Spilantes - Anesthetic From The Flower Bed

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

You can get at least a triple benefit from this amazing garden plant - it will delight the eye with its beauty, and it will come in handy in the kitchen, and the healer from it is excellent. Especially praised for its analgesic ability. So why not take a closer look at such a multifunctional Spilantes?

It all started with a bad tooth …

Spilantes is a flowering annual plant of the Aster family. Its most famous species is considered to be Spilantes orchard, which is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of Brazil. Locals consider it to be an effective homeopathic remedy. In addition, the plant is often used for food, medicinal and decorative purposes. Less common in culture can be found Brazilian watercress with brownish leaves and Indian cresson.

Spilantes was known back in the 19th century, when it was most often cultivated as a spice. Anthropologist Françoise Barbire Friedman discovered it for the world. During a trip to Brazil, she had a toothache. Locals helped ease the pain with a potion made from spilantes leaves. The woman brought this plant, where scientists and confirmed its unique healing properties.

Creeping yellow kegs

This plant will perfectly revive a flowerbed, a balcony, a hanging planter and will become a border for a path in the garden. On the creeping stems of spilantes, fluffy, globular barrels of a grayish-yellow color are visible through the pretty oval leaves. Cherry specks are located on their tops. Luscious foliage spreads along the ground, drawing the eye with flowers that look like mischievous eyes.

Spilantes is a thermophilic plant. In order to protect it from frost in the spring, you must first prepare the seedlings. At the end of March, small seeds are sown, lightly sprinkling them with soil. Containers for seedlings are selected small - about the same as for peppers. Seedlings appear on the 10th day, and it is important to water them abundantly to avoid drying out. If necessary, the seedlings can be thinned out. Young animals do not need to be fed. After the onset of warm weather, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

There are slugs in the shadows

Spilantes takes root in a new place without any problems and even starts up root shoots. That is why the stem is slightly deepened when planting. Avoid very shady areas where slugs are likely to attack the plant. Caring for this plant, in general, is not burdensome. It practically does not suffer from pests and diseases. At first, spilantes needs active watering and getting rid of weeds. Very quickly, it reaches its usual size and for a long time pleases with its unusual flowering.

In warm regions, the plant can be sown directly into the ground, and if unexpected frosts do occur, then it can be covered for a while with a protective film. If you plan to grow spilantes as a medicinal plant, and not for decorative purposes, then it will be enough to plant 2-3 plants.

Contains natural analgesics

If you taste the fresh leaves of this plant, you will experience an unusual, slightly pungent taste, vaguely reminiscent of carbon dioxide in carbonated water. For a few minutes, the tongue will be numb, and the taste of other foods will hardly be felt. The fact is that spilantes contains pain relievers such as spilanthol and pipetrin. They are considered natural analgesics. They help with gout, toothache, rheumatism and many other diseases.

It was on the basis of this wonderful plant that a unique analgesic, dental gel was created, which quickly and for a sufficiently long period of time blocks pain. It is believed to be much more effective than all analgesics available today. In addition, this remedy helps to cope with mouth ulcers, gum inflammation and other problems with which people often go to the dentist. All spilantes preparations have no side effects. For this reason, they can be used even for the smallest children, for example, when they are teething.

Good for salads

In many European countries, spilantes is known for cooking. They make delicious and, which is very important, healthy salads, sauces and side dishes from it. In folk medicine, tinctures from this plant are used. Spilantes leaves are collected, thoroughly crushed, poured with alcohol or water to make it infuse. This remedy will help with stomatitis, bruises, abrasions, muscle strains and heaviness in the stomach. In the autumn, you can dry a certain amount of leaves and chew them in winter. But it is worth considering that because of its pungent, piquant taste, spilantes can cause heartburn and stomach irritation.