Larkspur
Larkspur is a member of the buttercup family, and its Latin name is Consolida regalis S. F. Isray.
The Latin name for the larkspur family is Ranunculoceae Juss.
Description of Larkspur
Larkspur is also known by many common names: beards, cornflower, bluebell, slippers, hare’s ears, periwinkle, goat’s ears, mower’s ears, rake’s ears, purple larkspur, axe-caps, hatchets, and mouse flower. Larkspur is an annual herbaceous plant with spreading branches and pendulous stems, which reach a height of about fifty to seventy centimeters. The leaves are either bi- or thrice-tripartitely dissected into narrow linear lobes. The lower leaves are petiolate, while the upper leaves are sessile. The flowers of this plant are bright violet-blue in color and have a simple, five-membered corolla-shaped perianth. The upper leaflet is elongated at the base into a fairly long, full spur, and there are only eight to forty stamens. The fruit of the larkspur is a leaflet.
The flowering period of the larkspur begins in June and ends in July. In the wild, this plant can be found in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Ciscaucasia. The plant grows as a weed in fields and rye crops, and also along forest plantations and roads. Description of the medicinal properties of larkspur
Larkspur has quite valuable medicinal properties, and it is recommended to use the flowers, leaves, and stems for medicinal purposes. Harvesting should be done between July and September. These valuable medicinal properties are due to the plant’s content of mellictin, aconitic acid, the alkaloid delsemine, the glycoalkaloid delphinidin, organic acids, the glycoside kaempferol, as well as macro- and microelements.
In medicine, preparations of this plant are used for various diseases of the central nervous system, for multiple sclerosis and for increased tone of striated muscles. Mellictin is used as a relaxant for diseases of the nervous system, which will be accompanied by an increase in muscle tone. Delsemin is used in surgical practice along with narcotic drugs to ensure more complete muscle relaxation.
As for traditional medicine, an infusion of the herb of this plant is used as an anti-inflammatory agent for pleurisy and pneumonia. This infusion is used for diseases of the kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract. For conjunctivitis and blepharitis, an infusion of larkspur flowers is used in the form of lotions. This plant is also endowed with very valuable insecticidal properties, which makes it possible to use the plant to combat harmful insects.
It should be noted that larkspur is a poisonous plant; for this reason, preparations containing this plant should be used with considerable caution.
For pneumonia, it is recommended to use an effective remedy based on larkspur: to prepare such a remedy, take one teaspoon of the herb per two or three glasses of boiling water. The resulting mixture should be infused for eight to ten hours in a sealed container in a warm place, after which this mixture is filtered very carefully. Take this remedy one-third or one-fourth of a glass four times a day after meals.
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