Lough, Lokhovina, Lokhovnik, Pshat, wild olive, silver tree, Armenian date - dozens of names, one plant

Shrub with a strange name for our ear is very useful for the human body. And in folk medicine, almost all of its parts are used. Loch - a plant that has many varieties, and they can be found almost all over the world.

Lough: description and meaning of the name of the plant

The etymology of the word is not entirely clear, but in biology there is a whole family of plants called "suckers". In different countries you can find a different name for this plant. So, in Central Asia it is called jigida or djida. In Greece - elaeagnus, which loosely means "Abraham tree of olive". The name pshat is also known, but all these names do not reflect the beneficial properties with which the plant is rich.

Some of its species are evergreen, while others are deciduous. But in most cases they are covered with spines. Branches with light bark covered with alternate silvery leaves with short petioles.Flowers can be solitary, and can grow in bunches, depending on the type of sucker. The form of the flower is four-blade tubular-bell-shaped, without petals with four stamens.

The most valuable in the plant is the fruit. The berry is a drupe with powdery sweet pulp and elliptical bone. It is eaten raw, dried, added to dishes, and medicinal decoctions and infusions are prepared.

Shrubs can be propagated by cuttings, root suckers or seeds. The plant is resistant to drought, unpretentious and at the same time is a magnificent honey plant. Moreover, in places where the silver goof grows, the soil is enriched with nitrogen. On its tubers live colonies of bacteria that contribute to the concentration of nitrogen in the soil.

Popular types of sucker

In total, there are more than 100 types of sucker in the world, which grow in Europe, Japan, and China. However, the following species have taken root in our lane.

Sucker umbrella

Its greatest accumulation is observed in East Asia, because the plant does not tolerate winter. If the temperature at -5 ° C is still experiencing, then at -10 ° C may die. The sucker umbrella in height reaches 4 m, and the crown grows to 160 cm. The leaves are light green, lanceolate. Already in May, it produces yellowish-silver flowers, which attract bees very much - the plant is considered an excellent honey plant.

The first fruits appear on the shrub that has reached the age of nine. They ripen by the fall and are round, not oblong, like most other varieties.

Sucker spiny

Prickly sucker belongs to the evergreen species of shrubs, which grows up to 7 m in height. Its sprawling branches are covered with thick spines, on them grow oblong-elliptical leaves with wavy edges. From below they are silver-brown, and from above - dark green shiny. Sometimes on the branches appear side shoots, which he clings to neighboring plants or objects.Then it develops as a climbing plant.

The flowers of the plant are silvery-white on top, and at the core are golden brown. They grow in bundles of 2-3 pieces and exude a strong aroma. At the end of flowering, they give a greenish-brown fruit at first, which reddens as it ripens. For special beauty and unpretentiousness of his landscape designers revered, using for the formation of hedges.

Loch multicolored

Relatively low, up to 1.5 m in height, shrub that does not have thorns. On brown-red scaly branches grow oval slightly oblong leaves. From above they are silvery-scaly, and from below silvery-brown. In June, covered with yellowish-white flowers in the form of a bell. In August, in their place large red berries are formed on thin long drooping fruit stems. Their pulp is sour, juicy, rich in nutrients such as amino acids, glutamic and aspartic acids, arginine, lysine.

Sucker silver

Homeland shrub is North America. The sucker silver has a description similar to a multi-flowered one. Its branches are not covered with prickles, the young bark has a brown shade, and the old - silver. Leaves are leathery on both sides, but have brown scales underneath. Flowers produces the same color, aroma and melliferous, like other species. They appear in the middle of summer and last for about 20 days. If the shrub is more than 8 years old, at the end of flowering, scaly fruits are tied in their place, which ripen only in September.

The shrub reaches a height of 4 m, tolerates drought worse than the species described above, but is more frost resistant. Feels good in the conditions of the city, but grows very slowly. Thanks to its beautiful fruits and leaves it is widely used in landscape design.

Narrow-leaved sucker

In the wild, this plant can be found on the banks of rivers and lakes of Central and Asia Minor, in Kazakhstan, in the Caucasus, and also in southern Russia. It is also grown as a cultivated plant, however, is called completely different. If you do not understand what a Jida is, you should know that this is precisely this type of sucker.

This is a spreading deciduous shrub that grows up to 10 m in height. It has a red-brown bark covered with silvery scaly hairs. On the branches spines grow up to 3 cm in length and soft lanceolate leaves up to 8 cm in length. From above, they have a light green tint, and from below they are covered with silver-white scales.

The flowers are the same fragrant, but slightly different in color - yellow on the outside and silvery on the inside. Keep also no more than 20 days after the start of flowering. Then the berry is tied, which, as it ripens, changes the silvery shade to a yellowish-brown one.

The narrow-leaved loch has a deep root system, therefore it develops relatively quickly, is drought-resistant, frost-resistant and easily carries polluted air of megacities. Often used as a hedge and in compositions against the backdrop of dark greenery.

The use of sucker in traditional medicine

The plant is known for its astringent properties; therefore, various anti-diarrhea agents are prepared from it. Broths and infusions have a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory effect. They are used in the treatment of worms, inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract. Most often for such purposes use leaves and fruits of a bush.

Also, the sucker perfectly treats colds, its antipyretic properties are especially appreciated. Due to the anti-inflammatory effect, it is successfully used to relieve pain from gout, rheumatism, and radiculitis. In this case, the leaves of the plant make lotions. Decoctions of flowers heal wounds, are used for hypertension, edema, colitis.

But the most valuable and richest part of the plant are its fruits. If you use them raw, you can improve memory, bring the body into a tone and strengthen it.Berries have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. In addition, the fruits have an excellent taste, jams and compotes are prepared from them.

A beautiful plant from oriental gardens has long gained popularity in Europe and other parts of the world. Landscape designers value it for unusual leaves and bright fruits, beekeepers for fragrant flowers rich in nectar, and traditional healers for a huge range of useful substances.

They are treated with diseases of the cardiovascular system, intestines, respiratory tract. The loch is effective in the treatment of hypertension, rheumatic pains, elimination of worms from the body. And the Chinese and Japanese still believe that the Loch is able to return youth to the body.