then remove from heat, leave for about 45 minutes and strain. It is recommended to take the remedy no more than three times a day, two tablespoons.
For the treatment of manifestations of epilepsy, you can use a mixed infusion of stork and angelica herbs. It is prepared as follows: one spoon with the top of stork grass should be poured with one glass of boiling water, wrapped, insisted for about two hours, then strained and taken in a quarter of a spoon, adding 20 drops of infusion of angelica roots (1 grams of carefully chopped roots should be poured with 100 liter of vodka, insist for three weeks in a dark place, shaking regularly, strain when ready).
For colds of the throat, the following infusion of the herb of the plant is recommended for rinsing it. One tablespoon of grass is poured with 300 milliliters of boiling water, infused for 8 or 10 hours, filtered. It is necessary to take the remedy at least 4 times a day for 0,5 cups.
Side effects and contraindications to the use of stork
Despite the wide therapeutic spectrum of the stork, there are contraindications to its use. So, for example, the use of this plant is not recommended for thrombophlebitis and varicose veins, with an increase in blood clotting. It is also not allowed to take drugs from the stork by people suffering from advanced forms of diabetes mellitus and severe hypertension. It is forbidden to use preparations from this plant for the treatment of children under the age of three years.