Highlander Serpentine

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

Highlander serpentine is one of the plants of the family called buckwheat, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Polygonum bistorta L. As for the name of the buckwheat family itself, in Latin it will sound like this: Polygonaceae Juss.

Description of the snake mountaineer

The snake mountaineer is also known under the popular names: serpentine and crayfish necks. Highlander serpentine is a perennial herb endowed with a thick and somewhat flattened lignified rhizome that will be pink at the break. The rhizome is endowed with the type of crayfish necks, in fact, this similarity explains the popular name of the snake mountaineer. In addition, such a rhizome is also serpentine curved, which explains another name for this plant. Outside, such a rhizome is painted in dark red tones with a brown tint. From such a rhizome, thin filamentous roots will depart. The stem of this plant is knotty and unbranched, it is endowed with dry membranous tubules-bells, which will grasp the lower part of the internodes of the stem. It is noteworthy that sometimes the ends of the shoots with leaves and the inflorescences themselves will rise above the water. The leaves of this plant are long-petiolate, floating, as well as shiny and oblong, they can be either blunt or sharp. The leaves of the serpentine mountaineer are endowed with a rounded or heart-shaped base. The inflorescence is dense, it will also be spike-shaped, consisting of pink flowers, which will be located at the very top of the stem of the serpentine mountaineer. The stamens of this plant are painted in purple tones, they will be longer than the perianth. The fruits of this plant are triangular brown smooth nuts.

The flowering of the serpentine mountaineer falls on the period from May to June, while the ripening of the fruits will begin around June-July. In natural conditions, this plant can be found, ranging from the Far North to the steppe zone of the European part of Russia and even in Western Siberia. For growth, this plant prefers the banks of rivers and lakes, as well as swampy peaty and subalpine meadows, and besides this, it also prefers wet floodplain meadows.

Description of the medicinal properties of the snake mountaineer

For medicinal purposes, it is recommended to use the rhizomes of this plant: such raw materials should be harvested in the spring and autumn. Rhizomes should be dug up with shovels or diggers, and then thoroughly shake off the ground and cut off the roots and aerial parts with knives, after which they are washed in cold water. After that, the rotten parts of the rhizomes should be removed. Then the raw material should be left to air dry, and then placed to dry, spreading it out in a fairly thin layer.

The rhizomes of this plant contain starch, tannins, catechin, gallic acid, oxymethylanthraquinones, ascoric acid and calcium oxalate. The herb of this plant will contain coffee, chlorogenic and protocatechic acids, as well as rutin, hyperosides, avicularin and quercetin.

Preparations based on this plant are endowed with highly astringent, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, calming the nervous system and wound healing effects. Such funds are effective in diarrhea, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, as well as in acute inflammatory processes in the intestine, with internal intestinal, gastric and uterine bleeding. Powder and liquid extract, as well as a decoction of the rhizomes of this plant, are recommended for use in case of gingivitis and stomatitis. As for traditional medicine, here this remedy is used for internal bleeding, cholelithiasis and urolithiasis.