Perennial herb starfish (woodlouse)

It is no secret that most plants that we consider useless or even dangerous are used in folk or traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Today we will discuss the inconspicuous herb starlet lanceolate, talk about its distribution, accessories, and also find out whether it is really a medicinal plant.

Description and photo

Let us begin with a description of the star-sprout lanceolate (stile-leaved), we indicate the main differences from other plants of this genus.

If you look at non-flowering grass, then it can be confused with couch grass, which is not only parasitic in the fields and summer cottages, but also widely distributed in the steppe and forest-steppe zones. The star plates of the stars are narrow, lanceolate, painted in green. Young leaves may have a lighter shade. Grow up to 9 cm in length.

The flower has a straight stem, tetrahedral, painted in salad color. The maximum height is 0.6 m. It is a perennial herb.

BudsFrom a distance, the inflorescences may resemble wild chamomile, however, coming closer, you can see that the petals are quite rare, there are gaps between them, which is a distinctive feature of the plant. The flowers have a pure white color, made up of 6-14 petals. The flower is in late spring. The fruit of a star is a box, which has a minimum size - about 5-6 mm.

Quite often starlets are attributed to weeds, as it has a thin, creeping rhizome, which quickly spreads to fairly large areas.

Quite often, the lancet starlet is called mokit, however this is fundamentally not true, since this plant has ovoid leaves and is an annual. The starfish genus includes about 120 species, however, only 50 of them grow on the territory of the Russian Federation. You can confuse different plants for the reason that they have similar inflorescences, so you should always pay attention to the structure of the stem, leaf plates and the “decoration” of the peduncle.

Where is growing?

Now you know that stellate lanceolate and woodlouse have significant differences by which these plants can be distinguished. Next we will talk about where you can find representatives of this kind and what climate and weather conditions for them are preferred.

Above, we wrote that only half of all species can be found on the territory of Russia, so the question arises where this plant is spread. You can meet starlets in central and northern Asia, as well as in Europe. The plant grows in deciduous and mixed forests, so in the steppe part of the country you can see it very rarely. Most often, starburst "settles" near the shrubs, which allow it to receive diffused light.

Beneficial features

Lanceolate starlet has a large number of useful properties.

The green part of the plant helps relieve fatigue in the legs after a working day or strong physical exertion. Also, the plant helps to strengthen the nervous system and "rescues" during PMS (helps with violations of the cycle).

It should be said that the wood louse, the “sister” of the grass we are discussing, also has healing properties: it is not only used for food, as it has a large amount of vitamins, but also helps with ulcers, rashes, bleeding; used to treat cataracts, and also increases the body's resistance to disease.

Do not think that the lanceolate plant is useless, unlike woodlice. Flowers belong to the same genus, so their effect on the human body is very similar.

Use in traditional medicine

Next, we discuss the direct use of herbs for the treatment of diseases.

Starlets will help to cope with the following ailments:

• dizziness;
• weakness;
• anemia;
• osteochondrosis;
• arthritis;
• female problems (erosion, cyst).

In order to cope with the first three ills listed in the list above, we need to prepare an infusion. To do this, we take 25 g of fresh grass and pour it with a liter of boiling water.Next, wait half an hour, filter, add a little boiling water to the previous level and leave to cool.

Take the infusion should be 50 g 3 times a day.

For the treatment of osteochondrosis and arthritis, green grass should be well steamed and applied to the sore spot as a compress. It is better to do everything before bedtime so that the steamed places do not blow.

To solve women's problems take the above infusion, or make a decoction. You can use dried tops, from this radically nothing will change. We will need a few tampons or in extreme cases make them out of cotton. We lower the tampon in the infusion / decoction and place it in the vagina. The course of treatment is 5 days.

Side effects and contraindications

Starfish lanceolate, like woodlice, has both beneficial properties and contraindications.

Firstly, you may be allergic to this plant, so if you find redness, nasal congestion or other allergic reactions, you should immediately stop taking infusions or decoctions, as you can in the worst case get anaphylactic shock, like any other allergen.

Secondly, the herb lowers the pressure well, respectively, is contraindicated in hypotonic patients, who already have very low pressure.

In principle, there are no other contraindications, but it should be understood that the herb is poorly understood and various “side effects” may occur. Therefore, if you feel unwell after consuming plant-based products, you should immediately give them up.

Star Harvesting

In order to procure raw materials for the winter, you need to find a plot where a large amount of this grass grows. At the same time, the site must be located far from the carriageways or plants, otherwise you will get poison instead of medicine.

In all parts of the plant are vitamins and nutrients, but the root can still be removed, so as not to clear it from the ground. After cutting off all the grass, it should be washed in running water and arranged for drying in one row in a ventilated place, protected from sunlight.

After cutting off all the grass, it should be washed in running water and arranged for drying in one row in a ventilated place, protected from sunlight.

Star weed as a weed

At the beginning of the article we talked about the fact that the plant is considered a weed, as its roots quickly spread out and occupy a large area. However, not only the roots of a scary plant.

The fact is that the boxes, which are the fruits of grass, contain about 15 thousand seeds, which are safely sifted out after the fruit bursts. Needless to say, how serious can be the consequences of the fact that such a number of seeds will germinate in the garden or fields with cereals.

Considering the aforesaid, it is very dangerous to plant the plant in the garden plot, as it will parasitize not only you, but also the neighbors, to which the seeds reach.

Starfish - a useful and extremely tenacious plant. Now you know how to use the lanceolate starlet, we compared it with the woodlouse from the photo and described the main differences. You do not need to plant a plant for any needs, because in the forest you can get a better and more environmentally friendly product and at the same time protect your cultivated plants from the invasion of weeds.