Mistletoe

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

mistletoe is one of the plants of the family called belt-flowered, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Viscum album L. As for the name of the mistletoe family itself, in Latin it will be like this: Loranthaceae Juss.

Description of white mistletoe

White mistletoe is known by numerous popular names: oak berries, armenian, vikhorevo's nest, willow mistletoe, shulga, bird glue and breezy grass. White mistletoe is an evergreen dioecious shrub that will be spherical and forked-branching. Such a shrub settles on the branches of various deciduous trees, and its height will fluctuate between twenty and fifty centimeters. By branching the roots, this plant will penetrate under the bark and into the wood of such trees, forming quite numerous suckers. The branches of the white mistletoe are colored green, or they may be brownish green at the very bottom. The leaves of this plant are sessile, thick-skinned, opposite and whole-edged, they are endowed with very noticeable longitudinal veins. The stamen flowers of the white mistletoe are quite large, while the length of the pistillate ones is only about two millimeters. The fruit of this plant is a false one-seeded and spherical berry, the diameter of which will be equal to one centimeter. In an unripe form, such a berry is colored green, and after ripening it becomes white. The seed of the white mistletoe will be quite large, heart-shaped or oval-heart-shaped, in diameter it will be about eight millimeters. Such a seed is covered with a sticky and slimy pulp, and it is painted in grayish-white tones.

The flowering of this plant occurs in the period from March to April, while the berries will ripen from about May to June. Under natural conditions, this plant is found in the Crimea, Belarus, Ukraine, southwestern and middle zone of the European part of Russia.

Description of the medicinal properties of white mistletoe

White mistletoe is endowed with very valuable healing properties, while leaves, berries and young twigs are used for medicinal purposes. It is recommended to procure such raw materials in the period from September to October. The presence of such valuable healing properties should be explained by the content in the composition of this plant of viscerin, a white amorphous substance of viscotoxin, beta-viscol, choline, amines, fatty acids, acetylcholine, prothionincholine, oleic and ursolic acids, as well as alkaloid-like and resinous substances. In the leaves of mistletoe white, in turn, ascorbic acid and carotene will be present, while rubber is in the sticky pulp of the fruit. It should be remembered that this plant is poisonous.

An aqueous infusion prepared on the basis of branches with berries and leaves of this plant has the ability to calm the nervous system, improve intestinal activity, stop bleeding, and will also help increase milk in lactating women, relieve headaches, and suppress epileptic seizures and convulsions. In addition, such an infusion based on mistletoe is recommended for atherosclerosis, uterine bleeding, whooping cough, increased thyroid function, epileptic seizures and malignant tumors.

Decoctions from the leaves of mistletoe are also used externally in the form of lotions for ulcers, suppurations, long-term non-healing wounds, furunculosis, gout, rheumatism and many skin diseases. The fresh juice of this plant is indicated for use in rectal prolapse and dysentery. Mistletoe leaves and fruits are used externally for swelling and inflammation of the lymph nodes.