Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.). ) Wormwood family

Family: Compositae Compositae
Botanical name: Artemisia absinthium L.
Pharmacy: wormwood herb - Absinthii herba (formerly: Herba Absinthii).
generic name: Artemisia (giving health)
Folk names: pelyn, church. wormwood, wormwood, absinthe, swiss tea, vermouth. Absinthium

Planet:- contains the forces of Saturn, Mars, Neptune, the Sun
Zodiac sign: -
Element:- fire
Deities:- Dedicated to John the Baptist
The language of flowers: - bitterness
Basic properties: - protection from damage and evil spirits, spiritual strength, love, summoning spirits.

Description:
Wormwood is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 1 m high, silvery-gray in color, with a strong peculiar smell, with a branched rhizome that develops several tall flowering stems and short leafy stems, as well as basal leaves. The rhizome is short with a taproot branched. Basal and leaves of barren stems are long-petioled, triangular-rounded, thrice pinnate; their lobules are lanceolate, entire, obtuse at the apex; the lower stem leaves of flowering shoots are short-petiolate, alternate, double-pinnate, the middle ones are tripartite, the bracts are three-lobed, and the upper ones are simple, lanceolate. The stems and leaves are silvery-grayish in color from the abundance of silky appressed hairs. The flowers are small, yellow, all tubular, in spherical baskets up to 2.5-3.5 mm in diameter, collected on short branches in one-sided brushes, which, in turn, form a panicle of baskets. The fruit is a brownish achene up to 1 mm long, without a tuft. Blooms in July - August. The plant tastes bitter.

Representatives of the genus wormwood (Artemisia) from the family. Asteraceae (Asteraceae) are widespread in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in its Asian part. Austrian wormwood (Artemisia austrica Jacq), Bitter wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), Lemon wormwood (Artemisia cina Berg ex Poljak), Annual wormwood (Artemisia annua), Medical wormwood (Artimisia absoranum), Black or common wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), Tarragon, aka Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), Tauride wormwood - this is a far from complete list of various wormwoods.

Since both the magical and medicinal properties of wormwood are different, giving this or that property in brackets will indicate which specific wormwood it refers to, if we are not talking about wormwood.

Places of growth:
It grows in the European part of Russia, except for the northern regions, in the Caucasus, in Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, in Ukraine, near housing, along roads, in pastures, in wastelands, in crops, in meadows, along forest edges in the steppe, forest-steppe , less often in forest zones.

Used parts:
Use grass (flowering tops - no more than 25 cm long) and wormwood leaves. Grass is cut during flowering, Leaves and young leafy shoots are collected before flowering. Grass, i.e., flower-bearing tops of stems no more than 25 cm long, are cut during full flowering.

Wormwood blossoms in June - August, fruits ripen in August - September.
Dry raw materials in attics, under sheds or in the air in the shade, laying out a thin layer of 5-7 cm on cloth or paper. Shelf life up to 2 years.

For magical purposes:
Collect in the third phase of the moon, in the evening dew, after sunset.

Wormwood preparations are used for gastritis occurring with low acidity. They are also recommended to increase appetite after suffering debilitating diseases.

Artemisia essential oil is similar to camphor in its stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Bitter chamazulene has the ability to activate the reticuloendothelial system and phagocytic functions, also showing an anti-inflammatory effect. It has found use in the treatment of bronchial asthma, rheumatism, eczema and x-ray burns.

The herb has a phytoncidal effect. Wormwood is a part of gastric drops, stomach tablets, appetizing and choleretic preparations.

Active substances: Wormwood herb contains an essential oil (0.5-2%), which includes 10-25% thujol, up to 10% thujone, pinene, cadinene, phellandrene, caryophyllene, selinene, bisabolene, artabsin and arborescine guayanolides, absinthine and anabsinthine glycosides, aglycone which (artaboin) refers to sesquiterpene lactones and, with appropriate processing, gives chamazulene. In addition - organic acids (succinic, malic), tannins, ascorbic acid, carotene. Esters of thujol alcohol with acetic, isovaleric and palmitic acids; ketolactone A and B, oxylactone, flavonoid artemisetin.

Since ancient times, wormwood has been used in the treatment of malaria. Treatment methods are described in detail by many ancient medical scientists: Hippocrates in the 3rd century BC. and Ibn Sina (Avicena) in the 10th century AD. In Slavic literature, wormwood, as a cure for malaria, is mentioned in the 12th century. in the "Word of Daniil the Sharpener" and in the Russian chronicles of the XIV century, in the book "Sweet Windfall" in 1616, in the dictionary published in 1792 by the Russian Academy - all these sources mention wormwood.

Chernobyl was used for nervous diseases as a sedative, roots - for epilepsy, leaves - as an analgesic and regulating the functional activity of the gastrointestinal tract. It is used as a choleretic, gastric, diuretic, analgesic, sedative and anthelmintic. Its use in perfumery is also known: the essential oil of wormwood was used by Queen Cleopatra to obtain eau de toilette. In the "Herbarium" of Bankes, published in the 18th century, it was noted that "wormwood, if burned, and the ashes collected and ground with vegetable oil, restores hair growth in someone who has already lost them", and in another medieval treatise "Gardens Health, the smoke that rises when this plant is burned smells good and drives snakes out of the house. And in the monastery gardens of Western Europe, wormwood has been grown since the 9th century. It was its leaves that were used to make absinthe (Absinthe from Artemisia absinthium), a bitter liqueur popular in France (and not only in it).

"True wormwood, or vermouth. Saturated with astral light of the lowest quality. Something like the hashish of the West. Suitable for some experiments, and you need to use the flowering tops of the plant and observe the greatest purity in chemical processing" (Sed.)

Wormwood has been used since ancient times as a talisman against dark forces. It was added to potions that protected against witchcraft and lightning, used in medicinal potions for fever, weakening vision.

There is a legend according to which it is necessary on the night before Ivan's Day to dig up the ground at the root of the wormwood, find a coal there and carry it with you. And this very coal will protect you from plague, lightning, malaria and burns. Moreover, information from different sources differs in the time of day for collecting grass: some argue that it is necessary to collect at noon, others at midnight ... "In addition to church incense (an indispensable remedy against all evil spirits), a drug was found that is equivalent to sacred willow and passionate candles weeks, - wormwood is cursed grass. Gathered after Trinity Day until the first roosters. Tore only with your left hand. "

Various sources offer different ways of considering the role of wormwood in magic. But everyone agrees on one thing. This is the most effective remedy against mermaids and similar mythological characters of Slavic folklore. And most often wormwood was used on the Trinity week - during the appearance of mermaids. Wormwood, "damned grass, kneeless", in the fight against mermaids was considered "a drug equivalent to sacred willow and candles of Holy Week", as well as incense. In Russia, in Ukraine, in the Poltava province, in the Kharkov province, and in other cities and villages, wormwood and similar herbs were scattered around the house, placed on windows, thresholds, under the eaves of houses, in order to protect themselves "from mermaids coming out that night from their waters to land", and if "on the green of the holy" they had to spend the night in the open air, they put it under their heads. From the attack of the mermaids they carried wormwood with them; she was thrown into the water, if it did happen to swim. Protecting themselves from mavok, Ukrainian girls wore wormwood in their bosoms; she was woven into braids, believing that then the mermaid would not tickle them. The Bulgarians and Serbs attributed to her the ability to "drive away samodivs, karakondzhuls and disease demons." Interestingly, it was not at all necessary to carry the plant itself; it was believed that even one name of wormwood is enough for the mermaids to run away. In many contexts, wormwood is found not alone, but together with some plant that is either synonymous with it in terms of its purgatory function (dawn, lovage Levisticum officinalis L.), or, on the contrary, attracting mermaids (mint, parsley). And do not forget when meeting with mermaids about the simplest spell. To the mermaid's question, "What are you holding in your hands?" it was supposed to answer "wormwood", - then she would say: "zur tobi, bake tobi! shyn!" and disappear.

In Prussia, Bavaria and other German lands, wormwood was used for the same purposes as mountain ash in Scotland - that is, to protect against witches. Prussian farmers used to stack this herb at driveways and around meadows where cows grazed to protect the animals and their milk from witches. In Japan, residents of a robbed house, finding traces of the robber, burn wormwood on them to stab his legs and prevent him from escaping from the police.

There are also quite a few superstitions associated with wormwood regarding eye care. It was believed that if you look at the flame of a fire lit in honor of the summer solstice through a bunch of wormwood, then this will provide good vision throughout the year. In Germany and Bohemia, young people put on wormwood hats through which they looked at the flames of the Midsummer fires in order to keep their eyes in order until the end of the year. In some sources, wormwood is mentioned in the composition of the potion "against fatigue." Wormwood juice drunk from eggshells or wormwood ointment cooked in pork lard helped with general fatigue. Travelers were advised to put wormwood in their shoes in the morning in order to walk many miles without fatigue.

Wormwood shrub is one of the symbols of love. Its popular names are "young lover", "kiss me soon", "maiden's death". According to another interpretation, wormwood symbolizes old age. Hence another popular name for shrub wormwood is "old man". It is also a sign of humor.

Generic name by the name of Artemisia, the wife of King Mausolus, or from the Greek "artemes" - healthy, unharmed, in connection with the healing properties of the plant; absinthium is the Latinized Greek name for wormwood absinthion, from “a” - not and “psenthos” - pleasure, pleasure, that is, a plant that does not give pleasure due to its bitter taste.

Bitter as wormwood, "wormwood is a bitter herb" - these words, probably, can already be perceived as a stamp. The Latin name for wormwood - Artemisia - the herb of health - was given in honor of Artemis - the goddess of hunting, the moon, fertility, childbearing and healing. There is a legend according to which Artemis, being the patroness of women in childbirth, was the first to use wormwood as a birth aid. Wormwood is one of those mysterious herbs that can be found among the papyri of Ancient Egypt (1550 BC), they knew about it in Ancient Greece, China. The priests of Isis, the goddess of fertility and motherhood, wore wreaths of wormwood on their heads. The ancient Greeks, Arabs and Chinese knew about its beneficial properties. Descriptions of the healing properties of wormwood are found in the oldest written monuments. The Russian name "wormwood" comes from the Slavic "fly" - to burn, again because of the very bitter taste that burns in the mouth. There is also a version that wormwood got its name - pelyn - probably because of the color characteristic of the plant.

The Russian name for wormwood is from the old Russian verb “fly” - to burn (remained in the word “burn”). If you chew a leaf, then in the mouth there will be a feeling for a long time, as if something had singed.

Holy Scripture presents the wickedness and vices of men under the guise of wormwood, as extremely bitter in their consequences (Amos 5:7, 6:12), and depicts the burden of God's punishment, which comprehends every sinful person in the following expression: "Says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel ( about the Jews); behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and I will give them water with gall to drink (Jer 9:15), and in another place St. Jeremiah says: "Think of my suffering and my affliction, of wormwood and bile "(Lamentations 3:19).

A. N. Kupriyanov in his article tells the following legend:
“Once upon a time, two brothers lived in the steppe - Khan Otrok and Khan Syrchan. The Russian prince defeated their army and separated the brothers for a long time. This is narrated by the ancient Volyn Chronicle, skillfully translated into verse by Apollon Maykov. Khan Syrchan sends the singer to return his brother to his native steppe from the mountains of the Caucasus, where he lives in luxury and wealth, and gives the following order: You sing our songs to him, When he doesn’t respond to the song, Tie a steppe yamshan in a bundle And give him - and he will return.
In a footnote to the poem, an explanation is given: "Yemshan is the name of a fragrant grass growing in our steppes, probably wormwood."

In the popular poem of the Middle Ages "On the Properties of Herbs", wormwood is called the mother of numerous herbs and states that "he who has tasted this plant may not at all be afraid of any harmful potion, and not one of the animals will dare to touch it." .

The miraculous properties of wormwood are most vividly depicted in Taoist Chinese mythology, according to which the island of the immortals, Penglai, is a variant of the Taoist paradise. On this island, those who eat wonderful plants with a wonderful aroma become immortal. Interestingly, Penglai is a real area on the Shandong Peninsula in China, where the Lai people lived, and "pen" means wormwood - artemisia.

Bukovinian herbalists revered her as "grass over grass". Obviously, such a high status is due to the magical properties that the plant was endowed with.

Infusion of wormwood herb.
10 g (2 tablespoons) of herbs are placed in an enamel bowl, pour 200 ml (1 glass) of hot water, close the lid and heat in boiled water (in a water bath) for 15 minutes. Then it is cooled for 45 minutes, filtered and the remaining mass is squeezed out. The prepared infusion is diluted with boiled water to an initial volume of 200 ml. The infusion is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days.

Prolonged use of wormwood can cause mild poisoning; in severe cases, poisoning may be accompanied by general toxic phenomena of a central nature with hallucinations and convulsions.

Wormwood is a perennial herbaceous or semi-shrub plant belonging to the Astrov family. Very few species of wormwood are annuals. In Latin, the plant sounds like Artemisia. It is assumed that the word in translation means "healthy". Some researchers believe that the interpretation of the name of the plant is associated with the name of the ancient Greek deity Artemis. The inhabitants of Turkmenistan call it evshan, emshan; Kazakhstan - zhusan.

Appearance

Plant height ranges from 100 to 150 cm. Artemisia root is thick and woody.

The stalk of wormwood is straight, covered with a whitish-silver down. The leaves are large, alternate, pinnately divided. In this case, as a rule, the leaves that are located in the lower part of the plant are quite large. They become smaller as they are located towards the top.

Artemisia flowers are small, reddish, form inflorescences in the form of panicles, which can be either erect or drooping. There are types of wormwood with yellow flowers that look like small balls. Their size is approximately 5 mm in diameter.

The fruit of wormwood is an achene, smooth and small.

Kinds

On the territory of Russia, there are approximately 180 species of wormwood, and in total there are 400 of them.

• Grows in Russia everywhere. A very tall plant - up to 150 cm. The rhizome of this type of wormwood is branched, reddish closer to the stem. The leaves have a dark green color of the upper part, and their inner side is whitish. The flowers of wormwood are very small, pink. Flowering period - June - August. Seeds ripen by September. (photo 1)
• characterized by a tart-bitter aroma, in which there are inclusions of lemon and camphor. This type of wormwood is also called God's tree, in German - Eberreis, Gartenheil, Strangernkraut. Translated from English, it sounds like “southern forest” - Southernwood, “old man” - Old man. The French call wormwood healing - Aurone, Citronelle. Once upon a time, it could be seen in the gardens of peasants or at monasteries. Today it has been forgotten. Southern and South-Eastern Europe, Western and Western Asia - this is the current range of wormwood. Medicinal wormwood is a frost-resistant shrub that reaches 1.5 m in height. If we conditionally divide the plant into three parts, then we will see that it begins to branch in the upper third. The leaves are filigree-pinnate, have a gray-green color, and the flowers are yellow. (photo 2)
• In German it sounds like Absinth, Bitterkraut, Gottvergess, in English - Wormwood, Absinth, in French - Absinthe, Annoise amere. The height of this shrub is 120 cm. It is no coincidence that the plant is called "wormwood". Its taste speaks for itself: it is rightfully considered the most bitter plant in Russia. Wormwood is resistant to drought and frost. Wormwood leaves resemble parsley leaves in their appearance, but their color is silvery gray. Flowers are yellow tubules, which are collected in balls (about 4 mm in diameter), located in one-sided tassels. The flowering period is July-September. (photo 3)
• Tarragon or, as it is also called, tarragon. Despite the fact that tarragon is a kind of wormwood, there is no bitterness in its leaves, so it is widely used in cooking for preservation or as an additive to meat dishes. The aroma of tarragon is a synthesis of vanilla and hay smells. The plant is quite low in comparison with other types of wormwood - only 30 cm. Tarragon flowers are small white stars. In other languages ​​it sounds like this: German - Duftlabkraut, Maiblume, Maikraut; English - Sweet woodruff, French - Asperule odorante, Reine-des-bois. (photo 4)

There are types of wormwood that are very poisonous: Tauride, paniculate.

Where does it grow?

The habitat of wormwood is the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, the northern and southern parts of the African continent, North America. In Russia, wormwood can be found almost everywhere. The most common places are the steppe and desert part of Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus. Wormwood can occupy a vast area of ​​dry, rocky and infertile territory, forming real thickets. This applies to low growing species.

spice making method

Wormwood uses both leaves and flowers. Flowers are harvested before the flowering period, while they are in the bud state. Wormwood is also used in dried form. The most important thing in the process of harvesting raw materials is the collection period. If the plant is cut too late, then during the drying process it will darken, and the inflorescences collected in baskets will simply crumble.

For drying use a dark room with good ventilation. Attics are well suited for this. If the wormwood is dried unfolded, then the layer should be thin. Be sure to turn over the raw materials.

• Wormwood has a unique, slightly bitter smell. He is very strong. It can be characterized by the words "intoxicating and intoxicating."
• Wormwood is a bitter plant. If you pick a sprig of wormwood and crush it a little in your hands, your hands will become bitter.
• The plant propagates by seeds. One plant produces about 100 thousand seeds per summer.

Nutritional value and calories

Raw wormwood calories - 32 kcal

Raw wormwood contains:

• Proteins - 0.33 g
• Fats - 0.52 g
• Carbohydrates - 3.6 g
• Dietary fiber - 3.8 g
• Water - 89 g
• Ash - 2.5 g

You can find out more information about wormwood from an excerpt from the program "Good mood"

Chemical composition

Wormwood grass contains:

• Tannins.
• Mucous and resinous substances.
• Carotene.
• Vitamins C, A, group B.
• Saponins.
• Alkaloids.
• Coumarins.
• Essential oil (cineol, borneol, α-thuyene).
• Macro and microelements: Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mg, Se.

Roots include:

• Tannins and mucous substances
• resins.
• Sahara.
• Essential oil (0.5 - 2%)

Beneficial features

• Wormwood has a positive effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
• It has antiseptic, antipyretic, analgesic properties.
• Strengthens the body.
• Stimulates appetite.
• Calms the nervous system.
• Fights helminths.
• Normalizes sleep and menstrual cycle.
• Has antitussive properties.

Wormwood helps in the treatment of diabetes

Harm

Contraindications

• Pregnancy and lactation.
• Anemia.
• Gastric ulcer, gastritis with low acidity.
• Individual intolerance.
• Various bleeding.
• Period of menstruation in women.

Wormwood can cause allergies, and it can not be taken with low blood clotting, after surgery and abortion

Application

In cooking

• Medicinal wormwood is used to flavor pork and veal dishes. It will not hurt the goose and duck. Since the plant has a very strong odor, it should be used with care. It will add piquancy to sauces, drinks, liqueurs.
• The main use of wormwood is the distillery industry (the most important component of absinthe and vermouth). In very small quantities it is added to meat dishes. Pairs perfectly with roast goose.

Wormwood dumplings - a popular Thai dish

In medicine

As a rule, the above-ground component of wormwood is used for treatment. Tinctures, decoctions, extracts are prepared from it. Internally, you can use wormwood powder (3 times a day for half a gram before meals) and juice (a tablespoon mixed with honey). Only the juice that was squeezed out of the plant before it bloomed is useful.

In cosmetology

• Washing your head with wormwood decoction is useful for oily hair.
• Baths, in which wormwood is added, slow down the aging process of the body.

Wormwood fights hair loss and strengthens hair follicles

cultivation

It will not be difficult to grow wormwood in your backyard, due to the unpretentiousness of this type of plant. Plus, wormwood is frost resistant. Therefore, be sure that your plant will easily survive the most severe winter. Soil fertility is also not of particular importance for sagebrush.

Wormwood propagates by seeds. Perennials can simply be planted out like an ordinary overgrown culture.

But tarragon needs special care. Otherwise, you will get a plant that will not have the unique aroma for which it is valued. The plant should not be watered abundantly, only on dry days it needs to be slightly increased. Beware of stagnant water.

Tarragon is transplanted in spring or autumn. The bush is divided, and after being transplanted, it is well watered. If you decide to plant tarragon with seeds, then they should be planted in early spring and covered with foil. Do not forget about watering and ventilation. Seedlings will appear in 1.5 weeks.

• In ancient times, the Slavs used wormwood to cleanse their inner world and the world of reality from the influence of evil spirits and entities. On the feast of Ivan Kupala, girls wove wreaths from wormwood and guessed about the future.
• Wormwood was used to make the strongest talismans and amulets that could protect the owner from the worst enemies.
• Wormwood elixirs were a love spell and at the same time could cause damage.
• Wormwood was used by fishermen as a means of protection against all water evil spirits: mermaids, water ones.
• A branch of wormwood, placed above the doorway, protected the inhabitants of the dwelling from negativity.
• Queen Cleopatra used wormwood oil as an additive to her toilet waters.
• In ancient times, wormwood was used to dye fabrics.
• Wormwood fumigated hospital rooms during times of fevers and epidemics.

Wormwood, or Chernobyl(lat. Artemisia vulgaris) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family ( Asteraceae).

Description

Wormwood common. Botanical illustration from the book "Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen", 1887

top of a flowering plant

Part of a branch

Perennial herbaceous plant with a cylindrical short multi-headed rhizome and several stems forming a bush. The roots are woody, rather thick. The aerial part of the plant has a "wormwood smell". Stems 50-200 cm high, erect, angular-ribbed, brown-violet, woody below, branched in the upper part. The leaves are large (5-10 cm long), alternate, the terminal segments are wide (2.5-9 mm), two-colored: dark green above, glabrous, lighter below, whitish or grayish cobweb felt; auricles at the base of the leaves are well developed, consisting of 2–5 pairs of lanceolate lobes. The lower leaves are petiolate, the rest are sessile. The bracts are entire. The leaf blades are highly variable.

The flowers are all tubular, very small, numerous, reddish or yellowish, collected 20-40 pieces in baskets, forming a dense long loose paniculate inflorescence. The outer flowers are female, the inner flowers are bisexual. The fruits are flattened, thinly ribbed achenes without a tuft, olive-brown in color.

Chemical composition

Wormwood herb contains an essential oil (up to 0.6%), which includes cineol, borneol and ketone a-thujone. In addition, carotene, thiamine, ascorbic acid, aldehydes, choline, inulin were found in it. The roots contain up to 1% essential oil, mucus, tannins and resinous substances, inulin, fatty oil, sugars; in the leaves - carotene, ascorbic acid (175 mg%).

Spreading

Euro-North Asian view; the range covers Europe, Central and Asia Minor to India, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, the island of Java, introduced into North America. In Russia, it is distributed in the European part, in the Caucasus, in Western and Eastern Siberia, in the Far East.

It is common in all natural and administrative regions of the Saratov Right Bank. Recorded in the Rtishchevsky district near Shuklino station.

Features of biology and ecology

A widespread weed-meadow plant growing along the banks of water bodies, downed meadows, pastures, fallow lands, clearings, damp bushy places, weedy places, along roads, in wastelands, near dwellings.

Blossoms in late July - August, bears fruit in September. Propagated by seeds; one plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds. In addition, it can also reproduce vegetatively, as the plant develops underground stems-rhizomes, which, when divided and cut, are able to take root and give new plants.

Economic importance and application

In medicine

It has been used as a medicinal plant since ancient times. Avicenna also recommended the aerial part for kidney stone disease. The healing properties of this plant were known in ancient Greece (Hippocrates, Dioscorides) and Rome (Pliny, Galen).

The main medicinal raw material is the herb wormwood, which is harvested during the flowering period.

An infusion from the aerial part of the plant is used to stimulate appetite; as an analgesic and sedative for neurasthenia, intestinal colic. It is part of Zdrenko's medicine for the treatment of bladder papillomatosis and anacid gastritis.

In folk medicine, the infusion of the aerial part is used for gastritis, insomnia, convulsions, bronchial asthma; externally - for washing wounds, ulcers. A decoction of the roots is used for leucorrhoea, edema, convulsions of various origins; decoction (on kvass) - for epilepsy, convulsions, round worms. In Russian folk medicine, the aerial part and roots of wormwood were also used as an extract for cancer of the stomach, rectum and uterus.

In foreign medicine, it is used internally as an analgesic, diaphoretic, antihelminthic, sedative and as an appetite enhancer; with kidney stone disease; externally - with rickets, for irrigation of inflamed mucous membranes of the oral cavity, for the treatment of ulcers and long non-healing wounds. The plant is used in homeopathy.

In other areas

Young leaves, stems, flowers of wormwood are used as a spice to improve the taste and flavor of sauces, marinades, meat dishes (especially fatty ones - geese, ducks, pork, lard, fat), tinctures, wines. Powder from dry wormwood grass is added to meat dishes, kept before frying or stewing in wormwood broth or marinade. In some areas, the plant is cultivated as a condiment.

In veterinary medicine, an infusion of the herb is used as an astringent for diarrhea in young animals, as well as for irrigation of mucous membranes, ulcers, and wounds.

Insecticide - repels midges, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, fleas. A decoction of the herb is used to control pests of agricultural plants.

The essential oil is highly valued in the perfume industry and is also used in the food industry.

From the aerial part, you can get a dye that colors fabrics in various shades of green.

The plant is readily eaten by livestock, and high quality silage is obtained from it.

In the past, the Slavs and the peoples of Western Europe had a belief in the magical supernatural properties of this plant. On the eve of the holiday of Ivan Kupala, wreaths were woven from the Chernobyl on the head, and they were also girded with them in order to protect themselves for the whole year ahead from evil spirits, witchcraft and diseases. It was said that sometimes it was enough to pronounce the name of this plant to stop the effect of witchcraft.

Literature

• Grisyuk N. M. and others. Wild food, technical and honey plants of Ukraine / N. M. Grisyuk, I. L. Grinchak, E. Ya. Yelin. - K .: Harvests, 1989. - ISBN 5-337-00334-8. - pp. 107-108
• Gubanov I. A., Kiseleva K. V., Novikov V. S., Tikhomirov V. N. Illustrated guide to plants of Central Russia. Volume 3: Angiosperms (dicotyledonous: dicotyledonous). - M: T-in scientific publications of KMK, Institute of Technological Research, 2004. - P. 346
• Elenevsky A. G., Radygina V. I., Bulany Yu. I. Plants of the Saratov Right Bank (compendium of flora). - Saratov: Sarat Publishing House. pedin-ta, 2000. - ISBN 5-87077-047-5. - p. 71
• Weeds of the USSR. T. IV / ed. B. A. Keller. - L .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1935. - S. 250-251
• Universal encyclopedia of medicinal plants / Comp. I. Putyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - Minsk: Book House; M.: Makhaon, 2000. - S. 238-239
• Flora of Central Russia: Identifier Atlas / Kiseleva K. V., Maiorov S. R., Novikov V. S. Ed. prof. V. S. Novikov. - M.: CJSC "Fiton +", 2010. - S. 518

Rtishchevo and Rtishchevo district in topics
Symbols and awards
People of the city and region
Administrative- territorial division

Wormwood(lat. Artemisia absinthium) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family ( Asteraceae).

Description

Botanical illustration from the book "Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen", 1887

top of a flowering plant

Perennial herbaceous plant, up to 2 m high, with a short, branched, lignified root. Stems are erect, rounded, woody at the base, branched in the upper part. Basal leaves on long petioles, doubly or triply pinnatipartite; lower stem - on shorter petioles, doubly pinnately-separate, middle - sessile, pinnately-separate, upper - trifoliate and simple, entire, lanceolate. Stems, leaves, basket wraps are densely pubescent with short adpressed hairs, so the whole plant has a grayish-silver color.

Flower baskets - small, 2.5-5 mm in diameter, drooping, spherical, collected in dense paniculate inflorescences. Flowers in baskets tubular, yellow. The marginal flowers in each basket are female, the median ones are bisexual. The fruits are brownish, oblong-wedge-shaped finely furrowed achenes up to 1 mm long.

The plant has a characteristic strong spicy odor and a very bitter taste.

Chemical composition

Leaves and flowering leafy tops of wormwood contain bitter sesquiterpene lactones absinthine and anabsinthine, matricine, artabsin, artabine, arabsin; essential oils (up to 2%), consisting of terpenoids (thujone, thujol, azulene, thujol alcohol esters), ascorbic acid, organic acids (malic, acetic, succinic), tannins and other substances.

The essential oil is green-blue in color, poisonous in large quantities due to the presence of thujone in it. The yield of essential oil is from 0.2-0.5% to 0.7-2.0%.

Wormwood contains a significant amount of protein (15.6%), but at the same time quite a lot of fiber (34.1%).

Spreading

A plant with a vast range covering the whole of Europe, Kazakhstan, Central and Asia Minor to India and Mongolia, North Africa and North America. In Russia, it is distributed throughout almost the entire territory of the European part, in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Western Siberia.

It is common in all natural and administrative regions of the Saratov Right Bank. In the Rtishchevsky district, it was noted near the Tretiak grove, in the vicinity of the village of Svishchevka.

Features of biology and ecology

A typical ruderal plant. Grows in wastelands, landfills, other garbage places, dry meadows, open slopes, downed steppes, pastures, fallow lands, near housing and livestock buildings, along roadsides and forest edges, less often in crops. On chernozems and dark chestnut soils, it is often the predominant plant.

Propagated mainly by seeds, as well as vegetatively by adventitious buds formed on the root collar in the first year of life; in the second year they give new shoots that begin to bloom and bear fruit the next year. Blossoms in July-August, seeds ripen in August-September. One plant produces up to 100,000 seeds over the summer.

Economic importance and application

In medicine

Wormwood has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Pliny wrote that a traveler who has wormwood with him will not feel tired on a long journey. Avicenna recommended it for seasickness. In Rus', as early as the 17th century, wormwood juice was considered a good wound healing agent.

Medicinal raw material is the herb wormwood. Grass is harvested during the flowering period of the plant.

The aerial part is used as an infusion, tincture, thick extract, as a bitter to stimulate appetite and improve digestion. Part of a delicious collection. The drug "Hamazulan" obtained from wormwood is used as an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of bronchial asthma, rheumatism, eczema, x-ray burns.

In folk medicine, infusion, tincture (inside) is used for gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, enterocolitis, liver and kidney diseases, anemia, ascariasis, insomnia, rheumatism, anemia, obesity, flatulence, migraine, pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension, with fever, edema, hemorrhoids, bad breath, epilepsy, leucorrhea, neurasthenia, paralysis, gout, heartburn, cholera, for the treatment of alcoholism, with frequent fainting, shortness of breath, insect bites; externally (compresses, lotions) - for diseases of the joints, eyes, bruises; in the form of an ointment - for the treatment of wounds, ulcers, frostbite, burns, fistulas; in the form of enemas - against round worms.

Juice is used to stimulate appetite and enhance the activity of the digestive tract. It regulates the work of the pancreas and stomach, normalizes acidity, enhances bile secretion, relieves bloating and catarrhal phenomena in the stomach, inflammation in the caecum, eliminates spasm of the large intestine.

Wormwood grass is a part of appetizing, choleretic and other fees.

Wormwood is included in the pharmacopoeias of more than 20 countries. Used in homeopathy.

In other areas

It has been cultivated in monastery gardens since the 9th century. In Western Europe and America, it is cultivated for the pharmaceutical and alcoholic beverage industries.

In the distillery industry, essential oil is used to flavor vodka, absinthe, vermouth, and the aerial part is used to make chartreuse and pepper vodka. Long-term use of wormwood tinctures and vodkas can cause the so-called wormwood epilepsy, so the production of absinthe is prohibited in Western Europe.

Wormwood powder is used as a seasoning for salads, meat, fish sauces.

Pale yellow, lemon, dark green, dark blue dyes are obtained from the plant.

The decoction is an insecticide against gooseberry and currant moth, apple codling moth, sucker, flower beetle. The smell of the plant repels clothes moth, ants, fleas, cockroaches.

In beekeeping, it is used to combat bee theft and contagious diseases of bees - nosematosis.

Domestic animals do not eat it; from spring or with a lack of feed, sheep and cows eat only leaves and inflorescences. B, in significant quantities gives milk and butter from it an unpleasant odor and a bitter taste. Hay from this wormwood is rather readily eaten by rabbits.

In veterinary medicine, it is used in small doses as an appetite enhancer and improves digestion.

In Rus', wormwood was considered a ritual plant. At the beginning of summer, the Semik holiday was celebrated. On this day, the youth "chased mermaids." The girls wore wormwood under their armpits all day to protect them from witches and mermaids. Seeing a girl with disheveled hair, to her question: “What do you have in your hands?” you can’t answer “mint” or “parsley”, otherwise the mermaid will tickle to death. You need to say "wormwood" - and the mermaid will immediately disappear. In addition, on this holiday, wormwood served as a love potion, it was only necessary to whip the chosen one with stalks of wormwood during the games.

In Belarus, it was believed that a bunch of wormwood, suspended above the doors of the house, protected its inhabitants from witchcraft. And in Russia, for the same purposes, houses and stables were fumigated with wormwood for Christmas or New Year. For this, wormwood was plucked only on the Assumption, on August 28, consecrated in the church and stored until needed.

Wormwood is considered the strongest bitterness, it is not for nothing that the people also call it widow's grass, comparing its bitterness with the bitter widow's share.

Literature

• Gubanov I. A., Kiseleva K. V., Novikov V. S., Tikhomirov V. N. Illustrated guide to plants of Central Russia. Volume 3: Angiosperms (dicotyledonous: dicotyledonous). - M: T-in scientific publications of KMK, Institute of Technological Research, 2004. - P. 335
• Elenevsky A. G., Radygina V. I., Bulany Yu. I. Plants of the Saratov Right Bank (compendium of flora). - Saratov: Sarat Publishing House. pedin-ta, 2000. - ISBN 5-87077-047-5. - p. 70
• Forage plants of hayfields and pastures of the USSR / ed. prof. I. V. Larina. - T. III Dicotyledons (Geraniums - Compositae). - M., L.: State publishing house of agricultural literature, 1956. - S. 483-486
• Weeds of the USSR. T. IV / ed. B. A. Keller. - L .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1935. - S. 252-253
• Universal encyclopedia of medicinal plants / Comp. I. Putyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - Minsk: Book House; M.: Makhaon, 2000. - S. 236-238
• Flora of Central Russia: Identifier Atlas / Kiseleva K. V., Maiorov S. R., Novikov V. S. Ed. prof. V. S. Novikov. - M.: CJSC "Fiton +", 2010. - S. 516

Rtishchevo and Rtishchevo district in topics
Symbols and awards
People of the city and region
Administrative- territorial division

3 sagebrush

4 absinthiatus

5 absinthium

6 ambrosia

7 botrys

8 colocynthis

9 absinthium

10 Ars longa, vita brevis

Much has been said about what vaudeville is, but no one has yet bothered to realize what a vaudeville player is. Yes, the vaudevillian is still one of those unsolved problems over which humanity is vainly racking its brains. Ars longa, vita brevis: a bitter thought! But take comfort: if there are still many unresolved issues in the area under our jurisdiction, then there are many people who are able to resolve such issues. (V. G. Belinsky, Reviews and notes. April - September 1836.)

The drama "The Corpse" ("The Living Corpse") has only been sketched by me in rough outline, and I will hardly soon or someday take up it, as I am still weak from illness, and I still want to do more important and necessary things. Ars longa, and vita, especially at 74, very brevis. (LN Tolstoy, Creative process.)

At one time it was fashionable for us to send teachers of ancient languages ​​from Bohemia and Galicia. It is known that one of them translated the famous saying of Seneca [ Mikhailovsky's mistake. - auth. ] - ars longa, vita brevis - like this: the thing is long, the stomach is short. (N. K. Mikhailovsky, Responses.)

In the medieval legend [about Dr. Faust] expressed all the anxious and tireless hunger for knowledge, innate in man, and all the sorrow for his own imperfection, expressed only in a hint of the proverb: ars longa, vita brevis. (M. L. Mikhailov, "Faust", Goethe's tragedy,.)

The blow against the prince of physicians, with which he began, was only a mockery of Hippocrates' bitter complaint that ars longa and vita brevis. “Life is short,” exclaimed the father, “and the art of healing takes a long time. (Lawrence Stern, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.)

11 Dulc(e) et decórum(e)st pro patriá mori

It is sweet and honorable to die for the motherland.

Horace, "Odes", III, 2, 13-16:

Dulc(e) et decórum(e)st pro patriá mori.

Mors ét fugácem persequitur virum,

Póplitibus timidóque tergo.

Red and sweet death for the fatherland! And death strikes in the same way the running one And does not spare the spin and hamstrings of the youth who trembled.

(Translated by A. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky)

He [Christ] would have held the hand of Zand if he had been his comrade, but would have shamed the one who did not correct, but ridiculed only his compatriots, for even not knowing Horace, he said: It is good to lay down our souls for the brethren (dulce est propatria mori ). (A. I. Turgenev - P. A. Vyazemsky, 7.V 1819.)

In folk songs and sayings every now and then we find such definitions as “my dear sweet”, “bitter minute”, “the weather has become sour”, “you got salty”, “you earn bitterly, eat sweetly”. We observe the same in other languages: it will suffice to recall the Latin "dulce et decorum pro patria mori". (Ivan Franko, From the secrets of poetic creativity.)

If you like Latin so much, I will recite a few lines from Horace that can inspire courage even in a coward:

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori:

Poplitibus timidoque tergo. Translate, please, - said: Partridge. - Horace is a difficult author, I don't understand him by ear. (Henry Fielding, The Story of Tom Jones Foundling.)

12 Obligatio impossibilium

An obligation that cannot be fulfilled.

Only bitter fate forces the peasant owner to take on piecework that is unprofitable for him on impossible conditions, close to obligatio impossibilium. For the most part, the peasant here is involuntarily the violator of the contract. (Russian Thought, 1907.)

13 cina

See also other dictionaries:

Wormwood- General view of adults ... Wikipedia

Wormwood- (white wormwood, field wormwood, real wormwood) - Artimisia absinthium L. Compositae family. Perennial grayish silvery from dense adpressed pubescence, herbaceous plant 50-100 cm high, with a strong peculiar smell. Rhizome ... ... Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants

Wormwood- an essential plant with small baskets of flowers, the leaves and stems of which contain essential oil, vitamin C, phytoncides, a small amount of tannins. Dictionary of culinary terms. 2012 ... Culinary Dictionary

WORMWOOD)- Cuisine: Cuisine of the Maghreb countries Type of dish: Main courses Cooking recipe … Encyclopedia of culinary recipes

wormwood- kartusis kietis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Astrinių šeimos prieskoninis, vaistinis nuodingas augalas (Artemisia absinthium), paplitęs Europoje ir Azijoje. Naudojamas maisto priedams (kvėpikliams) gaminti. atitikmenys: lot. Artemisia… … Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

Wormwood- Means bitterness, disappointment and torment; Dedicated to Ares (Mars) ... Symbol Dictionary