Coffin herbaceous plants for open ground. European hoofweed, description, photo, growing conditions, application, care

Hoofweed is a low, but clearly visible, thanks to its expressive forms and the picturesque thickets it forms, a perennial forest plant.

The genus Kupten of the Kirkazonaceae family (Aristolochiaceae) unites about a hundred species, among which the most famous (Asarum europaeum).
The plant's generic name comes from the Greek word for "carpet" and is given for the plant's ability to form spectacular carpet thickets.
The specific name arose due to the predominant distribution of the plant in Europe.

In Belarus, the hoof has long been known as cherazgryvitsa(see the use of the hoof below for damage caused from behind), dziki perat,European carrion; from Eliza Ozheshko - kapytnik.
Dahl's dictionary contains a lot of synonyms for the names of the plant: with erdechnaya, podoreshnik, undergrowth, black buttercup, earthen incense, wine / turpentine / hoofed / hare root, wild pepper, hairweed, dry waterweed, oblap, coverage, pikhovnik, epancha, epanechnik.

European hoofweed grows in shady places on moist, fertile soils; more often found in forests with spruce, hazel, and alder. The natural distribution area of ​​this plant is Central Europe and Western Siberia.

The hoof is about 10 cm high; has a barely noticeable stem, a pair of heart-shaped overwintering leaves and a small unusual flower. However, its creeping thin rhizome grows many “combat crews”, so that under the canopy of the dark forest a continuous glossy clump of hoofed grass is formed. The older the rhizome, the wider the area of ​​the clump formed by the clone.
At the tops of the ascending stems, two, rarely three, leathery leaves on long pubescent petioles develop. The leaves of the hoof are similar in shape to a horse's hoof and have a deep notch at the base. The leaves are dark green on top, smooth, as if polished. Below they are covered with small hairs and are lighter in color. Distinct white veins on the leaf blades of the hoofweed form a pretty pattern.
It is interesting that the life of the leaves, having begun in the spring towards the end of the flowering of the hoofed grass, continues for a whole year, without any allowance for the harsh winter season. The leaves overwinter under the snow in a green form, but with the arrival of warmth and light they begin to fade and die. Young, silky-pubescent leaves are already rushing to replace them. After overwintering, these leaves also die off.
By autumn, the mother plant forms new buds on the growth areas of the rhizome, in which two tiny folded leaves and a bud are neatly packed.
European hoofed grass blooms in May, its flowering is very inconspicuous: dirty purple hairy flowers the size of a small cherry are hidden under the leaves. The ungulate flower - single, drooping, bell-shaped, with three deep lobes - appears from the axil of a pair of leaves and is located near the ground.
In the language of flowers, the tiny flowers of the hoofweed are meant to loudly proclaim the coming justice.

Butterflies and bees are rare guests in the dark forest where the hoofed grass grows; and there is no room for wind here. That's why seed propagation the hoofed grass depends entirely on ants, which pollinate its flowers and spread the seeds that ripen in June. Ants are very attracted to the nutritious, oily appendages on mature coffin seeds, thanks to which the seeds are carried throughout the forest.

When rubbed, the leaves of the hoofweed emit a sharp, peculiar odor, reminiscent of either pepper, turpentine, or camphor. That is why one of the names of the ungulate is “forest pepper”. The smell of the plant is given by the essential oil of a sharp-bitter taste, maximum amount which is contained in the rhizome (up to 3.5% in dry raw materials). The composition of the oil is complex, but the main substance (up to 50%) is volatile asarone. Both asarone and some other components of coffin oil make it a strong poison, causing nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, kidney dysfunction, abortion, and in large doses, death.

However, it has long been known that toxic natural principles correct use are good healers. Clefthoof is no exception here - in scientific and folk medicine it is a medicinal plant.
Scientific medicine attracts water infusion coffin leaves to enhance cardiac activity, to increase the tone of veins, to constrict peripheral blood vessels. In terms of its effect on the cardiovascular system, coffin is close to adrenaline. Plant preparations also have a bronchodilator effect, which helps with acute and chronic bronchitis.
An alcohol tincture of fresh leaves of the hoofed grass is included in the preparation "Akofit", used as a local irritant for acute radiculitis, lumbago, ischalgia, etc.
In homeopathy, extracts from the plant are used for hysteria and other nervous diseases, and for eczema of nervous origin.

Clefthoof is widely and variably used in folk herbal medicine. Since ancient times, a decoction of the whole plant or its leaves has been used to treat heart and colds, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys. Coffin was used as a diuretic, anthelmintic (expels worms), regulating menstruation, as an aid during childbirth, as well as for migraines, deafness, and paralysis of the tongue.
Used for migraines and neurotic conditions alcohol tincture rhizomes and roots of the coffin or use them in various forms(decoction, powder).
From the decoction of the hoofed grass, lotions are made for headaches or sore eyes, and crushed fresh leaves are applied to purulent lesions of the skin.
The use of this plant for the treatment of alcoholism is based on the emetic effect of ingesting coffin preparations in doses exceeding therapeutic ones. A tablespoon of rhizome decoction (the decoction is made at the rate of: a tablespoon of raw materials per glass of water) is mixed with half a glass of vodka; drinking the mixture causes severe vomiting and forms a subsequent aversion to alcohol.
Being a toxic plant, hoofed grass can also help with some poisonings - when you need to immediately induce vomiting. Clefthoof here can effectively replace American ipecac (which, like clefthoof, is used in small doses for coughs with sputum that is difficult to separate, and in large doses as an emetic for poisoning).

Coffin was also used as a snuff; from N. Annenkov's dictionary it is known about the use of its leaves as snuff.

Eliza Ozheshko in “People and Flowers over Nemanam” noted the magical benefits of hoofed grass. Belarusian peasants kept the plant as a remedy against spoilage: "Nilepshy srodak hell of all the spoiled goods..., but only then, when the marmots were thrown on the back of the head (thrown from the shoulders), when the marmots were thrown on the back of the head, then dzin with three students, and the menavita of that , like the Qur'an.”

Azar oil, extracted from the roots of the coffin plant, is used in the perfume and food industries. The plant contains light brown dye.

Thanks to decorative leaves and the ability to form a beautiful low carpet in semi-shaded and shady places, hoofed grass is often used in landscape design as a ground cover plant, transferring its sections from nature to the garden.

Irina Tugai (Republic of Belarus)
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In every garden there are flowers that do not stand out from other plants with bright colors, exotic shapes or unusual sizes, but despite this they are no less charming than the rest of the inhabitants of the site. Such at first glance inconspicuous plants include the hoof grass: it has modest green foliage, early, unnoticed flowering, and small fruits. But this flower is loved by all gardeners without exception, as it is an excellent background for bright plants.

If you look under the forest grasses - lily of the valley, kupena, raven eye and others, you can see the dark green leaves of the ungulate plant pressed to the ground. Their shape resembles the mark of a small horse's hoof - as if a fairy-tale humpbacked horse was stomping through the forest. Hoofweed (Asarum) - a plant from the Kirkazon family - is very often found in deciduous and mixed forests throughout our country, except for the Far North. In early spring, close to the ground, on its stems at the base of the leaves you can see regular dark red flowers with a three-lobed perianth and 12 stamens. If you dig up the snow in winter, you can see that the hoofed grass spends the winter green. People called this plant by other, sometimes less euphonious names: Blakotnik, emetic root, heart, crippling herb.

On this page you can find a photo, a description of the coffin, care tips and ways to use this plant.

Description of the herbaceous flower

Clefthoof is a genus containing about 70 species, which is a perennial, herbaceous plant growing up to 10 cm in height, with a branching rhizome.

The leaf of the plant is rounded, but on the side where the petiole approaches it, it is deeply cut. According to the external description, the leaf of the hoofweed is somewhat reminiscent of a horse's hoof print, which is where the name of the plant comes from. There are similarities with the human kidney, as a result of which botanists call it kidney-shaped.

Look at the photo - the leaves of the hoofweed are quite dense, dark green and glossy on top:

They spend the winter alive under the snow. They have a specific smell that is somewhat reminiscent of black pepper. That's why hoofed grass is sometimes called "forest pepper."

The stem of the hoofweed never rises above the surface of the soil; it is always spread out on the ground and is attached to it here and there by roots. At the end there are two leaves on long thin petioles. The leaves are arranged oppositely, one against the other. Between them, at the very end of the stem, in the fall you can see a large bud.

On the outside, the bud is covered with thin translucent covers, under which are the rudiments of two future leaves. They are very small, but they already have green color. These leaves are folded in half. In the center of the bud there is a small ball, similar to a pellet. If you carefully break it, you can see small stamens inside. This means that this is nothing more than a bud. The plant’s amazing foresight: buds are prepared in advance, already in the fall!

As you can see in the photo, in the spring the hoof plant blooms very early, soon after the snow melts:

However, the flowers are hidden in dry fallen leaves and do not appear on the surface for a long time. They have an original dark color, unusual for flowers - brown with a reddish tint. The structure of the flower is also unusual: it has only three petals and 12 stamens. This number is also rare. The flowering of the ungulate usually goes unnoticed by anyone. And when it ends, it can be difficult to say. The flower changes little in appearance after flowering: its petals do not fall off and even retain their shape and color.

By mid-summer, fruits are formed from the flowers of the coffin. In appearance they are almost no different from flowers.

Pay attention to the photo - the fruits of the coffin herb contain brownish shiny seeds the size of millet grains:

The seeds have interesting feature: each of them is equipped with a peculiar fleshy white appendage. This appendage is a treat for ants. Having found a seed in the forest, the ant immediately drags it to its home. Of course, not all seeds can be delivered to their destination. Many of them get lost on the way in different places of the forest, often far from mother plant. This is where these seeds germinate. Consequently, hoofweed is one of the myrmecochorous plants.

Varieties of hoofweed

European hoofweed – Asarum europaeum L.

A perennial plant with a long (up to 20-25 cm) cord-like branched rhizome, which is occasionally found on the soil surface, acquiring a green color. The stems are creeping, not rising above the soil surface, spreading along the ground, sometimes taking root. At the end there are two leaves on rather thin petioles. The leaves are glossy, rather dense, rounded, deeply cut at the junction with the petiole. According to the external description, the leaf of the hoof plant of this variety is similar to a human kidney, as a result of which botanists often call it “kidney-shaped.” Popularly, hoofed grass is known as “forest pepper” because of the specific smell of fresh leaves, which is somewhat reminiscent of the smell of black pepper. Between the leaves at the very end of the stem there is a large bud, covered with thin translucent integuments; under them are the rudiments of two future leaves. In the center of the bud there is a small ball, similar to a pellet with small stamens inside. This is a bud. Amazing foresight of the plant: in advance, already in the fall, future flowers are formed, which will bloom very early in the spring, as soon as the snow melts. Flowers European ungulate brown with a reddish tint, with 3 petals and 12 stamens. After flowering, the flower changes little, its petals do not fall off, they retain their shape and color. Blooms at 4-7 years of age.

Siebold's Clefthoof – Asarum sieboldii Miq.

Perennial herbaceous plant. The rhizome is underground, creeping, horizontal with a sharp, specific odor. All leaves are basal, long-petiolate, leathery, 5-10 cm wide, heart-ovate, pointed, dark green, pubescent below. Flowers up to 1 cm long, solitary, axillary, on short pedicels with a dirty purple three-lobed perianth. The perianth teeth are broadly triangular-ovate, sharp or blunt, often with curled edges. The fruits are hemispherical capsules bearing the remains of perianth at the top. The seeds are grayish-brown, elongated-ovate with a longitudinal suture. Blooms in May; the seeds ripen in July.

Grows in shady coniferous-deciduous forests. Cultivated in Northeast China for medicinal use.

Canadian hoofweed.

Like previous species, this ungulate has a long creeping rhizome that grows annually by 5–6 cm in length. The flowers are large, the leaves are dark green, heart-shaped. The leaves do not survive winter.

Tailed hoof.

It is a North American variety of this plant genus. It is distinguished by large light green leaves up to 14 cm long. The flowers are large, with a slightly elongated tip. The rhizome grows very quickly, forming an annual growth of up to 9 cm. The leaves are able to withstand winter.

Planting, care and methods of propagation of the ungulate

Growing ungulates is not difficult, as it is one of the most shade-tolerant plants. The grass forms dense, low mats in the darkest places under trees and spreading spruce trees. It grows well on any soil, preferring lime-rich, loose, moist soil, and is considered very winter-hardy. It reproduces by underground shoots, seeds and rooting parts of stems.

Among gardeners, hoofed grass does not enjoy great success due to its unremarkable appearance, it is mainly appreciated for its unpretentiousness and medicinal properties. To plant and care for the hoof, you do not need to familiarize yourself with special recommendations and instructions; it is enough to place the plant in shady place garden plot, periodically weed and water. Feeding is recommended organic fertilizers(once a year is enough).

Planting of the hoofed grass can be carried out from May to August by dividing the bush. It is worth noting that the hoofed grass reproduces in two ways - by seeds, but mainly vegetatively (as the daughter sections of the rhizome are separated, when the old sections die off, the previously intact individual turns into a clump with sections of stems taking root in the nodes). Proliferation occurs during the growth and rooting of annual shoot growth, which usually occurs at the end of the growing season, after which they lie down and become part of the creeping rhizome.

When propagating ungulates by seeds, planting is done immediately after collection, or you will have to carry out three-month stratification, keeping them at a temperature of 0 - +5 degrees. Seeds are germinated in a warm place at a temperature of 18 - 20 degrees. Shoots appear in 3 – 4 weeks.

One of the advantages of the ungulate is that it is not susceptible to diseases and pests, since its leaves contain essential oils, repelling insects. Gardeners often observe large concentrations of ants in plantings with this plant. This is explained by the fact that ants are natural distributors of plant seeds.

In addition, the hoofed grass, due to its creeping stem, can “roam” around the garden, spreading across the area and forming small green islands.

The use of hoofweed in folk medicine and landscaping

In folk medicine, the use of the herb as an emetic for drunkenness is widespread. Clefthoof is highly poisonous: the rhizome contains glycosides, an unstudied alkaloid azarin, resinous and tannin substances, starch, organic acids and their salts, essential oil. The essential oil contains volatile toxic substances. The leaves contain a glycoside that acts on the heart.

This ornamental plant is widely used in gardening, as it forms beautiful clumps in shaded and humid habitats.

Flower growers will only benefit by planting hoofweed on their plot, because this inconspicuous-looking flower will perfectly complement the garden in a spectacular and harmonious group with coniferous plants, and many early spring flowers of medium size. It looks self-sufficient and beautiful under large trees.

European hoofweed.
Author Elena Vetrova. Photo by the author.

European hoofweed. Sem. Kirkazonaceae.

Asarum europaeum. Aristolochiaceae.
The Kirkazonaceae family includes more than 600 species of very different and in some ways very similar plants. These are vines, herbs, and shrubs. Their flowers have a special coloration (brown-purple, greenish-yellow with light or purple spots and veins) that creates the effect of rotting meat, which attracts a certain type of insect for pollination.

A representative of this family, the European hooffoot, received its Latin name “asarum” from the Greek “asaron” - hoof, due to the special shape of the leaf blade, reminiscent of a hoof mark.
European hoofweed is widespread in the European part of Russia, in Western Siberia, in Central and Western Europe.
European hoofweed grows in shady, moist forests, choosing fertile calcareous soils.
This is a multi-plant herbaceous, evergreen plant 10 - 25 cm high. Hoof is a long-liver, feeling great in one place for 35 - 40 years.
The flower appears in April from a bud laid in the fall, located between the last pair of leaves, and is located almost at the ground. The flower is drooping, bell-shaped, deeply three-lobed, inconspicuous, fleshy, brown-burgundy. The flower has 12 stamens and one ovary of 6 fused styles. Flowering lasts 3 - 4 weeks. The flower has a sweetish smell. Cross pollination. When the flower opens, the sepals move slightly away from each other, but their tips are connected. Thus, between them there are three longitudinal holes through which small insects penetrate inside, bringing pollen from other ungulates to the stigmas of the pistil. Later, when the flower opens, the stamens, which have special devices in the form of long outgrowths, will protect already pollinated stigmas.
The fruit is a capsule. The seeds ripen and fall off in June, just in time for the ants to begin feeding their larvae. Their favorite delicacy is a special fleshy light appendage with a characteristic odor located on the seed. By arranging reserves, ants carry seeds far from the hoof, facilitating its spread throughout the forest. It is curious that the ants themselves are not interested in the seed; they only eat the appendage.
The leaves are on long petioles with a rounded kidney-shaped plate and a deeply notched base. on the leaf blade there is a bizarre pattern of veins. The leaves are leathery, dark green above, shiny, not pubescent, light green below, pubescent. A flower bud is formed between the young leaves.
European hooffoot has thin creeping branched rhizomes with thin roots. When rubbed, they smell bitter and tart. The smell is vaguely reminiscent of turpentine. It is given to the plant by an essential oil containing asarone.
Hoofweeds easily reproduce by cuttings of rhizomes with a renewal bud.
Collect roots, rhizomes (it is better to do this in the fall) and leaves (they are stored during flowering). It takes a long time to dry, since the leaves are dense and leathery, and the roots contain resins and essential oils. The collected material is scattered in one layer on cotton fabric in a well-ventilated area.
The leaves, roots and rhizomes of the European hoofed grass contain organic acids, vitamins, resins, starch, etc. All parts of this plant are poisonous. European hooffoot is a medicinal plant in folk and scientific medicine. Included in herbal preparations and many medicines.

European hooffoot has anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, antipyretic and expectorant effects. It has wound-healing, anti-sclerotic, soothing, diuretic and anthelmintic properties.

Kopyten was well known as medicine in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Descriptions of this plant and methods of its use are found in the works of Dioscorides, in the herbalists Fuchs (1543), Mattiolus (1563). Ibn Sina considered hoofed grass to be the same valuable medicinal plant as calamus, but he considered the effect of the former to be stronger. N. Culpeper very accurately described the hoofweed in his herbal book: the leaves of the hoofweed are more rounded and denser than the leaves of the violet. The upper part of the leaf is dark green, shiny, and the lower part is pale, light, yellow-green. The flowers are similar to the heads of henbane fruits, but they are smaller. The seeds are small, hard, salty and similar to grape seeds. Dried roots They have a smell reminiscent of nardus (belous) and a sweetish, pungent taste. Often grows in gardens.Used as a diuretic and emetic, and to enhance the effect, add nutmeg or cinnamon. Culpeper also considered cleftfoot to be a memory enhancer and a pain reliever. The ancient healer suggested brewing the coffin with goat's milk and honey, and to combat jaundice and dropsy, he advised infusing the leaves of the coffin in wine. Culpeper considered roots and leaves, ground into powder and drenched in white wine, as a cure for cancer, ulcers and fistulas. Wanting to save as much as possible beneficial features hoofed grass, Culpeper did not recommend boiling all parts of the plant for a long time.

In a collection of recipes by Thomas Fuller (1710), the composition of a drug for alcoholism is given: fry 5-9 green hoof leaves and put in white wine (3 ounces) or beer. Leave to infuse for 1 hour, filter, squeeze. We do not know the accuracy of the dosage and frequency of administration. This is just one of 800 recipes contained in a unique book (Pharmacopoeia Extemporanea) kept in the London library. Copies of this book are available in many libraries around the world.

Currently, European hoofed grass is a well-known medicinal plant in many European countries.

An aqueous infusion (see "Glossary") of the leaves of the European coffin is used to enhance cardiac activity, to constrict peripheral blood vessels, to maintain veins in good shape and to increase blood pressure. The same infusion stimulates the formation of leukocytes. To prepare the infusion, take 1 teaspoon of dry leaves and pour one glass of boiling water. Drink 2-3 tablespoons before meals 3 times a day. Increasing the dose only with the doctor's permission.

Decoctions (see "Glossary") from roots and rhizomes have a bitter taste, which can be partially eliminated with milk and honey. Drink decoctions for liver and kidney diseases. To prepare the decoction, take one teaspoon of roots and rhizomes, pour two glasses of boiling water and keep in a boiling bath for 20-30 minutes. Drink 1 tablespoon three times a day before meals. Tea made from roots and rhizomes stimulates digestion.

An alcohol tincture of fresh leaves is used externally for radiculitis.

European coffin is used to prepare effective ointments (for external use). To do this, grind the roots and rhizomes into a fine powder and pour into hot melted duck or goose lard. It’s good to add pine or cedar resin there, it’s better if it was collected from trees growing on the seashore. Then hold in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes and leave until completely cooled. Store in a glass, tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Use for eczema, festering ulcers, scabies and for rapid healing of wounds.

Coffin is included in homeopathic medicines prescribed for insomnia, eczema of nervous origin, and hysteria.

By setting fire to dry leaves of the hoofed grass, they fumigated the premises for disinfection.

Azar oil is obtained from the roots of the European ungulate, which is used in perfumery and the food industry.

In a modern German reference book on medicinal plants, they immediately write about hoofed grass that it is very poisonous, but at the same time, its roots have been used since the Middle Ages for dropsy and radiculitis. In modern medicine, European coffin as medicinal plant Most often used for asthma and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.

German botanists describe the European hoofweed as not tall plant(5 - 10 cm), blooming from March to the end of May. The flowers are hidden under the leaves. Grows in moist deciduous and coniferous forests on calcareous soil.
Evergreen hoof - excellent indoor plant. Grows well indoors if it is not exposed to direct Sun rays and humidity is maintained.
European hooffoot is a stable, hardy plant. In the garden it will grow even in deep shade, on poor dry rocky soil, but in this case it will grow very slowly, and its leaves will be dull and small. If you place the hoofed grass in an area with rich, moist, loose soil, illuminated by the sun for at least 1-2 hours in the morning, you can get a gorgeous carpet of evergreen, shiny leaves that live for about 1.5 years. The European hoof planted along the edge well emphasizes the paths and paths in the garden. If you also place in this border a kupena, ostrich fern, lilies of the valley or oak anemone and snowdrops, then a thoughtful composition of these simple shade-loving plants will help create a charming corner of the shady garden.

Many gardeners like to use plants in their plots that decoratively cover the soil under the trees and form a green and elegant carpet on it. The most common and unpretentious among them is the European hoof. It is a perennial, low growing and evergreen plant.

In nature, there are more than 60 species of this pretty grass. The most common and famous are Siebold's hoof, which grows mainly on Far East, and Canadian hoofweed, native to the USA and Canada. The plant got its name from the interesting shape of its bright green leaf, which resembles the outline of a horse’s hoof.

Over its many years of reign in the gardens and forests of the European part of Russia, the European hoofed grass has received many different names. Most popular names are associated with its healing and beneficial properties:

• ipecac. Infusions and decoctions prepared from the root of the coffin are used to stimulate vomiting;
• wild pepper or wild ginger. If you pick a leaf of the plant and rub it with your fingers, you can feel its bitter taste;
• core. Coffin tincture normalizes cardiac arrhythmia. In a number of countries, European hoofweed is used in pharmacological drugs, used for chronic diseases of cardiovascular activity;
• fever grass. Coffin has an excellent anti-inflammatory and expectorant effect and is effectively used to treat ARVI, bronchitis, and persistent cough.

This plant is also called butterbur, earthen incense, undergrowth and turpentine root.

Note! The plant contains the poisonous component “asaron”; coffin should be used with extreme caution and only under the supervision of a physician.

Women during pregnancy and lactation, as well as young children, should not use preparations containing this perennial.

European hoofweed (Asarum Europaeum) Since ancient times, it has been successfully used by healers and physicians. Even the legendary scientist Avicenna prescribed coffin root to his patients to treat dropsy, liver ailments and as a means to increase potency.

Botanical characteristics of the ungulate

The plant has a brownish recumbent stem, which is covered with small hairy roots and creeping roots more large size. Young shoots with roots spread along the ground and take root - this is how a small, neat bush is formed, which gradually occupies more and more space. The plant grows up to 5-15 cm.

Hoof grass has small single flowers of a dark red hue in the shape of a bell. The flowering of a perennial may not be noticed if you do not look under its wide leaves. The flowers bloom in late spring, and after a month the bell flower turns into a small box with seeds. Very often the seeds are taken away by ants who love to feast on them. It is with the help of ants that grass is pollinated by seed.

The flowers of the plant are bisexual, i.e. they contain both pistils and stamens. Thanks to this property, self-pollination of the grass can occur if the ants have not done this.

IN winter time year, the leaves of the perennial are well preserved under snow cover; after wintering, some of them fall off the stem. The remaining leaves from last year are dark in color, thick and shiny. Young leaves are lighter and more tender.

On a note! To use the coffin for medicinal purposes, its roots and leaves are usually used.

Roots should be harvested in spring or autumn. Leaves are best collected during flowering or immediately after it. However, they will not lose their properties, even if they are collected until the arrival of autumn. Clefthoof leaves are dried in the shade, with good air ventilation or in dryers at a temperature of no more than 35 °C. The resulting raw materials contain glass containers, but not more than 1 year.

Pharmacological properties and uses of the herb

The chemical composition of European ungulate contains sufficient quantity biologically active substances and microelements. For example, essential oils, various useful resins, organic acids and their salt components, tanning components, alkaloids, starch, etc. The evergreen perennial can be used for medicinal purposes either independently or in combination with other healing plants and herbs.

European hooffoot is used as an emetic, sedative, diuretic and choleretic agent. In addition, the herb helps:

• effectively fight human helminths;
• relieve chronic inflammatory processes in the body;
• improve digestion, used to treat gastritis, enteritis, some liver diseases and gastric ulcers;
• fight epilepsy, relieve headaches and some neurotic conditions;
• treat purulent acne and wounds, eczema and other inflammatory skin processes;

In addition, the essential oil extracted from the roots of the perennial is successfully used in dentistry, perfumery and the food industry.

Magical uses of the herb

Medicinal herb used traditional healers and official medicine for the preparation of tinctures, decoctions, powders, medicinal ointments and creams for external use.

However, the plant is often used for more than just medicinal purposes. Magic also recognizes his healing abilities.

Dried leaves of the herb are used to fumigate a house to cleanse it of evil spirits. To protect against the evil eye or damage, small dry roots of the plant are often hidden in body amulets and amulets. There was also a custom of hanging dried hoofs over the door to protect animals from the evil eye.

Alcoholism treatment, recipes

In Rus', this herb was successfully used to get rid of alcoholism. Moreover, the healers knew the recipes that were used when an alcoholic did not recognize his problem, i.e. treatment was carried out without knowledge drinking man. This recipe has survived to this day.

Recipe 1. One tablespoon of dry root is poured into a glass of water, boiled over low heat for 5 minutes and left for an hour. In order for the patient to accept the resulting infusion without suspicion, 1 spoon of the product is diluted with 200 grams of vodka and allowed to be taken 2 times a day on an empty stomach.

Taking such “mysterious vodka” the patient begins to vomit and, as a result, has an aversion to alcohol. After 3-4 procedures, alcohol will cause vomiting even without the use of hoof tincture.

There were also special methods treatment when a person himself wanted to stop drinking and free himself from this harmful habit. Over time, recipes for treating alcoholism with the help of green perennials have not been lost, but only improved and slightly modified.

Recipe 2. Take 1 tsp. coffin and mixed with 2 tsp. green peel walnut. A teaspoon of the resulting mixture is diluted in 4 liters of wine and left for 14 days. Take 1 glass per day on an empty stomach. This recipe also causes a feeling of nausea and vomiting and, as a result, self-medication occurs, by voluntary refusal from alcohol.

However, due to the fact that the plant contains the poisonous component “asarone”, independent use herbs for drunkenness are strictly not recommended. An overdose of the drug is unacceptable - it can lead to serious consequences and complications. The herb hoofed grass for alcoholism is permissible only in special anti-alcohol mixtures that combine compatible herbs and plants that weaken the craving for alcohol and have a general healing effect. In particular, the herbal collection “StopAlcohol-Elite” has proven itself well, which in addition to coffin grass includes tansy, wormwood, and others unique plants northern and western parts of Russia.

Flower in garden design

Under natural conditions, wild hoofed grass grows in the forest. On garden plot cultivated plant varieties will be indispensable and full-fledged participants in the shady places of the garden, as well as decoration for the design of alpine slides.

The grass blends harmoniously with other lovers of shaded areas of the garden. For example, European hoofed grass will look great if it grows nearby, decorative fern or small coniferous bushes. Chopper decorates the garden almost the entire season: in early spring after the snow melts, the perennial will delight the owner with its green bushes, and with the onset of cold weather it will disappear under the snow green and alive. Special care hoofed grass does not require watering and care. It would be useful to remove weeds in a timely manner.

Another advantage of grass is its reproduction on the site. To do this, you need to cut off a section from the main bush and plant it in a new place. The plant prefers soils rich in humus - loamy and clayey. You can reproduce at any time.

It’s worth getting to know such a wonderful and useful plant better and decorating your garden with neat bushes of European hoof.

European hoofweed - beautiful plant with abundant foliage, shaped like a horse's hoof. In the Siberian forests and in the forest zone of the European part of our country, this plant forms a magnificent green carpet under the trees. Clefthoof today is often used as an element landscape design, issuing them alpine coaster and shady areas in botanical gardens.

Description of the plant

European hoofweed (Latin name Asarum europaeum) belongs to the kirkazon family (Latin Aristolochiaceae), and is a low (10-15 cm) perennial herbaceous evergreen plant. The root is a horizontal creeping rhizome.

The leaves of the hoofed grass are juicy green, do not fall off in winter, and are perfectly preserved under the snow. After overwintering and waiting for summer, the leaves of this plant fall off. European hooffoot cannot be confused with any other plant - its leathery leaves almost exactly repeat the shape of a horse's hoof.

The stem of this plant is long, creeping and climbing, hidden in the grass and fallen leaves, brownish-brown, covered with leathery, long-stalked, entire leaves, at the base of which flower buds are formed in the fall.

The flower buds of the hoofed grass overwinter well under fallen leaves and snow. The hoofed grass blooms with brownish flowers, with a purple inner surface and single flowers. Its perianth is simple, bell-shaped, tripartite, greenish in color. After flowering, European hoofed grass forms a fruit in the form of a hexagonal capsule, with small, wrinkled, brownish-gray seeds.

The ungulate blooms in May, and the fruits ripen in June, when the time comes for the ants to feed their larvae. Each coffin seed has a small, fleshy appendage that attracts ants. For the sake of this appendage, the ants take away the seeds of the hoofweed throughout the forest, and they eat only this appendage without damaging the seed itself.

European hooffoot is a plant that is not only unusual in appearance, but also has a peculiar peppery smell. For this smell, which intensifies when you rub its leaves with your hands, the English call it wild ginger, and our people gave it such names as forest pepper, wine root, emetic root, wild pepper, hare root, hoofweed, undergrowth, earthen incense and many more , no less peculiar names.

Coffin has been used since ancient times in folk medicine and even in magic, but modern pharmacology has recently begun to use this plant, mainly as a component of herbal preparations. You must use hoofed grass yourself very carefully because absolutely all parts of this plant are poisonous. Although, if you do not overdose, this plant brings tangible benefits.

Medicinal properties of the plant

European coffin has a wide range of medicinal properties. It is used as an emetic, anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, hemostatic, expectorant, laxative, wound healing, sedative, antipyretic, diuretic, anthelmintic and antisclerotic agent.

In addition, this plant is effective in treating extensive and purulent wounds, ulcers, and scabies.

The aerial part of the plant and rhizomes contain a mass of biologically active substances and compounds such as glycosides, including the cardiac group, the alkaloid azarin, tannins and resins, starch, mucus, organic acids, as well as their salts, essential oils, among which stands out toxic substance asaron (disappears when the raw material is dried), transisoasarone, etc., flavonoids, various resins, phenolcarboxylic acids, tannins.

Preparation of medicinal raw materials

The European ungulate is almost entirely medicinal raw materials, but mainly only leaves and rhizomes are used. The roots are harvested either in spring or autumn.

Harvesting roots in summer period It is not recommended to do this. It is better to harvest the leaves of this plant during the flowering period, but this can be done throughout the summer period.

The harvested raw materials must be sorted out, damaged leaves must be removed, and the roots must be thoroughly washed and cut into small pieces. Then spread the raw materials in a thin layer on a clean mat and dry them in the shade, under a canopy or in the attic - the room should be well ventilated and not have access to rain moisture. You can also dry the raw materials in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 50 degrees.

Store finished raw materials for no more than a year, in a dry and cool place. Roots and leaves should be stored separately from each other.

Use in folk medicine

In folk medicine, European coffin has been used to treat a variety of diseases for a very long time, both as an independent medicine and as part of herbal preparations. Coffin is used in the form of decoctions, infusions, compresses and lotions.

Thus, for the treatment of diseases such as gastritis, both acute and chronic, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and biliary tract, pneumonia, as well as chronic and acute bronchitis, epilepsy, decoctions and infusions of this plant are used.

Contraindications

It is strictly forbidden to take coffin in any form during pregnancy. The plant is mildly poisonous, so use should only be started after consulting a doctor. Take strictly according to the prescribed prescription, avoiding overdose.