Hawthorn flower is a universal treatment for cardiovascular diseases. They contain the largest amount of vitamins, however, it must be borne in mind that sometimes the correct collection and storage plays the most important role.
Gathering flowers, you risk bringing a flower beetle to the house, which within a few months will completely destroy your workpiece.
To avoid this, the flowers and leaves of hawthorn must be collected in the strictly allotted period for this, and some of them should be used as a tincture, which will allow you to use the beneficial properties of hawthorn all winter.
Description
Hawthorn has long been one of the most famous plants among the people due to its beneficial properties. Most often, it can be found under the name of a boyar or a lady-tree. In fact, this plant is a small tall shrub or tree, the height of which sometimes reaches 5 m. It is noteworthy that all the branches of hawthorn are covered with small thorns. Since the hawthorn belongs to the Rosaceae family, the flowers can be either white or pale pink. The main period of their appearance begins in late May and lasts until July. Since the plant is a honey plant, hawthorn flowers, whose beneficial properties are valued all over the world, spread a rather unpleasant odor around themselves at a distance of several meters, designed to attract insects, the responsibility of which includes pollination.
Despite the fact that the fruits of this plant are quite small, round or oblong, their full ripening occurs only at the end of August. The color of the berries, depending on the variety of hawthorn, can vary from red or black to saturated orange. The pulp of the fruit is fleshy, slightly astringent, while tasting quite sweet.
Places of growth
Most often, it’s not the berries, but the flowers of hawthorn that attract the interest of people, the medicinal properties of which allow the plant to compete even with such a leader in the content of vitamins like rose hips. Hawthorn can be found, in particular, in rare deciduous dry forests, in close proximity to river floodplains or at the edges.
In rare cases, you can find several bushes in the fields away from the forest. This is explained simply, birds eating both beetles that feed on the seeds of hawthorn, and the seeds themselves, making flights, defecate. The seed enters the soil with a fraction of natural fertilizer, due to which it quickly takes root and begins to grow rapidly.
Today in the world there are a large number of different types of hawthorn, only in the territories of the post-Soviet space there are more than 40 species, among which the blood-red hawthorn, most often used for treatment, has gained the greatest popularity.
Vitamin content
Since the most beneficial are the hawthorn flowers, the medicinal properties and contraindications must be carefully studied before proceeding with the direct collection. Of course, not only flowers, but also fruits, leaves and bark can be used for the preparation of medicines, but it must be borne in mind that the vitamin content in the flowers is much higher than in the rest of the plant.
First of all, decide for what purposes you are going to harvest hawthorn. And then, based on the content of useful elements, choose which part of the plant will bring your body more benefit. The flower of hawthorn contains a large number of essential oils, various acids, micro and macro elements. Of course, in any case, do not forget to consult a doctor, because self-medication can do more harm than good.
Flower harvesting
It is noteworthy that the flowers of hawthorn, the medicinal properties of which are of particular value, can simply not be collected, because the flowering time often does not exceed 3-4 days, especially if the weather is hot during this period. Moreover, the flowers must be harvested at the beginning of flowering, when they have not yet blossomed. First of all, this is due to the fact that as soon as they bloom, a lot of flower eaters will settle in them, capable of completely destroying the hawthorn flower that you managed to collect and dry in a short period of time. Since hawthorn bushes are often quite voluminous, it will be useful to speed up the collection process by cutting not only individual flowers, but also whole inflorescences. When cutting, it is necessary to try so that the length of the legs is as small as possible.
It is strongly not recommended to collect them in the early morning, when the dew has not yet dried, and immediately after the rain. The fact is that such a hawthorn flower loses most of its beneficial properties. In addition, with further drying, the flowers will acquire a dark shade. At the same time, drying itself should occur no later than 2 hours after collection in a warm, well-ventilated room, where flowers will not be exposed to direct sunlight. To speed up the process, it is best to try to distribute them as thinly as possible.
Hawthorn flowers can retain useful properties both in alcohol tincture, which must be prepared from freshly cut flowers, and in the form of various tinctures based on ready-made dry preparations.
When cutting, it is necessary to try so that the length of the legs of the inflorescences is as small as possible.
Harvesting fruits
Fruits must be harvested only after they have reached full ripening. This period falls at the end of September, until the first frost sets in. You can either break off individual shields with fruits, or separate each one in turn.
If a dryer is used to speed up the drying process, the maximum temperature in it must not exceed 60 ° C. The natural drying process lasts at least a week, after which the finished raw material will need to be sorted out in order to remove all impurities associated with the fruits: stalks and poor-quality berries.
Use in official medicine
If we consider the flowers of hawthorn, the application will not cause difficulties even for those who first encountered this plant. They are successfully used in cases of impaired stable heart function or high blood pressure.
Any drug created on the basis of hawthorn has a detailed instruction that describes all the details of the use, but in any case, you must first consult with your doctor so as not to self-harm the body.
What is hawthorn used for?
If necessary, with the help of hawthorn, it is possible to exert a selective effect on the coronary vessels of the brain, a calming effect on the nervous system, accelerate the supply of oxygen to such important parts of the body as the heart and brain, and also ensure constant maintenance of the body in good shape.
In the field of traditional medicine, the most widely used tincture of hawthorn flowers and liquid extract from fruits. They are able to quickly assist the body in case of dizziness, shortness of breath, insomnia, and also properly stimulate the metabolism in the body.
Flask of Hawthorn
An infusion made from hawthorn is one of the easiest medicines to manufacture, the only drawback of which is its short shelf life. Of course, if the infusion is made on alcohol, the shelf life is significantly increased, while it is important that it can not only be purchased at the pharmacy, but also made independently. This is perhaps the simplest remedy that can be prepared from medicinal plants.
But even in the refrigerator it is stored for no more than a day. Therefore, every day you need to brew a new infusion. So it is recommended to make alcohol tinctures, which, of course, are stored longer.
