Wild strawberry.

Wild strawberry

A perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family, up to 20 cm high. The rhizome is short, oblique, with numerous additional brownish-brown, thin roots. The stem is erect, leafy, covered with hairs.

The leaves are on long petioles, trifoliate, dark green above, bluish-green below, softly pubescent. Rooting shoots develop from the axils of the basal leaves. Blooms from May to July.

The flowers are white, located on long stalks. The fruit is false, incorrectly called a berry. It is an overgrown fleshy, fragrant, bright red receptacle.

Ripens in July - September.

Wild strawberries are widespread in the European part of Russia, Western and Eastern Siberia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Grows on sunny slopes, hills, forest clearings, clearings, edges and in light forests.

Often found in the form of thickets. Reproduces vegetatively.

Ripe fruits and leaves serve as medicinal raw materials.

The berries are harvested early in the morning, when the dew has disappeared, or at the end of the day without cups and stalks, since they are collected during dew and quickly deteriorate, and wither in the heat. Before drying, strawberries are sorted, removing crumpled and overripe berries, stalks and sepals, and dried during the day in air or for 4-5 hours in a dryer at a temperature of 25-30°C.

Dry at a temperature of 45.65°C, making sure that the fruits do not become moldy. Well-dried berries should crumble.

The leaves are collected during flowering of the plant with a petiole no more than 1 cm long. Dry immediately in the open air in the shade or in a well-ventilated area, scattering it in a thin layer and stirring occasionally. Leaves are stored in bags for no more than 1 year, berries - 2 years.

The berries contain sugars, organic acids, fiber, pectin, tannins, nitrogenous substances, alkaloids, salts of iron, phosphorus, calcium, cobalt, manganese, B vitamins, carotene, ascorbic and folic acids. The leaves contain ascorbic acid, tannins, essential oil and some alkaloids.

Strawberries are an ancient medicine. It was used several thousand years BC. It is harmless to the body. However, you should be aware that consuming it may cause a rash, vomiting, or even choking.

Strawberries are contraindicated for people with hypersensitivity. Fresh fruits and a decoction of dried berries have a beneficial effect on digestion, quench thirst, stimulate appetite, eliminate inflammatory and ulcerative processes in the gastrointestinal tract, bile and urinary tracts. Strawberries are useful for gastritis, colitis and dysentery.

Fresh fruits are a good remedy for treating anemia. Strawberry leaves are used. for atherosclerosis, diseases of the kidneys, bladder and spleen, for bronchial asthma, hemorrhoidal and uterine bleeding, stones and sand in the kidneys.

They are used as a diuretic for salt metabolism disorders and to lower blood pressure.

To prepare an infusion of strawberry leaves, pour 1 tablespoon of crushed raw materials into 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 2 hours and take 1/2 cup 3-4 times a day before meals. The infusion has a general strengthening effect.

Steamed fresh or dried leaves are widely used to treat fresh and purulent wounds and ulcers. The berries or their juice are used to treat eczema, acne, age spots and freckles.