Stellaria is a flowering herb that belongs to the Clove family. The herb has more than 100 species and varieties in its genus, most of which are toxic to humans and animals. The unpretentious perennial starwort can grow on wet meadow and forest soils, on rocky soils in the mountains and as a weed in summer cottages and garden plots. The plant is most widespread in China. In folk medicine, stellate herb is used for medicinal purposes.
Description and characteristics of the star
The stellate consists of a tetrahedral stem with a smooth or slightly pubescent surface, sessile ovoid leaf plates, single white flowers about 2 centimeters in diameter, and capsule fruits with rounded brown seeds. Some species are endowed with underground shoots.
Features of a starlet - it can quickly adapt to various climatic and weather conditions, requires minimal care in the garden, is able to quickly grow and capture large areas, is used for composting.
Growing starfishes from seeds
Sowing seeds
Starfish is considered so unpretentious that it is almost impossible to remove its rapidly growing plantings. The most common and effective way of breeding starfish is self-seeding. If a perennial is sown at least once in a garden plot, then in future years it will take great efforts to get rid of its large family. Many gardeners grow stellate for medicinal purposes, so this issue is not relevant for them.
Starfish seeds can be sown directly into open areas. A favorable time for this in the autumn is the second half of September - early October, and in spring - mid-March, when the last snow melts. After the autumn sowing, the seeds have time to harden in the winter, strengthen their immunity and sprout friendly shoots with the arrival of the warm season. You do not need to use any shelters for the winter. Spring sowing will not produce seedlings all at once, but in individual specimens throughout the spring and summer months.
Starfish seedlings
In cold regions with late spring, it is recommended to grow starlet seedlings first. For this, the seed is sown in planting boxes with a moistened nutrient substrate and the seedlings are grown until 3-4 full-fledged leaves appear on them. After that, the first pick is carried out, and after another 15-20 days, the second. Strong and strong young plants are recommended to be transplanted to a flower garden or garden at a distance of 5-10 centimeters from each other.
Planting a sprocket in open ground
Planting a star in the ground should take place in semi-shaded areas without direct sunlight. But the composition of the soil can be almost any - sandy, clayey, stony, acidic and alkaline. A medicinal culture will be able to adapt to different conditions, but moist fertile soil with all the necessary nutrients, its slightly acidic reaction and loose structure will help to show all the positive qualities of the plant.
Caring for starworms in the garden
It is necessary to take care of the starlet only until the plants are young and finally get stronger. They will need moderate and regular watering, timely weeding and loosening of the soil. A strong and robust culture will no longer allow weeds to approach itself, and will itself obtain the necessary moisture for itself. If self-seeding of starwort is not desirable for your garden or backyard, it is recommended to root the plants at the initial stage of fruit formation. Removed herbaceous bushes are great for composting.
Wintering
Starfish belongs to frost-resistant plants that do not need shelter for the winter. She will perfectly survive the harsh winter with the most severe frosts. This is especially true of decorative flowering perennials.
Diseases and pests of starfish
Useful weed starlet is not afraid of any pests and is not subject to diseases. A viral disease, symptoms of which are yellow mosaic spots on the leaf blades and the changing shape of individual leaves, can arise from a diseased grape bush that grows nearby. It is impossible to cure the disease, but it is quite possible to save healthy plants. At the first signs of this problem, it is recommended to urgently trim the starlet, all diseased specimens, and completely destroy them. As a preventive measure, it is necessary to shed the vacated plots of land with a very saturated manganese solution. Nothing can be grown in these areas for the next few seasons.
Types and varieties of starfish with a photo
Stellaria nemorum
The second name is forest stellate - a species popularly called "owl potion", a perennial with pubescent erect stems about 15 centimeters in height, pointed leaves, heart-shaped, single white flowers about 1 centimeter in diameter and fruit-capsules. It is found in the Caucasus and in almost all European countries.
Forked stellaria (Stellaria dichotoma)
The species is listed in the Red Book in certain regions of Russia. The herbaceous medicinal perennial consists of a thick root, a branched stem with a sticky surface up to 30 centimeters high, naked or pubescent leaf plates with a pointed apex, white flowers with five petals cut to the middle. Grows in mountainous areas at high altitudes. Found in China, Mongolia and the Far East.
Cereal stellaria (Stellaria graminea)
It is also called cereal stellate. It blooms from mid-May until the end of the summer season. The stem is about 40 centimeters high. The poisonous species is found in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia on moist soils of meadows or on the shores of lakes and rivers. Possesses numerous medicinal properties.
Lanceolate stellate (Stellaria holostea)
The second name is stiff-leaved stellate - a low species (20-30 centimeters in height), blooming in April and May, with a creeping rhizome, a straight, smooth and brittle stem, narrow leaf plates and large white flowers. In the wild, it occurs on forest grounds.
Marsh stellaria (Stellaria palustris)
Perennial species with recumbent stems, oblong leaves no more than 1.5 centimeters in height, small five-petal flowers of snow-white color and fruit-capsules with seeds. In its natural environment, it is found on wet soils near water bodies, grows well in swampy areas.The flowering period lasts about 5 months. Effective as a medicinal plant in the treatment of skin diseases.
Medium stellaria (Stellaria media)
The second name is stellate woodlouse. Annual undersized species, malicious weed, good honey plant. Consists of a creeping stem no more than 10 centimeters high with many pubescent shoots, pointed leaves and small flowers that look like stars. Woodlice seeds retain high germination capacity for 5 years. It blooms from mid-spring to early autumn. The weed plant is very popular in folk medicine and in homeopathy.
The healing properties of starwort
Official medicine has not yet used this plant, but in folk recipes, in homeopathy, among healers and healers, stellate is very popular. On its basis, drops and rubbing, tinctures and decoctions, essence and juice are prepared. Not only fresh herb is used, but also dried herb. The remedies from the starlet are used internally and externally (for example, as compresses and lotions).
The medicinal weed starlet contains in its composition a huge amount of useful components that are necessary for a person in the treatment of many diseases. These are tannins, vitamins, micro- and macroelements, essential oils, alkaloids, carotene, lipids and flavonoids and other valuable elements.
With the help of starfish, you can relieve acute and chronic pain, stop bleeding, and cure inflammation. Preparations based on it are used as a wound healing and expectorant, choleretic and diuretic. The plant tones up and strengthens the immune system, has antimicrobial and antiscorbutic effect.
Application in traditional medicine
- Infusions - in the treatment of cough and pneumonia, with edema and convulsions, with pneumonia, bronchitis and hemoptysis, with osteochondrosis, cirrhosis of the liver and intestinal upset;
- Lotions and compresses - for various skin lesions, purulent wounds and tumors;
- Baths - for swelling of the legs and disorders of the nervous system, for rheumatism and radiculitis;
- Decoctions - to increase hemoglobin, against acne, with joint pain;
- Juice - in the treatment of all internal organs and skin problems.
Contraindications
Do not take drugs based on starfish for children, women carrying a child or breastfeeding, allergy sufferers. Individual intolerance of this plant is also possible in any person.
Since all types of medicinal stellate contain poison, treatment should be started only after consulting a specialist and with strict adherence to all recommendations and dosages. The plant causes great harm to gardens and vegetable gardens, as it is a malicious weed.
