Stellaria nemorum

Transcription

It is originally from Europe and Asia, it was spread to America and it’s cultivated in other places as in China or as in Australia. It grows freely in courtyards, around landfills and residential areas, at roadsides and in nitrogen-rich areas with abundant organic substances such as manure. It belongs to the compound family. It’s a shrubby plant, perennial, herbaceous and biennial. It can measure one or two meters of high. The primary root is thicker and more robust than the secondary ones and. It is brown fleshy. The stem is branched, rough and with a pubescent indumentum type. Its leaves are large, somewhat fleshy, alternate, stalked, with pinnate midrib and with a prominent midrib on the underside. They are rough, oval and have irregular jagged edges. They are green above and whitish below. It has chapters in complex and corymb inflorescences, mostly pedunculated. The flowers, hermaphrodites and actinomorphic, are violet prickly bags that can adhere by contact. Under the flowers there is a set of rigid bracts with hook-shaped ends that supports them. The perianth consists of the corolla, which has five joined petals and it has no calyx. The androecium consists of five violet syngeneic stamens. The gynoecium has two carpels and an inferior ovary that ends in two styles. The fruits are achenes which measure 7 mm of length per 2.3 mm of diameter. It flowers from June to September. The parts used are the leaves and the root. The harvesting takes place in plants of a year and before they bloom. Once collected they have to be left to dry and then dip them in boiling water in order to retain their active substances. The root contains inulin, mucilage, polyacetylene, polyphenols and essential oils. Inulin releases fructose during the digestion. The leaves are applied as a poultice on the skin and roots and seeds are used to make tea. It has cleansing, analgesic, sudorific, diuretic, antiseptic, antifungal and hypoglycemic properties among others. Medicinal uses: arthritis, rheumatism, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, skin conditions … Its use in the presence of hypertension or heart diseases can only be carried out with medical prescription and under strict medical supervision.