Fern

Ferns are the highest spore plant with a cyclic development: sexual and asexual. The first generation of plants grows out of spores growing in the ground, having a small size and a heart-shaped shape. The sprout is firmly attached to the soil with the help of rhizoids. It forms the female and male sexual organs, the sex cells of which, under favorable conditions, for example in rainy weather, are fertilized. Later, the plant develops and develops, forming for a short period of time two or three leaves, several centimeters in size. Young shoots can be found in the first summer months. The weedless generation is a perennial plant, which is used in phytotherapy.

Rhizome rhizome thick and long, from it emerge a lot of dissected leaves with divided lobes. The bracken fern does not have a stem, the leaves are large, reaching one meter in length, narrowed to the base. The base is wide, brownish in color, covered with films. On the inside of the leaves, brown saras( sporangia) appear closer to autumn. The sails run parallel, protrude over the inner surface of the sheet. Maturation of spores occurs by the end of summer.

The fern fern grows in the East of the country, the Urals, the European part of Russia. Orlyak common prefers shady deciduous forests, especially where birches, aspen and lime are found. Often it occurs in coniferous forests, on mountainous terrain. Ferns can be found in large conglomerations. It practically does not exist in pine forests, where light penetrates through trees and the soil is much drier. She loves shady and humid terrain, in which it can grow up to a meter and a half and the same diameter.

In phytotherapy use the roots of fern. They are accepted to be collected in spring or autumn. Roots are excavated, cleaned and small parts removed. Drying is done in shaded rooms or special ovens. The temperature during drying should not be more than forty degrees. In a quality dried raw material, the moisture content should not exceed fourteen percent.

In its chemical composition, the roots of the plant contain essential oils, bitterness, starch, porphic acid, derivatives of phloroglucin and other components.

Ferns fern, useful properties of the plant

The plant has a helminthic property, having a paralyzing effect on the musculature of the parasites. For the human body, getting the extract of a plant is dangerous, as it causes convulsions, paralysis of the heart muscle, and has a toxic effect on the nervous system.

In case of accidental ingestion into the gastrointestinal tract, the plant may cause inflammatory reactions.

In people, preparations from ferns are used in helminthic invasions( all types of tapeworm, pinworms).In traditional medicine, tableted forms of fern preparation are released, which are used as anthelmintic.

A medicinal preparation from this plant was used to treat compensated heart diseases, increased blood pressure, chronic diseases of the digestive system, kidney diseases. The use of the drug in small concentrations of pathological reactions did not cause. The toxic effect is observed when using an extract of a plant, since it contains a large concentration of active substances. After entering the body, depression of the respiratory center, optic nerve atrophy, convulsions, liver failure may occur.

Because of its toxicity, fern preparations are practically not used at present, except for folk medicine, in which it is used to treat rheumatic joints in the form of baths.