Cornflower blue - a poison or a panacea?

The history of the origin of the exquisite adorablea flower, a faithful companion of a rye field - a blue cornflower, completely covered with legends as diamonds. One of them says that on the spot where the Savior was buried, these amazing flowers grew in the morning. And from another, Greek myth, you can learn that the legendary centaur, depicted as a mythological being with a horse figure and body of a man with a beard and a lit torch in his hand, healed the cornflower's juice with his battle wounds from the poisoned arrow of Hercules. Cornflower blue has since received the Latin name Centaurea - centaur.

The ancient Romans claimed that the second partthe name in Latin - cyanus, this flower found thanks to the name of a beautiful young man, in love with cornflowers, his unique fairy-tale beauty. All his time was devoted to weaving wreaths and garlands of cornflowers. A young man from June to the late autumn, while these plants bloomed, did not leave their places of growth. Flora, the Roman goddess, finding him dead among the corn fields, turned the young man's body into a cornflower. And the flower itself has since been called cyanosis. (Centaurea cyanus l.)

The tomb of Tutankhamun surprised archaeologists not onlythe presence of many items of gold and precious stones, but also a small wreath of cornflowers. And these flowers, dried up, have preserved their shape and color through the centuries.

Slavic legends brought to our days a storyVasil - a young guy, bewitched by a mythical creature - a mermaid. Falling in love with a plowman, she tried to draw him to her native element - water. But Vasil did not agree, and then she turned it into a beautiful blue flower. Since then the cornflower blue has firmly established itself in the native plowland.

From ancient times this plant was famous not only for itsrich in history, but also a miraculous healing power. Initially, folk, and then official medicine, recognized its disinfectant and anti-inflammatory, a powerful diuretic and mild cholagogue, as well as an antispasmodic effect.

Cornflower blue in broths and infusions from its flowers is used as a diuretic for diseases of the cardiovascular and urinary systems accompanied by edema.

In folk medicine the cornflower of the field is known as the "eye doctor": decoctions from this miracle plant relieve eye fatigue, heal inflammation with blepharitis and conjunctivitis.

Cornflower blue has an antispasmodic effect. It relaxes smooth muscles and can relieve spasms in headaches.

The wound healing property of the infusions of the cornflowerblue and his ability to heal such skin diseases as eczema, dermatitis, furunculosis and trophic ulcers known to our medicine for a long time. Also cornflower blue effectively helps to get rid of sore throat, cough, and laryngitis. Visibly removes fever with fever.

Harvest bright blue flowers of cornflowers in summer, withJuly to August. At first they tear off the flower baskets entirely, and then pull out the corollas of the blue flowers, but without the inner tubular ones. Faded coronals as raw materials for the manufacture of infusions and medicines are unsuitable. Dry the prepared petals in a shaded, well-ventilated area, spreading a thin layer on paper or clean cloth. They must also be frequently shaken to preserve their blue color. If the raw materials are exposed to direct sunlight, it decolorizes and loses all healing properties. In this case, faded copies are removed. Flowers, well dried, must be stored in a dark dry place, in a container with a tightly closed lid.

Tincture of a cornflower: 15g (1 tsp)) poured dry petals with a glass of boiling water, we insist for half an hour, filter, cool, then use 50 g for 15 minutes before meals three times a day. Such infusion has a beneficial effect in liver diseases, as well as urinary (cystitis, nephritis, urethritis) and bile excretory systems. You can also use it as an antimicrobial agent, with cough, for problems with the gastrointestinal tract and nerve diseases, with uterine bleeding.

If the same tincture is tightly covered with a lid andinsist for an hour, then you can drink it three times a day, 20-30 minutes before eating half the glass. Such treatment is good for removing puffiness from cardiovascular and urinary system diseases.

Cornflower blue contains strong activecompounds with cyan components, so you should be extremely careful, be sure to consult a doctor and do not give tincture from this flower to pregnant women and children.