Jaundice (Erysimum) or heirantus is a medicinal flowering herb from the Cruciferous family, numbering over 250 different species in its genus and found naturally on almost every continent. The culture is widely known in folk medicine for its healing properties, and translated from Greek means "to help". Annual or perennial jaundice are indeed effective helpers in the treatment of many diseases.
Description of the herb jaundice
In their natural environment, plants often grow in mountainous areas. They consist of a straight, light green stem with many shoots, whole oblong leaves of a juicy green hue, racemose inflorescences of white, yellow, purple or purple flowers and fruits - pods with seeds. Jaundice is highly resistant to drought, diseases, pests, it is very light-loving and unpretentious in care and cultivation.
Planting jaundice in open ground
Where to plant jaundice
The site on which it is planned to plant the jaundice must be open and sunny and not be in the lowlands. The plant has a negative attitude towards excessive moisture and stagnation of water in the soil. Snow should not be deposited on it in the spring. The structure of the soil should be light, with good water and air permeability, and fertile in composition.
Before sowing seeds and planting seedlings, the soil on the site must be dug to a depth of 20-25 cm and compost or rotted humus must be added to it. Each square meter of land will require 5-6 kg of fertilizer. After digging, the entire surface is recommended to be leveled with a rake.
The most favorable time for planting comes when the air temperature no longer drops below 15-16 degrees Celsius. Most often this is the second half of May.
How to plant correctly
Sowing seeds is carried out randomly over the entire surface of the flower garden, after which a thin layer of soil is applied and careful watering is carried out from a scattering watering can. Under favorable weather conditions, the mass emergence of seedlings will occur in 10-15 days. After a week, it is necessary to thin out the seedlings. The spacing between young plants should not be less than 10 cm.
If seedlings purchased or grown independently are used as planting material, then planting is carried out in prepared planting holes with an interval of 20-30 cm from each other. The distance between seedling bushes depends on the variety and type of jaundice. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to first moisten the soil under the plant.
Jaundice care in the garden
Watering
The jaundice will not need regular watering. Excess moisture for him is much more dangerous than lack of moisture. Seasonal rainfall is usually sufficient for flowering crops. With a long absence of rain and very high air temperatures, watering is still necessary.Irrigation water will be required to be settled and warm. You can use water that is in a container outdoors under the sun.
The soil
Experienced gardeners recommend mulching the soil immediately after the emergence of seedlings or after planting seedlings. It is good to use peat or any organic material as mulch. Such a protective layer will save the grower from wasting time on soil care. The soil under the mulch will always remain moderately moist and light, there will be no place for weeds. In the absence of mulch, you will have to regularly loosen the soil and constantly deal with the emerging weeds.
Top dressing
Additional nutrition in the form of a solution of complete mineral fertilizer is recommended to be applied once a season before the beginning of the flowering period. Fertilizer should be intended for flowering garden plants.
Pruning
As soon as the jaundice - perennial or biennial plant finishes its flowering, you can prune it. After pruning, the height of the aboveground part should not exceed 10 cm. This procedure promotes the appearance of new leaf mass again, which allows you to admire the pleasant greenery until autumn.
Preparing for winter
The jaundice, unfortunately, is not endowed with high resistance to cold and winter cold, it can only withstand small frosts - about two to three degrees of frost. In order for the plants to be able to maintain their viability until spring, it is necessary to build a reliable shelter for them. It consists of two parts: a ten-centimeter layer of mulch (from sawdust, dry leaves, pine needles) and spruce branches. It is recommended to prepare for winter in early October.
Diseases and pests
The jaundice is not afraid of diseases and pests. Harmful insects do not bother him. But a plant can get sick due to improper care and strong waterlogging of the soil. Herbaceous culture of any type and variety reacts negatively to the slightest manifestations of dampness. Most often, a fungal disease appears - for example, white rust or root rot. One of the signs of the disease is the appearance of deformed shoots and the wilting of the culture. Immediately after the detection of the disease, it is necessary to take urgent measures to save the entire flower garden, since the disease spreads very quickly to healthy plants. The first step is to remove diseased specimens, and then immediately treat all remaining flowers and the soil under them with a fungicidal solution. Spraying flowering plants that are grown as medicinal crops, it is recommended to spray herbal infusions (for example, horsetail infusion) twice with an interval of one week.
Useful properties of jaundice
Medicinal types of jaundice ("Leukoevoid", "Gray") contain glycosides, fatty oil, acids (linolenic, erucic, palmitic). All parts of the plant have healing properties.
The benefits of jaundice
- Calms the nervous system;
- Strengthens the heart muscle;
- Normalizes cardiovascular activity;
- Improves cellular nutrition;
- Relieves swelling;
- Improves blood circulation;
- Softens and moisturizes the skin;
- Promotes wound healing;
- Relieves inflammation;
- It has diuretic and antiseptic properties;
- It is used in the treatment of arrhythmias and angina pectoris;
- Improves the condition after a heart attack;
- Used in the treatment of cardiac and renal dropsy;
- Stimulates the work of the pancreas.
Folk recipes
Traditional medicine offers many recipes for decoctions and tinctures based on jaundice, which have a positive effect on the heart and blood vessels, and improves their permeability. In individual cases, the use of a dried herb in powder form is recommended.
To prepare the broth, you will need 250 ml of boiling water and one tablespoon of raw materials. Insist for 30 minutes and take 1 teaspoon three times a day.
The infusion is prepared from one glass of boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon of dry herb. Insist for two hours, after which they take a tablespoon three times a day for two months.The finished medicine should be stored in a cool place.
Contraindications
Jaundice, being a very valuable medicinal plant, has some contraindications. Since it contains poisonous substances, the herb can also have a negative effect when used in treatment. The use of jaundice is contraindicated in diseases of the vessels of the retina of the fundus, with atherosclerosis and cardiosclerosis, as well as with an increase in the left ventricle. With such diseases, jaundice can be harmful.
Types and varieties of jaundice
Pretty jaundice (Erysimum pulchellum) - a perennial species with an average height of about 30 cm. Branched stems, elongated lanceolate leaves with a pubescent surface, light yellow flowers.
Heyrantus Cheri, or Lakfiol (Cheirantus cheiri = Erysimum cheiri) - evergreen species. Height - about 1 m. It blooms in yellow and orange shades. The peculiarity of the species is a bright pleasant aroma. The best varieties:
- Goldkenig - grows up to 50 cm
- Tom There - grows up to 30 cm
- Badder - grows up to 30 cm
Pallas jaundice (Erysimum pallasii) - undersized species, no more than 20 cm in height. Taproot, dark green leaves, purple flowers.
Spreading jaundice (Erysimum diffusum) - a biennial species with an unbranched stem more than 1 m in height, with dark green whole leaf plates and inflorescences of 3-6 pale yellow flowers without aroma.
Allioni jaundice (Erysimum x allionii = Cheiranthus x allionii) - a hybrid species, known in culture since the second half of the 19th century. The average height is 35-40 cm. The leaves are narrow, with a smooth surface. Inflorescences are dense brushes, flowers are fragrant, painted in a yellow or golden hue.
Levkoyny jaundice (Erysimum cheiranthoides) - an annual species with a branched taproot, an erect stem with many shoots, oblong leaves and bright yellow inflorescences.
Yellow jaundice (Erysimum flavum = Hesperis flava = Erysimum altaicum var.baicalense = Erysimum altaicum) - perennial species, reaching 1 m in height. It grows on stony soils, on forest edges, in dry meadows. Blooms in small yellow inflorescences.
Petrovsky's jaundice (Erysimum perovskianum) Is an annual species native to Afghanistan. The stem is branched, the leaves are dark green small, the inflorescences are yellow. The average height is no more than 40 cm. There is a compact Compactum variety that grows only up to 20 cm.
