Tatarnik Kolyuchy.

Tatarnik prickly

Prickly tartar is a biennial herbaceous prickly plant of the Asteraceae family, 30-250 cm high. The stem is erect, branched at the top. The leaves are alternate, oblong, spiny-toothed, the lower ones are petiolate, the upper ones are sessile.

Blooms in July-September. The flowers are purple, bisexual, collected in 2-3 baskets located at the ends of the branches. The fruit is an oblong achene with a reddish tuft. Ripens in September-October.

Prickly tartar is common in the European part of Russia, Western Siberia and Central Asia. It grows in wastelands, garbage areas, along roads, vegetable gardens, near housing, farms, on steppe and sandy slopes.

Flower baskets and leaves serve as medicinal raw materials. They are collected during flowering and dried in the shade. The leaves are cut lengthwise before drying. Store in a wooden container for 2 years.

Leaves and flowers contain alkaloids, lactone, arcciopicrin, saponins and bitter substances. The chemical composition of the plant has not been studied enough.

Tartar preparations have a diuretic, antimicrobial, hemostatic and wound-healing effect. They enhance the activity of the heart, increase blood pressure and, in small doses, the functional activity of the nervous system. In some countries, tartar is used for skin cancer and as a prophylactic after tumor removal.

An infusion of leaves is used for inflammatory diseases of the urinary system, edema, colds and hemorrhoids.

Externally, the drug is used in the form of compresses and lotions for skin diseases, purulent wounds and ulcers. The bandage is changed 2 times a day - morning and evening.