Hairy fireweed
Hairy fireweed is one of the plants of the family called fireweed; in Latin the name of this plant will be as follows: Epilobium hirsutum L.
As for the name of the hairy fireweed family itself, in Latin it will be: Onagraceae Juss.
Description of hairy fireweed
Hairy fireweed is a perennial herbaceous plant, the height of which will fluctuate between fifty and one hundred and eighty centimeters. Such a plant will be endowed with a thick rhizome and highly branched stems. The stems of this plant are usually pubescent with simple long soft erect hairs, as well as an admixture of glandular ones. The leaves of this plant are opposite, with only the top ones being alternate. Such leaves of hairy fireweed will be sessile and somewhat decumbent; they can be either oblong-lanceolate or oblong, and they will also be subulate-toothed. The flowers of hairy fireweed are solitary and axillary, they are quite large, and will reach about two and a half centimeters in diameter. The petals of this plant are colored purple, they are bilobed and rounded-obovate in shape. The length of the box of hairy fireweed will be about four to ten centimeters, such a box will also be pubescent.
Hairy fireweed blooms in the summer. Under natural conditions, this plant is found in Western Siberia, Ukraine, the European part of Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. For growth, the plant prefers places along the banks of swamps and near irrigation ditches, as well as damp meadows. It is noteworthy that in the Caucasus, hairy fireweed will be found up to the upper mountain zone. It should be noted that this plant is also very decorative.
Description of the medicinal properties of hairy fireweed
Hairy fireweed is endowed with very valuable healing properties, and it is recommended to use the roots, herbs and flowers of this plant for medicinal purposes. The concept of grass includes flowers, leaves and stems. The presence of such valuable healing properties should be explained by the content of tannins, saponins, traces of alkaloids, phloroglucinol, flavonoids, vitamin C, as well as phenolcarboxylic acids and their derivatives in the plant.
Preparations based on this plant will have very effective emollient, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic and astringent effects.
A decoction or powder prepared from six to nine grams of hairy fireweed flowers is recommended to be used internally for toothache, but in this case you can also rinse your mouth with the decoction. Also, such remedies will also be effective for conjunctivitis, tracheitis and menstrual irregularities, as well as for fairly profuse leucorrhoea. A decoction prepared from the roots of this plant is recommended for use in cases of severe overeating, stomach pain of various origins, and amenorrhea.
A strong decoction of the roots of hairy fireweed and the stems of this plant can also be used externally: in this case, such a product is used as a powder for various injuries, bone fractures of varying severity and boils. In addition, such a strong decoction, prepared from the roots and stems of hairy fireweed, is recommended for use as a very valuable hemostatic agent for incised wounds.
It is worth noting that due to insufficient knowledge of the chemical composition of the plant, its use as a medicinal agent is quite limited and in the near future we can expect the emergence of new ways to use this plant.
