Since wormwood grows almost everywhere, this medicinal plant is one of the most accessible, which does not diminish its usefulness. Moreover, wormwood has been considered a magic potion since ancient times, and today, recognized as scientific medicine, it is used to prepare medicines for many diseases. But it is absolutely not necessary to buy funds from wormwood in the pharmacy - they can be made by hand, for which the plant needs to be properly harvested. Consider when it is recommended to collect wormwood for medicinal purposes, and how it should be dried.
When to collect wormwood for healing?
It should be noted that traditional medicine uses one of the wormwood species - wormwood , the composition and properties of which are well studied. Therefore, in this article we will talk about when to collect and how to dry for the preparation of medicines wormwood bitter. This plant species is distinguished by the grayish-silver color of stems and leaves, collected in baskets by yellow flowers, expressed by a spicy aroma and very bitter taste.
As you know, the harvesting of medicinal herbs should be done only in a certain period, when the concentration of nutrients in them is maximized. For wormwood of such period two: before flowering and during flowering. Before flowering, during budding (May-June), the root leaves of the plant are harvested, for which they should be cut off without petioles. When wormwood blooms (July - August), harvest the leafy tops of the plant, cutting them with scissors along a length of 20-25 cm, without coarse stems. It is important to have time to collect wormwood before the flowers darken, become brown.
When preparing wormwood bitter also should take into account several points:
- The collection of raw materials should be carried out in ecologically clean areas, away from the industrial zone, dumps, roads.
- For harvesting choose a dry, sunny day, when the plants will dry with dew.
- Plants after harvesting do not need to be washed.
- Strongly contaminated or diseased with grass to take is not recommended.
How to dry wormwood?
The collected raw materials should be dried immediately, having spread on a paper a thin layer or having placed loose in a wicker basket. Drying is carried out in the air in the shade (in the attic, under a canopy) or in the dryer at a temperature of about 40-50 ° C, with the grass required to regularly turn over. Determine that the raw material is ready, you can by the degree of brittleness: the stems must break, and the leaves are rubbed into powder. Keep the dried wormwood in a paper, wooden or linen container, tightly closed.