Reeds are distributed throughout to the globe.
Name
Reed (lat. Scírpus) is a genus of perennial and annual coastal aquatic plants of the sedge family.
Decorating the territory of the garden plot, park areas and front gardens near the house with various ornamental and flowering plants has already become a habit. But not everyone thinks that it is possible to decorate the coastal zone of a reservoir (and it at the same time) with appropriate plants. Moreover, this is not such a difficult task. One of the most famous plants that can grow not only on the shore, but also in water, is reeds. But that plant, which is considered to be a reed, is in fact one of three completely different plants: reed itself (Shjenoplectus), reed (Phragmites) and cattail (Typha).
Description
But this article will talk about real reeds and their varieties. It is worth looking at the reed - a photo of the plant, and it will be clear how it differs from other plants, which are also ignorantly classified as this species.
Reed is a grass belonging to the sedge family. In total, there are more than 250 species of these plants, both annuals and perennials.
Most often, reeds grow wild, but reeds are often planted on the banks of reservoirs in garden plots to make them more decorative.
This plant is so unpretentious that it grows almost anywhere in the world, with the exception of areas Far North and permafrost. But still, they feel most comfortable in the tropics and subtropics, where they grow very wildly.
The habitat of reeds is the banks of any reservoirs or swampy areas. There are types of reeds that float on water.
Plant structure
Its stem usually grows to 2.5 - 3 meters in height. Not very thick, triangular or cylindrical, it moves from side to side with the slightest breeze. Inside the stem is hollow - these are peculiar air passages.
The foliage of the plant is simple, elongated, similar to the leaves of sedge. Moreover, there are leaves only on the triangular stalks of sedge, while cylindrical reeds do not have them, only scales up to 2 - 3 mm in size. In some varieties of this plant, thread-like foliage is collected in rosettes located at the roots.
The roots of this species from the sedge “family” can be creeping or shortened. They were found to contain a large number of starch, our distant ancestors discovered this and made flour from them.
In the second half of July, flowers appear at the top of the stems; they are very small and collected in spike-shaped inflorescences, which are connected in the shape of an umbrella or panicle. The length of such an inflorescence is 7–10 cm.
But sometimes lonely spikelets sway at the tops of the stems. Each such inflorescence contains 5–10 (sometimes more) greenish bisexual flowers, which by the end of flowering change their color and become light brown.
In some species of this representative of the sedge family, you can see bracts that grow in such a way that some consider them to be a continuation of the stem. Often such foliage is very thin, like an awl, and looks like a film.
The fruit of the reed is a nut with a triangular or flat-convex shape.
Growing and Reproduction
This representative of the sedge family can grow on any soil, but develops better in soils with a slightly acidic or neutral pH.
Grows well in wetlands or shallow areas close to the shore. Reeds grow wonderfully in sunny areas, but shaded areas are also a good place for this plant to grow.
IN Lately specially grown varietal varieties of reeds have appeared, which are more capricious than wild reeds. Such representatives of the sedge family must be covered for the winter so that they do not freeze out during severe frosts.
Varietal reeds are propagated only by dividing the bushes when transplanting at the beginning or end of the season. And ordinary species reproduce by self-sowing or are specially planted with seeds.
Watch also the video
Lake reed (photo below), also known as lacustrine schenoplectus, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants belonging to the genus Schenoplectus of the sedge family. For a long time it was believed that this plant was practically useless. One old botanical manual says that this worthless herb has only one advantage - the ability to retard the passage of alluvial silt with thick trunk-like stems during the spring flood of rivers, due to which drained places provide excellent rich chernozem soil.
But in fact, reed is a valuable plant. Its pliable soft stems have long supplied people with durable and beautiful material for weaving mats, baskets, and handbags. From dried stems you can knit various kinds of covers and make decorative crafts. It is no coincidence that the Latin name of the plant - scirpus - goes back to the verbs “knit”, “weave”.
Lake reed: description
It is a herbaceous perennial with a height of one hundred to two hundred and fifty centimeters with a hollow creeping rhizome. The stems are cylindrical in shape, with scale-like leaves.
The corymbose-paniculate inflorescence, less often compressed, resembles a brush of prickly spikelets. Brown spikelets are eight to twelve millimeters long, at the ends of the peduncles they are clustered in groups of three or four (rarely up to eight).
The bracts are slightly longer than the inflorescence, subulate. Covering scales - with single warts or smooth.
Lake reed blooms in late spring and early summer. It is harvested in September-October.
Spreading
The plant is distributed almost throughout the world, mainly found in steppe and forest zones, on the banks of reservoirs and shallow waters. Grows in temperate zones of Russia and Europe, in Siberia, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and North America.
Popular name
People call this plant kuga. Yes, the lake reed, photos of which are presented in the article, is the same kuga from which you can weave a soft mat suitable for bed. Such a wicker product is called, accordingly, a kugovik. You can also make a very light float for fishing from kugi.
Reed in beekeeping
The plant, among other things, is held in high esteem by beekeepers. When the lake reed blooms, and this happens in June-July, the bees take beebread from its spikelets - flower pollen, without which they cannot raise the baby. During the season, a strong bee colony consumes up to twenty kilograms of beebread, collected from a variety of plants, including not only reeds, but also elm, alder, hazel, oak, burdock, broad-leaved cattail, as well as weeds - nettle, quinoa, sorrel.
Popular varieties
Lake reed has several varieties, the main of which are:
- Albescens- a plant with yellow striped stems reaching a height of 150 centimeters;
- Golden Spears- reeds, whose stems are bright yellow in spring and green in summer;
- Zebrinus - decorative variety, which is characterized by the presence of horizontal yellow stripes on green stems.
Hydrophyte plant
Lake reeds are hydrophytes - plants of coastal waters and swamps that lack moisture. Their roots are in viscous heavy silt, where there is almost no oxygen. Hydrophytes would be doomed to death if they did not have special adaptations. The fact is that the roots of such plants receive the oxygen necessary for respiration not through the soil surface, but through aerenchyma - a special air-bearing tissue.
In lake reeds, on a cross section of the stem, behind the outer cells you can see air passages - voids separated by films, which represent a network of narrow cells connected in chains. These chains converge and form aerenchyma - air-conducting bundles. There is always air in the tissues of such bundles. It has been proven that the oxygen concentration is disturbed by mechanical damage to the stem, and this suggests that the marsh plant saturates the intercellular air with oxygen on its own: it is absorbed by green chlorophyll-bearing tissue during photosynthesis.
Since air-conducting bundles are present not only in the stem, but also in the rhizome, oxygen freely flows to the roots, and reaches the most distant underground organs, flooded with water and buried deep in the silt. Thus, thanks to aerenchyma, lake reeds receive a sufficient amount of oxygen for breathing.
Chemical composition
The constituent components of the plant have not yet been sufficiently studied. It is known that rhizomes and stems contain tannins, up to 48 percent sugars, lactic acid, up to six percent proteins and three percent fats.
Application in the national economy
Lake reed stems are suitable for weaving various products, serve as raw materials for paper production, and are used as thermal insulation, packaging and building materials.
The plant is suitable for producing glycerin and alcohol. It also has environmental significance, acting as an excellent biofilter for cleaning industrial waters. Reeds play a significant role in soil strengthening.
Use in food
Young, not yet greened stems and rhizomes are eaten. The shoots are eaten boiled, fresh, pickled, or pickled. Previously, flour was ground from peeled, dried rhizomes, which was then added to rye or wheat flour when baking bread. However, they are not doing this now, since it has been established that drinking such a mixture for a long time can be harmful to the body. At the same time, you can prepare a completely safe sweet syrup from rhizomes and stems. It is made simply: the raw materials are finely chopped, boiled and evaporated to a certain thickness.
Lake reed serves as a food plant for sika deer and aquatic fur-bearing animals.
Medicinal properties
Rhizomes and aerial parts of the plant contain phytosterols, flavonoids, carotenoids, saponins, higher fatty acid, catechins. Reed-based preparations produce a certain therapeutic effect, providing astringent, diuretic, sedative, enveloping, and hemostatic effects. Such drugs are indicated to be taken for dispensation, diarrhea, gastroenterocolitis, urolithiasis, vomiting, pyelonephritis, poisoning, burns, spider bites, boils, epilepsy, dysentery.
An infusion of reed panicles helps with stress, heart pain, and hypertension. If hypotension is present, treatment is contraindicated. The infusion also has a diuretic effect; when diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, it is used as a symptomatic treatment. The peeled rhizome can be applied to fresh wounds to stop bleeding.
Growing conditions
Lake reed prefers slightly acidic or neutral soils. It can be planted in water, in shallow areas, or in a coastal wetland. The plant feels better in the sun, but in general is extremely undemanding.
At the dacha, lake reeds look great in shallow water bodies of water decorated in landscape style. The plant adds a natural color to compositions with egg pods, water lilies, and eichornia.
Reed thickets need to be limited in their growth, since the plant can be quite aggressive and can take over the territory of the entire reservoir. Then you will have to decide how to get rid of lake reeds.
Reeds: description
Genus Reed (Scirpus) has about 300 species of perennial, rarely annual, grasses of the sedge family (Cyperaceae). Reeds are distributed throughout the globe, but most species live in the tropics and subtropics; in or, some species float on the surface of the water. On the territory of Russia you can find 20 species of reeds. The underground part is most often represented. The above-ground part reaches 2-3 m in height, but there are also miniature species (20-30 cm). The shape of the stems is almost cylindrical or triangular. The latter are usually covered with linear leaves, reminiscent of sedge leaves. The cylindrical stems are usually smooth and thick, devoid of leaves, but have scales up to 3 m long at the base. In some species, the leaves are thread-like, forming a basal rosette.
Often mistakenly called reed cattail . In the reed, at the top of the stem in mid-summer, inflorescences-spikelets appear, collected in an umbrella, head or panicle up to 10 cm long, or less often a single spike. The spikelets consist of several bisexual flowers, colored light green, turning brown towards the end of flowering. Some species have a bract leaf arranged in such a way that it appears to be a continuation of the stem. In others, it is thin, awl-shaped, and resembles a film. The fruit is a nut, flat-convex or triangular in shape.
Planting reeds
Reed is unpretentious to growing conditions, but grows and develops better in a sunny place. A little shading is tolerated forest reed And rooting reed . The soil is neutral or slightly acidic (pH 5.0-7.0), moist. Reeds can be planted directly into a pond. Species with leafy stems ( forest reed, rooting reed ) buried in water no more than 20 cm; species practically devoid of leaves ( lake reed, Tabernemontana reed ), can be submerged to a depth of up to a meter. Miniature species are used to decorate the shore.
Drooping reeds , grown indoors, needs a lighted place without access to direct sunlight. In a bright place, it forms a bunch of ascending stems and leaves, and with a lack of light, the bush becomes spreading. The optimal soil for planting is a mixture of turf, leaf or humus soil and sand (2:1:1). Grows successfully in hydroponics. You need a wide, shallow one.
Growing reeds
Reed is undemanding in terms of maintenance. Care involves controlling the growth of the plant. If necessary, it is limited to planting in containers. In late autumn, the above-ground part of the reeds is cut off. Forest reeds, rooting, lake, Tabernemontana, bristly winter-hardy without shelter in central Russia. Pointed reed And sea reeds grown in open ground only in the south of Russia. The varieties are less resistant, so it is recommended to grow decorative forms of even winter-hardy species in containers and put them away in a frost-free room for the winter.
Drooping reeds
prefers summer temperatures no higher than +20°, winter temperatures no lower than +8°. In the warm season it is possible - on the terrace or in the garden. Drooping reeds
moisture-loving, in summer it requires abundant watering, it is desirable that there is a layer of water of 4-5 cm in the pan. In winter, when the temperature drops, watering is reduced, but the top layer of soil should always be moist. The plant does not have a clearly defined dormant period, when kept in room conditions the reeds are forced to “rest” due to low light. From May to September, during the period of active growth, it is advisable to fertilize with complex mineral fertilizer (without calcium) once every 10-14 days. The air humidity around the plant is increased by daily spraying and placing the pot on a tray with wet expanded clay. Drooping reeds are transplanted annually in the spring, since the plant tends to quickly lose its decorative properties. To stimulate the growth of new shoots, overgrown roots and old wilted leaves are cut off with pruning shears, and large bushes are divided.
Reed: application
Shallow waters, wet areas. Egg lily, susak, and marigold will be excellent companions for reeds. Sea reed is resistant to soil salinity, so it can be successfully used in areas with similar soil conditions. Reeds have the ability to purify water. Reed inflorescences are used to make winter bouquets. Soft stems of reeds have long been used in weaving baskets and mats; they are even used. Due to the high starch content in the rhizomes, in ancient times they were used to make flour. Drooping reeds
used in closed ground as a hanging plant, in open ground - for summer decoration.
Reed reproduction
Reeds are propagated vegetatively or by seeds, however, with the latter method, varietal characteristics are lost. The bushes are divided in April-May or September. Drooping reeds Divide in the spring when transplanting. The bush is dug up, washed, and then divided into several parts with a sharp knife or pruning shears, each of which should have 1-2 buds and developed roots. The delenki are immediately planted in a permanent place. For large plants, the distance between divisions is 40-50 cm, for miniature ones - 20-30 cm.
Seed propagation is more difficult. After 2 months of moisture at low positive temperatures, the seeds are distributed over the surface of moist soil (a mixture of peat, humus and sand in equal parts) in February-March. To maintain air and soil humidity, the container with the crops is covered with glass and placed on a tray with water. Keep at a temperature of +17...+20°C. Shoots appear quickly, within 5-7 days. After 1-2 months, in June, young plants are planted in a permanent place. Drooping reed seeds do not need stratification. Reeds often reproduce by self-sowing.
Pests and diseases
Reeds grown in open ground are not susceptible to attack by pests and are resistant to diseases. Drooping reeds
loses its decorative effect and is affected when grown in unfavorable conditions: with low air humidity, poor or excessive watering, cold conditions and drafts. In the shade, the plant fades and stretches, and direct sunlight burns the leaves, causing the latter to become faded. Reed reacts negatively to chemicals, so it is especially important to create favorable conditions for the growth and development of the plant, as well as periodically inspect it for the presence of pests.
Types of reeds with triangular stems
Forest reed (Scirpus sylvaticus). The stem is about a meter high and covered with alternate linear leaves with a rough edge. In June-July it is crowned with a dense panicle of numerous spikelets, each up to 5 mm long. Spikelets are collected in 2-5 pieces at the ends of the inflorescence branches. The perianth is formed by six stamens. The fruit is a triangular nut and ripens in July-August. The underground part is represented by a horizontal rhizome 2-4 mm thick.
Rooting reed (Scirpus radicans) Unlike the previous one, in addition to flowering shoots, it also has vegetative ones, which, bending arcuately towards the ground, take root at the tops. The spikelets are collected in a paniculate inflorescence, but at the ends they are not collected in bunches, but solitary. The leaf shape is narrower than that of forest reed. Both the leaves and stems are reddish in early spring; by summer they turn green.
Pointed reed (Scirpus mucronatus) forms a dense cluster of leaves and stems up to 70 cm in height and up to 8 mm in diameter. Spikelets light Brown, oblong, 1-2 cm in length, collected in a dense capitate inflorescence of 3-25 pieces. The bract leaf, up to 10 cm long, has a triangular shape and is colored light green. Blooms in June-July, bears fruit in July-August.
Sea reeds (Scirpus maritimus). The stems reach 50-100 cm in height, covered with alternate linear, up to 1 cm wide, leaves distributed evenly along the entire length of the stem or concentrated in its lower part. The rhizome produces spherical tubers about 3.5 cm in diameter. Light, less often dark brown spikelets up to 2 cm long and up to 1 cm thick are collected in a capitate inflorescence. Sometimes there is another one above the main inflorescence, with fewer spikelets. The perianth is most often absent. Blooms in June-July, bears fruit in July-August.
Types of reeds with cylindrical stems
Bulrush , or Kuga (Scirpus lacustris, Shoenoplectus lacustris)- a large plant. The powerful stem reaches 3 m in height, root system represented by a hollow shortened rhizome. The corymbose-paniculate inflorescence is formed by brown spikelets about 1 cm long, collected in 3-4 (less often 8) pieces at the ends of the peduncles. The bracts are subulate-shaped, slightly longer than the inflorescence, usually in the amount of 1-2. Blooms in May. There are forms with decorative coloring of leaves and stems: with yellow vertical stripes, bright yellow horizontal, plain yellow leaves in spring and lush green in summer.
Reed Tabernemontana (Scirpus tabernaemontani) It is distinguished by its smaller size (up to 1.5 m), bluish color of the stem, reddish color of the spikelet scales and numerous purple warts on them. A popular variety is with white horizontal stripes on the stems.
Miniature species of reeds
Bristle reed (Scirpus setaceus)- unlike the species named above, this is an annual. Very narrow, thread-like leaves and numerous thin stems are collected in a bunch up to 20 cm high. The inflorescence is a bunch of 1-4 small spikelets, the scales of which are dark purple with a green stripe. A single bract is much longer than the inflorescence and seems to be a continuation of the stem. Blooms in May-June.
Drooping reeds (Scirpus cernuus, Isolepis gracilis) grown as indoor plant. More often it is called isolepis graceful , or cuckoo tears . This is a perennial rhizomatous plant, whose thin leaves and stems are collected in a spreading bunch, resembling a fountain, up to 20-30 cm in height. In mid-summer, small single spikelets of milky color appear at the ends of the stems.
Reed is undemanding in terms of maintenance. Care involves controlling the growth of the plant. If necessary, it is limited by planting in containers.
(Scirpus L.) belongs to the sedge family (Cureraceae Juss.). This plant is often perceived as a weed that feels most comfortable in wet and waterlogged areas. In the territory former USSR There are more than 28 species of reed plant. They are both annual and perennial.
The perennial herbaceous reed can reach two meters in height. For example, lake reed grows along the banks of rivers, lakes, and also reservoirs. The stems of the plant are cylindrical in shape, the leaves are sparse, elongated and narrow. Perennial forms are usually rhizomatous. During the flowering period of the reed, which is usually in June-July, panicle-shaped flowers appear on the stems of the plant. The rhizomes of the seaside tuber reed (Bolboschoenus maritimus) have large tuberous structures up to 3.5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide.
Description of the reed plant
About 300 species are known, distributed throughout the globe, but mainly in temperate and subtropical zones. About 20 species are found in Russia. Perennial, less often annual plants with or without creeping or shortened rhizomes. The stems are almost cylindrical or triangular, leafy, sometimes the leaves are only scale-like.The inflorescence is multi-spikelet, branched or of several spikelets or single-spikelet. Spikelets are multi-flowered. The flowers are bisexual; perianth with few setae or absent. The flowers are small, greenish, collected in corymbose-paniculate inflorescences up to 10 cm long, bloom in June-July. The fruit is flat-convex or rounded triangular.
Reed reproduces both vegetatively (by rhizomes) and by seeds. Plant seeds are able to germinate in soil over a wide range of humidity - from 30 to 60-80% of total moisture capacity. During the growing season, reeds are capable of developing a powerful above-ground part with 8-10 shoots (80-250 fruit-nuts are formed on each shoot), as well as an underground part (stolons up to 120 cm long with 20 or more tubers). Stolons have from 3 to 7 buds on their surface, from which above-ground and underground shoots appear. The growth of tubers occurs most intensively in a soil layer of 10 cm. Their growth decreases with depth, and from a depth of 30 cm they are not able to produce seedlings. Dried tubers on the soil surface, or tubers exposed to low temperatures, in winter they lose their ability to germinate.
Types of reeds
Sea reeds(Scirpus maritimus) - Perennial with creeping rhizomes, stems 50-100 cm high and linear leaves 3-8 mm wide. At the top of the shoot there is a dense, star-shaped, umbrella-shaped inflorescence of brown color. Can be used for landscaping areas with saline soil. Bulrush(Scirpus lacustris, Shoenoplectus lacustris) - perennial herbaceous plant from the sedge family. It is easy to distinguish from reeds and cattails. If cattail has long leaves and dark brown ears at the tops, consisting of compressed fluffs, and reed has narrower and longer leaves, as well as a panicle of flowers at the end of a long stem, then the reed stands in the water, looking tall (up to 1-2 m) a round twig without panicles and cobs. Only at the end of July a small cluster of spiny brown spikelets appears at the top of the smooth stem. Reeds are used as fuel, for livestock feed, for the manufacture of roofs, mats, carpets, paper, for the production of alcohol, tannins, lactic acid and glycerin.
Bristle reed(Scirpus setaceus) - In damp sandy places, mostly along the banks of reservoirs in the warm-temperate and subtropical zones of Europe, the Caucasus, southwestern Siberia, Central and Western Asia to India. Annual plants 3-20 cm tall. The stems are numerous, thin, with very narrow leaves. Spikelets number 1-4, small, collected in a bunch at the top of the stem. The bract is one, longer than the inflorescence. Covering scales are dark purple, with a wide green stripe. Blooms in late spring.
Forest reed(Scirpus sylvaticus) - Despite the name, forest reed is the least commonly found in the forest. But in swamps, on overgrown lakes, ponds, on muddy banks of rivers and reservoirs, this is the most common plant. There are also isolated clumps of reeds in damp meadows - in depressions where water stagnates for a long time. A perennial plant about a meter high with a creeping rhizome. At the top of the stem there is a lush panicle of small greenish spikelets. The stem is triangular, from the base to the inflorescence itself, covered with alternate leaves. The leaves of the forest reed are long, linear, and rough along the edges. Blooms in June-July.
Reed Tabernemontana(Scirpus tabernaemontani) - Similar to S. lacustris; It is distinguished by reddish-brown covering scales of spikelets, covered with numerous purple small warts. In water (especially saline) and along the banks of lakes and rivers, in oxbow lakes from the Mediterranean region to the cold-temperate zone of Eurasia. The species is named after the 16th century German botanist. D. Müller (J. T. MSH-1er), who wrote under the pseudonym “Tabernaemontanus”. The culture commonly used is S. tabernaemontani var. zebrina hort. (S. zebrinus hort.) with yellowish-white stripes on the stem.
Rooting reed(Scirpus radicans) - In early spring The leaves and stem of this species are brownish-reddish in color, later turning green. The barren stems of this reed look unusual and attractive; they lengthen and, bending in an arc, touch the water, where they form a new plant.
Use of reeds
Reeds are usually used in natural style gardens. They can be used to create plant compositions in shallow water bodies, where water lilies, egg capsules and other plants floating on the surface of the water look especially impressive against their background. Some species are suitable for shady gardens. Thickets of reeds sometimes surround a pond like an impenetrable wall. Imagine such a two-meter hedge! The wind sways the spreading inflorescences and transfers pollen from one plant to another. Thanks to the rapid growth of rhizomes, reeds successfully colonize stagnant bodies of water. Its thickets reduce water pollution. The rhizomes contain a lot of starch. In the old days, flour was made from dry rhizomes. It was added to rye flour when baking bread. Reed stems are used to weave rugs and light shopping bags. A sprig of reeds looks good in a dry winter bouquet. Birds feed on the fruits of the reed.
The chemical composition of reeds has not been sufficiently studied. The rhizome of the reed is considered edible. In spring and autumn it contains a lot of starch and sugars. If you grind the rhizome in a meat grinder and cook for 40-50 minutes, you will get a sweet decoction. By boiling the broth over low heat, you can get a thick and even sweeter syrup. The root part of young plants is used to season potato, cereal and meat soups.
From the dried rhizome you can get flour and bake bread. Even in camping conditions, you can cook a delicious lunch by the fire if you bake the rhizome over coals or in ash. In spring, the white basal part of the stem is also edible. It tastes juicy and sweet. Many hunters, fishermen and tourists know well nutritional value reeds and use them for food. If we talk about people who find themselves in extreme conditions, then they are not in danger of starvation when there are reeds nearby.
Fish also like reeds. To attract fish such as carp and carp to the fishing spot, just cut a few branches and carefully place them in the water. Freshly cut reeds release juice, which these fish like.
The fish not only loves to eat small shoots of reeds, but also actively lives in these thickets, from time to time revealing itself with characteristic splashes.
Mats and rugs are woven from reeds, and in the southern part of Russia, by mixing it with clay, they get cheap construction material, which is used to coat frame walls (hence the name of such buildings - huts).
What does reed look like? Description of reeds
Reed, translated - Typha angustifolia, other names: cattail, narrow-leaved cattail, tub, chakan, kiyah, kiyashok, philatica, hoods, sultanchik, priest's hoods, cattail, Orobinets, Gorobinets, rogiz, stick insects, cobs, river tyrlych, thistle, puff, mat.
This representative of the flora belongs to the cattail family. The plant is a perennial herbaceous plant with creeping rhizomes. The leaves of the reed are narrow-linear, long, grooved below, their color is grayish-green. The flowers are unisexual, collected in cylindrical inflorescences.
Male staminate flowers consist of three stamens, at the bottom the staminate filaments are fused together; female pistillate flowers are formed by an oblong pedunculated pistil and a linear stigma. The fruit is in the form of a small nut.
Where does the reed grow?
This plant can be seen growing in abundance in swampy areas, as well as along marshy river banks, it is also found on ponds and lakes, and reeds are found from the tundra to subtropical areas.
Part used
The roots and leaves of the thistle plant are used, as they contain various medicinal substances that help with certain diseases.
Collection and preparation
The roots of the reeds must be dug up in the fall, around September or October, they are shaken off the soil, and then washed well under cool water. Then they are sorted, and it is recommended to discard rotten roots.
The optimal temperature in the drying chamber will be 50 degrees; in such conditions, the raw materials will be prepared quickly and efficiently. Then it is recommended to put it into prepared cardboard boxes, or you can use cloth bags into which the dried roots are placed rather loosely.
Containers with finished raw materials are taken to a room where optimal ventilation is established, and the roots are stored for two years, using them to prepare medicinal potions. As for harvesting leaves, they are collected approximately in the middle of summer, somewhere from July to mid-August.
Growing and Reproduction
Reed is a rather demanding plant; it can only grow in damp areas, and the soil can be either fertile or clayey. This representative of the flora reproduces by dividing the rhizomes in early spring, and it is recommended to use the end sections of the roots.
In addition, reed propagation is carried out using seeds, while the seedlings must be maintained at a certain depth of water, in this case it is 15 centimeters, no less.
What is the use of the reed plant?
Angustifolia cattail is often used by folk healers, due to the fact that this plant has a number of medicinal effects on the body, for example, bactericidal, wound-healing, antiseptic and hemostatic.
An infusion is prepared from this plant, which has a healing effect in the presence of diarrhea; it also helps to cope with dysentery. In addition to internal use, simply crushed leaves are also used as an external remedy for healing wound surfaces, abrasions and cuts, ulcers and other violations of the integrity of the skin, as well as to stop bleeding.
Reed infusion recipe
To prepare a healing infusion you will need 15 grams of leaves; they must be pre-dried. It is recommended to first grind the raw material until it has a homogeneous structure, after which it should be poured into a bowl, and then you can scald it with boiling water, which will require 200 milliliters of water.
Then it is recommended to cover the container with the infusion with a lid and leave it to infuse. After an hour or two, the drug can be filtered. To do this, it is better to use gauze; it is folded in two layers, after which a clean dish is covered with it and the liquid is poured.
The crushed reed grass will settle on the gauze, and it is recommended to squeeze it out, and only then can you get rid of it. Next, the infusion is ready for use; it can be used internally or externally to wash the wound surface.
The infusion should be stored only in the refrigerator, since the drug is subject to rapid fermentation if left at room temperature. It is better to sell it no later than the third day from the moment of its preparation.
Reed decoction recipe
You will need pre-crushed reed roots in the amount of five grams, they should be placed in a bowl, but it is better to use an enamel container, since there will be no oxidation process in it.
Next, boiling water in an amount of 200 milliliters is poured into the container, after which the container is placed in a prepared water bath, while the drug should simmer quietly, but do not allow violent boiling. Next, after ten minutes, the decoction is removed, after which it is cooled, and it can be taken for medicinal purposes.
Conclusion
Before you decide to prepare any medicinal potions from reed raw materials, be it the roots or leaves of this plant, it is recommended that you first consult a doctor. It is better to refrain from unauthorized use of an infusion or decoction; consulting a qualified doctor will never hurt.
