Chistyak Spring

Chistyak Spring: description, healing properties and application

Spring leaf (Ranunculus ficaria), also known as butterflower, early lettuce or poison leaf, is one of the most prominent spring plants. It belongs to the buttercup family (lat. Ranunculaceae) and has a number of valuable properties and uses in folk medicine.

Botanical description

In early spring, leaves of a basal rosette with a wide sheath, heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, serrated or toothed along the edges, juicy, with an oily shiny surface, develop from the fleshy cone-shaped tubers of the chistyaka. Sometimes they spread out over the surface of the soil like a whole carpet. The weakly branched stem bears larger leaves, similar to the basal leaves. The flowers are located at the ends of the stems, solitary, similar to bright yellow stars, the upper side of the petals is oily and shiny. In the axils of the upper leaves, brood nodules are often formed, which serve for vegetative propagation. As they mature, they fall off and develop into new young plants.

Healing properties

Spring clear contains vitamin C and saponins. Due to the fact that chistyak is one of the first spring plants containing vitamin C, it has long been used as a so-called blood-purifying spring salad. Also, in folk medicine, chistya is used as an independent medicine during courses of treatment to cleanse the blood. Tea from the dried plant is given against skin diseases. This tea is drunk several sips throughout the day to cleanse the skin, and warm baths are also made for individual areas of the skin, diluting it with the same amount of chamomile tea. This combination also helps with hemorrhoids (sitz baths).

Use in folk medicine

In spring, fresh chistyaka grass is used in folk medicine as a salad to replenish vitamin C deficiency, or the juice is squeezed out of it, which is then mixed with milk and taken with spoons. Chistyak is also used to make tea, which is used for skin diseases and to cleanse the blood.

Side effects

Since the fresh plant contains some of the caustic substances characteristic of buttercups, avoid overdose, otherwise irritation of the stomach, intestines and kidneys may occur. Tea made from dried chistyak is less dangerous, since when dried, caustic substances are destroyed and become harmless.

In conclusion, spring guillemot is a valuable plant that can be used as a blood purifying spring salad plant, as well as a medicine in courses of treatment for blood purification and skin diseases. However, it is necessary to be aware of possible side effects and avoid overdose in order to get the maximum benefits from this plant.