Shiksha Siberian. Shiksha herb, berry, medicinal properties

Botanical characteristics

Black crowberry, translated as Empetrum nigrum, the plant has a lot of names, I will list some of them, for example, batovka, dropsy, siksha, crowberry, crowberry, crowberry, crowberry, berry heather, zasukha, veris, golubinets, berry birch, ssikha, nakamnik black, sciha, and a number of other names.

The plant is a small evergreen branched bush, the maximum height of its stems does not exceed half a meter, and on average twenty centimeters.

Stem recumbent type. Its branches are densely leafy and erect. The leaves are linear-oblong in shape, quite small, and at the same time dense, one might even say hard, their edges are curved down. The flowers are small in size, sessile, axillary, dioecious, their color is pale reddish.

The calyx and corolla are trifoliate, the plant has three stamens. There is only one pistil with a small lobed stigma. The fruits are black round berries and are edible. The shiksha plant blooms in spring.

Spreading

Berry heather is common in the European part of our vast country, as well as in the Caucasus and Siberian expanses. The plant is mainly localized in peat bogs; it can be seen in damp and tundra areas, as well as in polar-arctic zones.

Part of black crowberry used

The part used includes black crowberry grass, which is usually collected during flowering. Concerning chemical substances, which are contained in dwarf berries, these include benzoic acid, acetic acid, tannins, vitamin C, flavonoids, pectins, some useful resins, carotene.

Collection of raw materials and their preparation

In order to prepare raw materials, it is necessary to carefully pick off the upper parts of the shoots, which should bloom at this time. They are laid out in a thin layer on a pallet, no thicker than five centimeters, and taken to a ventilated place, for example, just in a shady area or under a canopy.

It is very important to turn it over periodically, as this process will not allow moldy fungi to multiply and spoil the grass. When the branches have dried well and reached the required condition, then you can package it in fabric bags, which must be made of natural fabric, this will allow air to circulate well between the laid raw materials.

As for the storage time, there is a limitation, and it is no more than two years. Otherwise, the raw material will lose its medicinal properties, which will make it absolutely useless for further use.

Growing and Reproduction

The plant prefers sandy-peaty soil, which should be well moistened. Shiksha is propagated by cuttings; their length should not exceed five centimeters, and after three weeks they take root well in the ground.

Use of shiksha

Healers use this plant quite often, since shiksha grass has an astringent, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antiseptic, and wound-healing effect on the human body.

An infusion is prepared from the herb, which is used for cramps, mental disorders, in particular for epilepsy, for diarrhea, for gastritis chronic. It is also used externally, for example, to rinse the mouth for stomatitis; skin face, as it prevents the formation of acne.

The infusion of the herb has a calming effect, so it is often used for overwork, stressful situations, for headaches, for disorders of neuropsychic development. Medicines prepared from shiksha are effective for kidney diseases and are actively used in Tibetan medicine.

Since ancient times, shiksha was called the “guardian of the soul”; it was quite actively used in case of disruption of the body, for example, with excessive fatigue, headaches, swelling, epilepsy, urinary tract diseases, vitamin deficiency and dermatological problems.

Recipes

Preparation of the decoction. You will need two tablespoons of shiksha, it must be crushed, and it must be dry, after which the raw material is poured with 400 milliliters of boiling water. Then the container is placed on the stove and simmered on fire for fifteen minutes, after which it is removed and cooled.

When the drug has cooled, it must be filtered; for this purpose, use a strainer with a fine nozzle; if you don’t have one on the farm, take a double layer of gauze. The broth should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days, and it should be prepared as needed.

Preparing the infusion. For this purpose, you will need dry shiksha in the amount of one tablespoon, which it is advisable to first crush, then pour it into an enamel bowl, and pour two hundred milliliters of boiling water into it, after which the potion should stand for at least twenty minutes.

After this time, the infusion will have cooled sufficiently and can be filtered. To do this, use regular gauze, which must be folded in half, or simply use a strainer. This drug is not stored for long, no more than a day, so it must be prepared immediately before use.

Conclusion

Before using the infusion and decoction, you should consult a doctor.

Shiksha is an amazing berry, wonderful plant given to us by nature. People call shiksha the guardian of the soul, magical, magical, magic herb.

Description of the plant

Shiksha (name in Latin Empetrum nigrum L) is a low evergreen creeping shrub with unique medicinal properties. The height of the shrub is 25-30 centimeters, the stems are densely leafy, brown in color, up to a meter or more long, spreading in a moss cushion. Shiksha is a plant that is strongly branched from the base; young branches are covered with hairs and sessile glands. The branches are purely externally similar to spruce ones; during the periods of flowering and ripening of berries they look very elegant. Shiksha has leaves that are more reminiscent of short needles: arranged alternately, hard, oblong, with edges curved inward, sessile, dark green. Shiksha blooms with single, medium-sized, three-petaled flowers of bright pink, sometimes almost red color. Flowers on shiksha bushes appear in late June or early July.

After flowering, crowberry forms fruits - berries, round, black with a bluish bloom, half a centimeter in diameter, sometimes a little larger, similar in appearance to blueberries. The berries are covered with thick skin and have 7-9 hard seeds inside. The taste of ciksha berries is sour, but very juicy, almost without pulp. In autumn, small bushes are literally strewn with black berries. In the tundra zone, where there is a lot of it, hunters quench their thirst with it instead of water. The berries ripen in August and are stored on green bushes throughout the winter.

This is one of the few plants that is so famous among the people that it has been given a huge number of names. So, in addition to shiksha, this plant is known as crowberry (it got its name for its very juicy berries), crowberry (for the black color of the berries), bearberry, drunken berry, possykha or ssykha (for its diuretic effect), sorcerer, crazy, crimson, cabbage roll, dear grass, etc. - these are only Russians popular names, but every people familiar with this plant calls it differently. But we know this plant better as crowberry or crowberry.

This plant is cold-loving and does not grow near housing. It is found only in the wild in the northern regions of our country, on the slopes of the Altai Mountains, the Sayan Range, mainly in the subalpine zone. There is a lot of it in the Scandinavian countries, in England, in Scotland, in the North of Europe. The crowberry (shiksha) prefers to settle in swampy areas, in damp coniferous forests. For this plant, as well as for lingonberries, wintergreens, hogweeds, and all heathers, there is an inherent proximity to mushrooms - they are mycotrophs, i.e. plants that grow and develop well thanks to fungi, receiving from them nutrients. Shiksha is also widespread in such cold zones as the tundra, and even the polar-arctic, where in a short time summer period this plant manages to bloom and produce a bountiful harvest of berries.

Preparation of medicinal raw materials

In shiksha, the entire above-ground part of the plant is used as a medicinal raw material, i.e. berries and twigs with leaves. The berries are harvested when they are fully ripe, and the grass is harvested during the flowering period of the plant. Harvesting shiksha for grass should be done by carefully cutting off the upper parts of the shoots, trying not to pull or disturb the root system of the plant. The harvested raw materials then need to be dried. Drying is carried out in the shade under a canopy or in the attic so that direct Sun rays and raindrops, and the medicinal properties inherent in this plant are well preserved. The shiksha grass is laid out on the bedding in a thin layer and turned during the entire drying period so that the raw material dries evenly. Finished raw materials are better preserved in cloth bags. You can store finished shiksha raw materials for no more than two years.

Medicinal properties of the plant

The composition of shiksha contains many active biological substances and compounds, as well as vitamins that have a strengthening effect. positive impact on the entire human body and, in particular, on the nervous system. Shiksha gained the greatest popularity as an irreplaceable anticonvulsant, used for epilepsy. There is also good therapeutic effect use of shiksha and nervous disorders, nervous exhaustion, stress, insomnia, in the treatment of the syndrome chronic fatigue. In addition, crowberry (shiksha) perfectly removes radionuclides from the human body. Shiksha preparations are a good anticonvulsant, choleretic, phytoncidal, sedative, hypotensive and diuretic.

Crowberry is an excellent food and medicinal product in my own way chemical composition, which includes alkaloids, triterpene coumarins, flavonoids, tannins, andromedotoxin, phenolcarboxylic acids (caffeic acid), saponins, ascorbic acid, essential oils, wax, carotene, fixed oils, resins, carbohydrates, a number of microelements.

The use of shiksha in folk medicine

Vodjanika has long been known for its unique properties and was widely used for the relief and treatment of various ailments by witch doctors, shamans and herbal healers. This herb and its berries were used for fatigue, dropsy, headaches, insomnia, swelling of various origins, with difficulty urinating, paralysis, with metabolic disorders, with convulsions, including those caused by epilepsy, chronic gastritis, hypertension, diarrhea, colitis.

It was also used as a remedy for scurvy, especially the berries, which contain vitamin C alone many times more than the same lemon. In addition, shiksha in the form of a decoction, used to rinse the hair when washing the hair, strengthens the hair and promotes its growth. Crowberry (shiksha) was also known to Tibetan healers, who used it to treat diseases such as anthrax, epilepsy, schizophrenia, various diseases kidneys and liver, neuropsychiatric diseases.

When used externally, preparations containing this plant cure acne and other rashes, wounds and poorly healing ulcers. Crowberry is used internally in the form of decoctions, infusions, the berries are consumed in fresh, squeeze out the juice, externally in the form of lotions and compresses.

Contraindications

• Pregnancy.
• Lactation period.

Use only after consulting a doctor.

Shiksha is quite common among people medicinal plant, which has many names. This herb is called black crowberry, Siberian crowberry, pusher grass, whisper grass, scarlet grass, and crowberry. Healing properties Only its above-ground part manifests itself, and therefore it is customary to harvest it for future use. The leafy mass is collected during the crow's flowering period, and the berries become suitable for harvesting in the full ripening phase. Both the leaves and fruits of this medicinal plant contain a huge amount of the most useful substances who can help to the human body cope with certain diseases and support the immune system.

Shiksha will support the body's defenses and protect against diseases

Description of the plant

Crowberry is a low creeping plant, the height of which does not exceed 20 cm. The leaves are small, thin, externally reminiscent of needles, approximately 1 cm in length, colored green color, the surface of the plate is matte. The shrub sends out many shoots at the base, so it looks quite dense. Young branches are covered with fluff.

The shiksha blooms with small three-petalled flowers, colored pink or dark red. At the end of the flowering period, fruits are set on the shoots. The crowberry fruit is a small berry, the diameter of which is about 5 mm and is similar in appearance to blueberries, colored intense black, rarely red. The skin is tough with a bluish coating, underneath there is juicy, slightly sour pulp and 6-9 seeds.

Application area

Shiksha has a wide range of medicinal properties, including:

• diuretic;
• anticonvulsant;
• anti-inflammatory;
• antibacterial;
• soothing;
• choleretic;
• hypotensive;
• phytoncidal.

Nervous system therapy

Most often, shiksha is used to eliminate work-related problems. nervous system. In this case, its anticonvulsant effect becomes relevant, which helps relieve epileptic seizures. Patients with similar problems are recommended to use a decoction of dropsy leaves, as well as various drugs based on berries.

Shiksha shows good results in the treatment of mental disorders, in particular schizophrenia. It helps our body cope with stress, relieves insomnia and eliminates depression.

In addition, the use of decoctions and infusions based on shiksha fruits and leaves can be indicated for chronic fatigue, migraines and nervous exhaustion.

On a note! People who often suffer from headaches note that with regular use of shiksha preparations, attacks become less intense and occur less often!

Traditional medicine recommends the use of products based on this plant to combat alcohol addiction. In this case, shiksha leaves and berries can only play a supporting role. But with the right integrated approach these herbal preparations will cope with the task perfectly and will help not only relieve addiction, but also relieve manic-depressive syndrome, which often arises on this basis.

Support for the body

But the purpose of shiksha does not end with restoring the nervous system. Thanks to its beneficial properties, crowberry is able to restore the defenses of our body, cleanses it and helps in the treatment of many diseases. Indications for use may be as follows:

• to remove radionuclides from the body;
• swelling and problems with urination;
• kidney diseases;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• pyelonephritis;
• cystitis;
• dropsy;
• metabolic disease;
• diarrhea;
• dysentery;
• enteritis;
• colitis;
• gastritis;
• scurvy;
• anemia;
• enteritis.

On a note! For many centuries, Tibetan healers successfully fought anthrax with the help of shiksha!

Showing your beneficial features, shiksha helps to quickly recover after suffering serious illness, increases immunity and fills the body with energy. This plant has a beneficial effect on work of cardio-vascular system and normalizes arterial pressure.
An infusion of the herb is often used to restore vision function in cases of cataracts, glaucoma, and dry eye syndrome. This is especially true for people who spend a lot of time at the computer.

External application

Black crowberry has been noted by cosmetologists and dermatologists as an excellent remedy for improving the condition of skin and hair. Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties become relevant in the following cases:

• acne;
• rash;
• ulcerative lesions of the skin;
• wounds;
• irritation on the scalp;
• hair loss;
• dandruff.

Contraindications

Like any other medicinal plant, shiksha has contraindications for use:

• individual intolerance;
• period of pregnancy and lactation;
• low blood pressure.

In any case, before using preparations of this plant, it is recommended to consult with your doctor. Traditional medicine may have a place and bring desired result only if its funds are used wisely. Be healthy!

All materials on the website are presented for informational purposes only. Before using any product, consultation with a doctor is MANDATORY!

Black crowberry, also known as Crowberry, or Shiksha (lat. Empetrum nigrum L) is an evergreen plant, which is a creeping small shrub, belongs to the Heather family (Ericaceae). It is a plant used mainly for ornamental, culinary, and folk medicine. Distributed in the northern regions of the globe, it grows in swamps.

Black crowberry is widespread throughout almost the entire territory of our country. Due to its wide geography, this plant has received a large number of different names. Most often, people began to call this berry crowberry, this is due to high content juice in the pulp of the berry. Other well-known names for this berry are shiksha, sixa, psycho, black grass, sinyavishna grass, bagnovka, crowberry, bear berry, lyha, veris.
The Latin name of the genus of this plant is associated with its place of growth - on rocky surfaces. The name is made up of the Greek words en "on" and petros "stone".

Distribution of crowberry

Black crowberry is widespread in the northern regions of the globe (Russia, Scandinavian countries, Finland, Western Europe, Japan, Great Britain, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Ukraine, Belarus, Greenland). Sometimes this plant is found in South America, and on the islands nearby.
Shiksha is a cold-loving plant and grows on rocky surfaces, in wet pine forests, swamps, and moss-lichen tundras. It cannot be found near heated residential buildings. Shiksha can also be found on open sands (spits, dunes), in the tundra, on the surfaces of bare granite; in the mountains it grows in the subalpine and alpine zones.

Botanical and biological description of black crowberry (crowberry, crowberry)

Black shiksha is a small creeping shrub. The leaves are evergreen needles, alternately arranged on the stem, have the shape of a narrow oval, with edges curving inward. They have a color from green to dark green. Smooth and hard to the touch.
The shrub rarely reaches thirty centimeters in height, the stem is creeping, densely leafy, reaching more than one meter in length, dark brown. The plant branches from the base, the branches resemble coniferous branches, and during flowering they have an attractive appearance, which is what they are famous for in landscape design.

The flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, inconspicuous, consisting of three petals of scarlet or pink shades. Bright flowers, Pink colour appear on the plant in different time, depending on the habitat. In the European part of the country, crowberry flowering begins in April-May, and in Siberia a month later. The plant is monoecious or dioecious.

The fruit is a berry, formed on crowberry in mid-summer. Externally, the fruit is similar to a blueberry, dark gray in color, round in shape, about half a centimeter in diameter. The skin of the berries is strong and dense. The pulp is very watery, contains a minimum of fiber, and has a sour taste. Inside the pulp there are seven to nine small seeds.

Useful properties and uses of crowberry

The crowberry fruits are considered edible and have a slightly sour taste, but practically complete absence The sugar in it makes its pulp quite bland. The shiksha plant also contains compounds such as fatty and essential oils, resins, coumarins, benzoin and acetic acid, andromedotoxin.

Thanks to the biologically contained active substances, vitamins, minerals, crowberry (or crowberry) can be called a healing source of traditional medicine. IN medical purposes crowberry has long been used traditional healers and shamans to treat various ailments.

Decoctions and infusions of the crowberry plant are used in folk medicine as a remedy for headaches, high blood pressure, epilepsy, as a prevention of scurvy and schizophrenia. Also, decoctions of shiksha berries help normalize metabolism and are good remedy from insomnia and depression.

Crowberry also has a diuretic effect (hence another name for this berry - drying out), helps with diarrhea, cramps, and reduces swelling. This berry is used externally for various ailments skin - rashes on the face, acne, pimples, ulcers, minor abrasions and wounds. Using a decoction of shiksha leaves for hair helps strengthen it.

Shiksha berries, like other edible berries, are eaten in different types. It is eaten with dairy products - yogurt, kefir, milk. The berries are processed into jam, marmalade, and also made into tinctures. Such preparations as frozen and soaked crowberry are known.
Crowberry is also used as a base for dye.

Contraindications to the use of crowberry

Before using crowberry berries for medicinal purposes, consultation with a specialist is necessary. The use of shiksha is contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation, as well as in case of individual intolerance to the components that make up the berry.

Collection and preparation of crowberry

The shiksha plant is prepared in medicinal purposes, in this case, the entire part of the plant located above the ground is used - twigs with leaves and separately berries. During flowering they collect all top part green plant, the picking of berries begins after they ripen. When harvesting, crow grass should not be uprooted - it must be carefully cut with a sharp knife.

For storage, the black crowberry herb is laid out in a thin layer in a ventilated area and left to dry naturally, turning occasionally. Store shiksha grass in a cool place, away from direct sunlight and moisture, in paper or cotton bags. The berries are also dried in a natural way, or in an electric dryer or oven. Store in fabric bags. Subject to storage conditions, harvested green crowberry grass and berries can be used for up to two years.

The fruits and grass of crowberry have many advantages - they quench thirst well and are used in cooking and folk medicine. On top of everything else this natural product, which has concentrated all the natural benefits.

• Bloom: in April-May.
• Landing: in early spring, before sap flow begins.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: wet, loose, peaty or sandy, acidic.
• Watering: infrequent: in a normal season, the plant receives enough natural rainfall, and only in prolonged drought does it need to be watered abundantly.
• Feeding: once a season, in the spring, with a solution of Nitroammophoska.
• Trimming: for sanitary purposes in the spring, before the buds swell.
• Reproduction: seeds and layering.
• Pests and diseases: practically not affected.
• Properties: is a medicinal plant.

Read more about growing shiksha below.

Shiksha berry - description

The crowberry berry is a creeping shrub no more than 20 cm high with shoots up to 100 cm long. In its characteristics, it resembles lingonberry: it also grows in clumps, and the branches of the plant form adventitious roots, due to which the clump grows more and more, while in the middle of the bush the branches gradually die off. The dark brown, highly branched stems of crowberry are densely covered with leathery alternate leaves, similar to spruce needles. Each leaf stays on the branch for about 5 years. The flowers of the plant are axillary, inconspicuous, with three purple, red or pink petals. In the middle zone, crowberry flowering begins in April-May, and in Siberia - in May-June. The plant is pollinated by insects - butterflies, bees and flies. Blueberry-like crowberry fruits - black spherical juicy berries up to 55 mm in diameter, sour taste, with a bluish bloom and four seeds inside - begin to ripen in August and remain on the bushes all winter. The juice of the berries is purple. Thickets of the plant are called crowberry or shikshevnik.

The shiksha has one peculiarity: it exists in symbiosis with a fungus that settles in its roots and provides the plant with photosynthetic products.

Planting and caring for shiksha

Planting shiksha in the garden.

In nature, crowberry most often grows in well-lit places, in moist peat or sandy acidic soil. The plant does not tolerate stagnant water and too dense soils, so peat, sand and turf soil must be added to the clay soil. They do it this way: the top layer of soil is removed, a layer of crushed stone with sand 10 cm thick is laid in the vacant area, and then the top layer of soil, mixed with the necessary additives, is laid in place.

The planting depth for crowberry is 40 cm. In a row, seedlings are placed at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other. Curtains are planted in such a way that the root collar is buried 2 cm. After planting, the bed with crowberries is watered.

How to care for shiksha.

In the first years of its life, the shiksha requires regular weeding, but as soon as it grows, it will be able to suppress any weeds on its own. Mulching the area with a five-centimeter layer of peat will help you reduce the labor intensity of this procedure and prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil. Since the plant cannot tolerate excess moisture, crowberry is watered infrequently, only in dry weather.

Once during the season, crowberry is fed with Nitroammophoska at the rate of 50 g of fertilizer per 1 m² of bed. In the spring, crowed shrub is pruned, removing only dry and frozen shoots. Keep in mind that crowberry grows very slowly, so pruning must be done carefully. For the winter, crowberries are not covered, since they are quite winter-hardy and tolerate frosts well under snow cover. In a snowless winter, it is better to cover the area with spruce branches.

Choksha collection and storage

For medicinal purposes, the ground part of shiksha is used - branches with leaves and berries. The grass is harvested during flowering, and the berries are harvested after ripening. You need to cut the grass carefully so as not to disturb the roots. The raw materials are laid out in a thin layer in a shaded place to dry: neither rain drops nor sunlight should fall on it. You can dry shiksha in a well-ventilated, dark room. The grass should be stirred from time to time so that it dries evenly. Dry raw materials are placed in fabric bags and stored in a dry, dark place for no more than two years.

Types and varieties of shiksha

There is no single approach to the classification of the genus: some scientists consider the genus to be monotypic, and black crowberry, or chokeberry, to be the only species of the genus. Other botanists claim that the genus includes several species: bisexual, black, red, and almost-holarctic crow. And the database The Plant List contains information that there are only three species and 8 subspecies in the genus. Be that as it may, only one species is grown in culture.

Black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum),

or chokeberry , she's the same Siberian shiksha - an evergreen, highly branched shrub from 25 to 50 cm in height with a cushion-shaped crown, growing in nature in peat bogs, and not at all because it needs high humidity. The leaves of black crow are linear, up to 1 cm long, with edges turned down, dark green above, and covered with thick red hair below. Flowers with three petals can be red, pink or dark red. The spherical black berries with a bluish bloom ripen in August-September. The fruits of black crow are watery and tasteless. The species has two varieties - Asian and Japanese - and several decorative varieties:

• – Citronella– a plant with dense, shiny lemon-yellow foliage;
• – Emerald– creeping plant with dark green leaves;
• – Bernstein– a variety with yellowish leaves;
• – Lucia– yellow-leaved shiksha;
• – Ireland- a plant with dense, shiny green foliage on creeping branches.

Properties of shiksha - harm and benefit

Medicinal properties of shiksha.

Crowberry contains saponins, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, fatty and essential oils, resins, coumarins, benzoic and acetic acids, fructose, anthocyanins, carotene, ascorbic acid, andromedotoxin, sugars and trace elements.

In folk medicine, crowberry is used in the form of infusions and decoctions as a remedy for headaches, scurvy, hypertension, epilepsy, as well as for metabolic disorders, insomnia, depression, schizophrenia, dropsy, colitis, diarrhea, convulsions, paralysis, difficulty urinating, edema, chronic gastritis, anthrax, kidney and liver diseases. It is used externally for rashes, wounds, acne and ulcers. Decoction of shiksha leaves - excellent remedy to strengthen hair.

For those whose eyes are dry and watery, the remedy is an infusion of shiksha: 2 tablespoons of the herb are steamed in 1 liter of boiling water, cooled, filtered through 3-4 layers of gauze and dripped into the eyes every 2-3 hours.

People with increased nervousness This remedy will help: 2 tablespoons of the herb are steamed with 500 ml of boiling water, heated over low heat for 5-7 minutes, removed from the heat, wrapped and allowed to cool. After straining, take 3 tablespoons 4-5 times a day.

Shiksha - contraindications.