The beautiful and very tender plant of the Impatiens (the Balsamic family) belongs to the large genus, which is called the Impatiens. It has over 500 species of plants. The garden "career" of these plants developed with varying success: there was a time when they were admired and then undeservedly forgotten.
Today, the attention of gardeners and flower lovers is once again riveted to them. Yellow, purple, raspberry, pink flowers, long flowering are the main distinguishing features of these plants.
Spread
Impatiens comes from the Himalayas. It was brought as an ornamental plant. Prefers moist shady areas, grows along the banks of rivers and lakes. The plant in natural conditions grows most often in tropical Africa and Asia, some representatives of the genus - in America and Europe.
In our country, almost everywhere it is possible to meet the ordinary touch with small or large yellow flowers, as well as glandular, in which the flowers are pink. We will talk about them in this article.
Title
The name of the genus Impatiens consists of two Latin words: im, which means "no, " and patiens, which translates as "endure, " "withstand." Thus, the name of the genus means "a plant that does not tolerate when it is touched." It comes from the property of this plant to respond to the slightest touch.
Impatiens ordinary
A herbaceous annual plant up to 80 cm high with an upright succulent stem and a fibrous branchy root. Petiole leaves, alternate, with large denticles along the edge, oval.
The flowers are drooping, irregular, lemon yellow, with a spur, usually collected in a brush. The fruit is an oblong box. During ripening, when it is touched, it cracks and with force throws out the seeds contained inside. An ordinary touch blooms from the second half of June until the end of September. Prefers moist shaded areas, forms impenetrable thickets.
The chemical composition of this plant is still not well understood. It is known for certain that during flowering, the touchy contains 68.5% of vitamin C.
The use of untouched ordinary
The plant is used only by traditional healers. Infusion of herbs is taken as an anti-inflammatory and diuretic for diseases of the bladder, kidneys, edema, kidney stone disease. In addition, it is used as an emetic. Infusion of herbs washed wounds, ulcers. Trays with infusion give a good effect on joint pain. Shredded leaves are applied to bruises, hemorrhoidal nodes.
The touchy ordinary has long been successfully used by traditional healers. For medicinal purposes, the whole plant is cut off during flowering. Dried raw materials, laying in the shade or in a well-ventilated area. Impatiens is used for external and internal bleeding, with stones in the bladder and kidneys.
Cooking infusion
Two spoons (tablespoons) of crushed raw materials brew 500 ml of boiling water in a thermos. Leave it to insist for five hours. After this time, strain. Take the drug in a warm form. During the day, you need to drink 200 ml of the drug in equal proportions. The touch of the uterus acts on the uterus, causing its intense contraction with heavy bleeding. In addition, such an infusion is recommended for the treatment of bleeding from the bladder and rectum. It is used externally to treat ulcers, wounds, hemorrhoidal nodes.
Impatiens ordinary - honey, medicinal, dyeing and poisonous plant. Do not get involved in self-medication, even if someone you know advises you to "drink some weed."
Touchy glandular: description
This is also an annual. It grows to two meters. The stems are straight, with internodes, often transparent, juicy, filled with juice. The leaves are alternate, elliptical in shape, whole. The plate is shiny and delicate. Their length is 10 cm, the edges are serrated.
The second name of the plant is glandular balsam (iron balsam). The stem of the plant is thick, strongly branched, knotty, juicy. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, in length they can reach 12 cm. They are serrated along the edge, with winged petioles. At the top of the stem they gather in whorls.
Wine-red, white, pink flowers of this species are touchy large, simple, collected in umbrella-shaped brushes of 10-14 pieces. Petals 3-3.5 cm long. The flowers have a delicate and delicate smell, pollinated by various insects, but most often bumblebees.
Touchy glandular has interesting features. Its leaves during flowering at the edges emit drops of sweet and aromatic juice, which forms sugar crystals upon evaporation. They attract ants. Peduncles during flowering significantly lengthen and hide, like under an umbrella, under leaves, protecting flowers from rain.
The diameter of the flower (with plenty of heat and moisture) is 3 cm. In dry years, the glandular is covered with small flowers, however, in large numbers. They are more closed, but when seeds from these flowers fall into a fertile environment, they give beautiful large, well-developed flowers.
The fruit is an oblong multi-seeded juicy box that consists of five wings. During maturation, the junction of the leaflets becomes weak, and the box is constantly in tension. If you slightly swing the stem or touch the box a little, it immediately breaks with a bang, and dark brown seeds are scattered with force up to a distance of two meters. Many new plants grow from them every year. Seeds are spread by birds and animals over long distances. They do not lose germination for eight years.
Touchless and magic
In ancient times, it was believed that a glandular one is capable of magically opening locks, with one touch destroying prison bars. It was believed that a flower can tear gold and silver, iron and copper into small pieces. Thieves who found a touch, made an incision in the palm of their hand, inserted grass into it, and then healed the wound. From the touch of such a hand, the locks allegedly fell from the doors.
People believed that everyone who simply carried this plant in their pockets was well protected from any bullet. This grass, thrown into the forge of the enemy, deprived him of the ability to forge iron. But not every touchy possessed magical properties, but only that which was obtained in compliance with special rites.
It was necessary to find a hollow in which the woodpecker made a nest, and at the same time there were already chicks in it. Then it was necessary to wait for the mother bird to fly away, and then close the nest tightly. Seeing that the nest is closed, the bird will certainly bring the stalk of the touch. From his light touch, the hollow will open. At that moment, the observing person should scream out loud so that the frightened bird drops the grass.
