Hornbeam Elm.

Hornbeam Elm

A tree of the elm family up to 25 m high. The bark is light brown, yellow-brown on young shoots. The leaves are alternate, large, ellipsoid, with serrated edges.

The flowers are small, greenish-yellow, collected in a raceme. Blooms in March - April. The fruit is a nut enclosed in a membranous lionfish.

Hornbeam elm is common in the European part of Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Grows in open flat areas, edges of deciduous forests, along mountain slopes and gorges; along rivers it can form forests and small groves. It rises into the mountains to a height of up to 600 m above sea level.

Wood is used as a valuable material for the production of furniture and plywood.

The bast of the tree is used to make ropes and mats. Young shoots dye silk crimson and yellow and are also used for leather.

Leaves, branches and buds are used to feed livestock. Hornbeam elm is a good honey plant.

The bark and leaves serve as medicinal raw materials.

The bark is harvested when trees are cut down. Remove it with a special knife or shovel curved in the shape of a semicircle. The crushed raw materials are dried in the sun and dried in a dryer at a temperature of 6O. 7О°С. The leaves are collected in the first half of summer in dry weather. Dry in the shade, turning occasionally.

Store in bags or closed wooden containers for 2 years.

Visa bark contains triterpenoids (friedelin), steroids (dehydroergosterol, dihydroergosterol), phenolcarboxylic acids, catechins, tannins and leukoanthocyanidins. Vitamin C, phenolcarboxylic acids, flavonoids (rutin, kaempferol), derivatives of leukopeonidin and leukopelargonidin were found in the leaves.

Hornbeam elm preparations have astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, wound healing and antimicrobial effects. A decoction of the bark is taken for chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa, gastric and duodenal ulcers and diarrhea, including those of dysentery origin. A decoction, reduced by half, has long been used in folk medicine for burns, rashes, eczema, purulent and long-lasting wounds.

When using the decoction externally, pour 2 tablespoons of crushed bark into 2 cups of boiling water, keep on low heat until the volume is reduced by half and filter. Used as lotions. The procedure is carried out 4-5 times a day.

For internal use, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water into 1 tablespoon of bark, keep in a closed enamel container in a water bath for 15 minutes, cool at room temperature. 45 minutes, filter, squeeze and bring the volume with boiled water to the original volume. Take 1/4-1/2 cup 3-4 times a day 20 minutes before meals.