White cinquefoil - a medicinal herb for the beauty of the garden and your health
White cinquefoil is known to all herbalists, because it is not only a beautiful, but also a medicinal plant. Infusions and decoctions of Potentilla are used to treat a wide range of diseases in traditional medicine. And even among modern medicines, there are quite a few drugs that include cinquefoil. What did she earn such popularity and what is she? Let's get to know this popular representative of the "green pharmacy".
What does white cinquefoil look like?
If you are a supporter of traditional medicine and prefer to harvest herbs on your own, you need to know how to find Potentilla. This herbaceous perennial grows to a height of no more than 25 cm. It is easy to find it in bright places in the forest through beautiful leaves on long petioles. Together with short thin stems, they form a loose basal rosette. The leaves look like a spread palm with 5 fingers. The color of the foliage is bright green, but along the very edge of the leaf plate there is a thin, slightly silky, silvery border. As if it was frost covered with cinquefoil. Bushes bloom from May to June with delicate white inflorescences. Large flowers rise above the bushes on long pedicels.
The root system of Potentilla is in the form of a creeping root that grows not in depth, but along the surface of the earth. Thanks to this, you can even pull out the bush with your bare hands, without resorting to the help of a shovel. The central root is covered with many small thin roots, but it has few well-developed lateral branches.
White cinquefoil: medicinal properties of the plant
For the preparation of infusions and decoctions, Potentilla root is most often used. The aboveground herbaceous part is also curative, but the maximum concentration of medicinal substances is in the roots.
It is better to harvest raw materials no earlier than 3 years of plant life. Younger cinquefoil contains fewer active substances and is less effective.
White cinquefoil is endowed with a number of healing effects and will help get rid of many diseases. This magic herb:
- regulates the functioning of the thyroid gland with decreased or increased function;
- improves blood composition;
- strengthens blood vessels and has a positive effect on the work of the cardiovascular system;
- removes toxins;
- treats diseases of the female and male genital area;
- acts as an antineoplastic agent;
- has a beneficial effect on the liver;
- heals gastrointestinal diseases;
- acts as a wound healing agent.
When brewing Potentilla tea, you can add a sprig of raspberries or black currant... White cinquefoil is an endangered species. It grows mainly in the wild, and even then it is on the verge of extinction. For this reason, in some areas of our homeland, the plant is even listed in the Red Book.