Blooming Sally

Ivan-chai is a perennial herbaceous plant. It got its name due to the obvious scope of use. Based on the plant, tea was prepared – a traditional Russian drink. The XNUMXth century is considered the period of the maximum popularity of Ivan-tea. In Rus’, he was no less famous than, for example, Ceylon or Chinese tea. After the revolution, the use of the plant was reduced to a minimum, but recently interest in the mysterious willow tea has begun to grow.

What is a plant and what can be of interest to a modern consumer?

Botanical description

A perennial herbaceous plant, narrow-leaved fireweed reaches from 50 to 200 centimeters in length. The rhizome is formed thick and creeping. Many additional buds form on horizontal/vertical roots. They contribute to the rapid and efficient vegetative reproduction of the plant.

The stem is formed erect, rounded, simple, glabrous and densely leafy. The leaves are alternate, sessile, the development of a very short petiole is permissible. The leaves are pointed, and narrowed towards the base in a wedge-shaped form, less often – rounded. The average length of the leaves reaches from 4 to 12 centimeters, and the width – from 0,7 to 2 centimeters. The edges of the leaves are dotted with glandular-toothed bends, in some cases they develop whole and intact. The shade of the leaves of the plant is dark green with a brilliant sheen, pale pink or purple-red.

Ivan tea flowers are painted in a pale pink or white shade. Their diameter is from 2,5 to 3 centimeters. The petals are collected in a rare apical brush, which can reach from 10 to 45 centimeters. The flowering period falls on the second half of summer and is 1 month. Later, pollen grains form in the flowers.

They take the form of a ball with a diameter of 4 to 8 micrometers. The formed fruit is a fluffy, slightly curved box, the appearance of which resembles a pod. Seeds glabrous, oblong, topped with fine white hairs. Full ripening of fruits occurs in August-September.

Habitat

The plant prefers the Northern Hemisphere. Best of all, it takes root in dry sandy locations, in light forests, in areas of clearing, forest edges. Ivan-chai develops well along railway embankments, ditches, and crops. The plant tolerates an abundance of moisture well and can develop normally on damp soil.

Ivan-chai is the first to colonize the soil after clearing and fires. As soon as other shrubs, trees and plants begin to populate the same soil, willow-herb gradually dies out. It is considered a kind of diagnostic species that indicates the condition and fertility of the earth. Most often grows in combination with raspberry bushes.

Ivan-chai spreads across the lands very simply – its long-haired small seeds are carried by the wind to the most remote corners. Seeds “travel” impressive distances, but remain viable for only a few years.

Brief etymological reference

Ivan tea has more than a dozen alternative names. Here are some of them (according to Annenkov’s botanical dictionary): the Virgin’s herb, boron potion, kouprey, red color, field leukonia, plakun, crayfish, script, fireweed, bastard, tar, steppe, wild violet, mulberry, yarovnik, balnik, cockerel apples , wheatgrass.

Many of the names were formed due to the external identity of willow-tea with other plants. For example, the name “willow-grass” appeared due to the similarity of the leaves, and “fiery grass” – due to the fact that the plant is the first to populate conflagrations. The names “skripun” or “plakun” are also easily explained. When you try to pull the plant out of the soil, a specific sound occurs, which is similar to a squeak. This is due to the friction of the human hand on the stem. Also, the plant was used to make flour – hence the name “bread box” or “miller”. In Rus’, Ivan-tea was used not only in the gastronomic industry. “Wild hemp” willowherb is nicknamed because its stem provides about 15% fiber, like natural flax or hemp. Fabric was made from its stems and strong ropes were twisted. When Ivan-tea blooms, an abundance of fluff is formed. Previously, cotton wool was made from this fluff, pillows or mattresses were stuffed with it, hence another name was formed – “down jacket”.

The chemical composition of raw willow-tea leaves

Useful properties of the plant

Ivan-tea leaves are rich in provitamin A, and the content of ascorbic acid is several times higher than citrus fruits and currants. Both vitamins (A and C) restore and nourish the protective functions of our body, energize and stimulate activity.

Drink from the leaves of willow-tea improves metabolic processes in the body. It accelerates metabolism, helps other foods to be quickly and efficiently absorbed by the body. Moreover, the drink has a powerful antioxidant effect on the human body. It blocks inflammation, helps tissues and mucous membranes recover from the destructive effects of junk food, alcohol, external factors, and the consumption of active medications.

The main advantage of the drink is the absence of caffeine. The sweetish liquid does not have an irritating effect on the central nervous system, but on the contrary, it calms it and brings it into a state of harmony.

Regular use of Ivan tea will improve sleep, reduce anxiety and help achieve the desired balance within yourself.

Another significant plus of a vegetable drink is iron. Particular attention should be paid to this aspect for vegans and vegetarians. The abundance of iron is not typical for plant foods, so you can make up for the lack of a nutrient with a pleasant drink. The composition of the plant also includes vital substances:

• organic acids;
• pectin;
• chlorophyll;
• bioflavonide;
• tannins;
• vitamins;
• tannin;
• nutrients.

How to make Ivan tea

It is best to use a ready-made fermented dry mix. It can be sold both in the gastronomic department and in the pharmacy. Fermented willow-tea leaves contain more beneficial vitamins and nutrients than regular fresh ones. Moreover, the color and taste of the fermented drink is richer and brighter.

Pour a few teaspoons of fermented dry mix with hot water (not boiling water), cover and let steep for at least 10 minutes. During this time, the leaves will give the liquid a taste, color, smell and component composition. After 10 minutes, the drink is ready to drink. To make Ivan tea more saturated and multi-component, add various berries (you can use frozen ones) or other plants (rose hips, mint, sea buckthorn or sage).

Alternative uses for the plant

Ivan-tea gained its popularity thanks to the gastronomic industry. A drink made from its leaves was called “Koporsky tea” and was distributed not only throughout Russia, but also in Europe. Tea was made by fermenting and drying the plant, just like traditional tea leaves. But this is not the only area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbuse of Ivan tea.

honey production

The plant was used to feed cattle. It was served both fresh and stylized. Best fireweed showed itself as a honey plant. This is a specific plant visited by bees to collect nectar, pollen and a special sticky substance from flowers. In the hive, these components are processed by bees into honey, propolis and bee bread. The productivity of the whole hive depends on the quality of the honey plant. Ivan-tea honey productivity reaches 600 kilograms or more from 1 hectare of land. With the age of the plant, the efficiency of honey production gradually decreases and is reduced to a minimum. In the nectar, which is obtained from Ivan-tea, glucose and fructose predominate. The sugar content of honey does not depend directly on the plant, but on weather conditions. Under the condition of average relative humidity and high temperature, the sugar content will be from 4 to 6 milligrams. In cool conditions and high humidity, the sugar content drops to 1-2 milligrams of sugar per flower. The structure of honey is watery-transparent with a barely noticeable greenish tint. The taste is specific, delicate and pleasant. Ready honey gradually crystallizes into large white grains. Ivan-chai is considered the best honey plant among the herbaceous flora of forests.

Domestic and industrial use

Ivan-chai is suitable for fixing soils, ravines, railway / highway embankments. Fireweed fluff, which is formed during the development of flowers, is suitable for stuffing pillows. Previously, scarves were knitted from fireweed fluff, and dense ropes were made from the fibers of the stems.

Phytotherapy (branch of alternative medicine)

Fireweed was used to treat urological diseases. Austrian herbalist Maria Treban in 1983 argued that the most effective cure for prostate diseases is an extract from willow tea. She recommended preparing infusions and soldering them to the patient. Traban argued that such herbal medicine saves from pathologies of any severity, does not cause allergies, complications or adverse reactions. This assumption has not found support in traditional medicine, so drug treatment still prevails over herbal medicine.

In folk medicine, cases of the use of Ivan tea for the treatment of:

• gonorrhea;
• syphilis;
• migraine;
• otitis media;
• stomach ulcers;
• sore throats;
• scrofula;
• epilepsy;
• alcoholic psychoses;
• anemia;
• malignant cancers.

Experimental medicine recognizes the only effect of Ivan tea – sedation. The plant really calms the central nervous system, relieves anxiety and harmonizes the human condition. Decoctions of fireweed angustifolia have an anticonvulsant effect, and their mechanism of action is compared with a light narcotic.

The leaves and flowers of the plant were used for wound healing and anti-inflammatory purposes. Due to tannins and specific mucus, the leaves really softly enveloped the damaged tissue, removed irritation, disinfected and contributed to the speedy regeneration of damaged skin. Herbal medicine involves the use of Ivan tea for the treatment of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and skin diseases. Herbalists believe that the plant blocks not only the effect, but also the cause of the disease.

Alternative medicine methods are not proven drug recommendations. In some cases, a decoction based on willow tea can aggravate the current state of health, provoke swelling, complication or additional inflammation in the body / on the body. In case of serious diseases, it is necessary to consult a doctor and undergo a high-quality therapeutic course, and not engage in home herbal medicine.

Research on the effectiveness of the plant

In the early 70s of the XX century, a group of specialists from the All-Russian Cancer Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences invented the drug “Hanerol”. Ivan-tea inflorescences, which were collected in the phase of mass flowering, were used as raw materials for the medicine. It has been experimentally proven that the plant has cytostatic and hemagglutinating activity (blocks viruses and malignant cells).

At the end of the twentieth century, laboratory studies of the Belarusian Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology proved the ability of willow-tea to suppress the reproduction of the herpes virus in the tissue structure. In the course of the experiment, flower preparations grown in Belarus were used.

In 1997, on the basis of the St. Petersburg Chemical Pharmaceutical Academy, the effect of willow-tea extract on various inflammatory processes inside the body was studied. The experiment was carried out on the control group of animals. It was found that the plant extract blocks swelling, fights allergic reactions and cleanses the internal space of pathogenic microflora. Based on these data, fireweed began to be used in the pharmaceutical industry. The component was added to anti-inflammatory drugs and drugs to inhibit certain groups of viruses.