Biennial Oslinnik, Or Evening Primrose

Fireweed - Onagraceae. Common names: evening color, evening star, summer star. Pharmacy name: evening primrose leaves - Oenotherae folium (formerly: Folia Oenotherae), evening primrose root - Oenotherae radix (formerly: Radix Oenotherae), evening primrose oil - Oenotherae oleum (formerly: Oleum Oenotherae).

Botanical description. A biennial plant that can reach more than 1 m in height. The erect stem sometimes acquires a reddish tint and is somewhat ribbed in the upper part. The basal leaves are elongated, gradually tapering ovately into a petiole, notched-toothed or almost entire; the leaves sitting on the stem are small. In the axils of the leaves there are fragrant gray-yellow flowers more than 2 cm in diameter with sepals bent back. The ovary is inferior, elongated, develops into an obtuse quadrangular fruit 3 cm long, which contains approximately 200 seeds.

Blooms from June to October. Flowers open most often in the evening and only for one night; They are pollinated by moths. Biennial aspen grass is found in wastelands, along railway embankments and roadsides.

Collection and preparation. The leaves are collected during flowering and air dried, the roots are dug up in the fall. Seeds for fatty oil are collected when they reach full maturity in summer and autumn.

Active ingredients. The leaves contain tannins, the seeds contain unsaturated fatty acids with a very high percentage of γ-linolenic acid (10%), and the roots contain starch, protein and minerals.

Healing action and application. Until recently, evening primrose was not highly regarded. It was not used in official medicine, only in folk medicine the leaves were used in the form of tea against diarrhea. Recently, researchers (D. Horrobin et al.) discovered the high content of y-linolenic acid in the fatty oil of the seeds, and evening primrose immediately became a desirable dietary remedy and a well-known medicinal plant. Because linolenic acid, unlike other unsaturated fatty acids, facilitates our body’s formation of prostaglandins, which are very important for the normal functioning of many organs. Until now, not a single plant is known that contains γ-linolenic acid in such large quantities.

Use of traditional medicine. In folk medicine, tea from evening primrose leaves was only occasionally used as a remedy for diarrhea. Its action is based on tannins, which are found in abundance in evening primrose. The roots are used as a tonic. They are dug up in the fall, when they reach a thickness of 5 cm and a length of 10 cm, cut into circles and prepared from them into a dish with vinegar and oil or stewed in meat broth. This food is said to contain extraordinary power that quickly brings the patient back to his feet. I even came across a message that one pound of evening primrose root gives more strength than a hundredweight of beef. This is undoubtedly a great exaggeration, but it shows how much this root is valued.

Side effects. Since this is not reported anywhere, we can assume that there is nothing to fear about any side effects.