Potentilla erecta
Potentilla erecta is a member of the Rosaceae family. Its Latin name is Potentilla erecta (L.) Racusch.
The family name of Potentilla erecta is Rosaceae Juss.
Description of Potentilla erecta
Potentilla erecta is a perennial plant with a tuberous, woody rhizome, which ranges in height from ten to twenty centimeters. Its stems are either ascending or erect. These stems are slender, sparsely hairy, and well-foliated. The basal leaves of Potentilla erecta are trifoliate and borne on long petioles, while the cauline leaves are sessile and trifoliate, with large stipules. It’s noteworthy that the leaves are appressed hairy on both sides, and very rarely, they may be bare. The flowers of the erect cinquefoil are borne on fairly long, thin peduncles; they are solitary and approximately one centimeter in diameter. It’s worth noting that the petals of this plant are notched and slightly longer than the sepals.
The flowering period of the erect cinquefoil begins in June and ends in July. In the wild, this plant is found in Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, the Irtysh and Ob regions of Western Siberia, and throughout European Russia, with the exception of the southern Transcaucasus. This plant prefers swamps, clearings, wastelands, open forests, forest edges, and forest meadows. Description of the Medicinal Properties of Potentilla Erecta
Potentilla Erecta possesses valuable medicinal properties, and its rhizomes and herb are recommended for medicinal purposes. The herb includes the flowers, stems, and leaves of Potentilla Erecta. The rhizomes of this plant should be harvested between September and October, or around April-May, when the basal leaves begin to emerge.
The plant’s valuable medicinal properties are attributed to its content of essential oil, tannins, organic acids, phenols, catechins, phenolic carboxylic acids, anthocyanin glucoside, as well as lipids and the following fatty acids: linolenic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, lauric, palmitic, and pentadecanoic.
Cinquefoil erecta is endowed with very valuable astringent, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, bactericidal and tonic effects. It should be noted that the local anti-inflammatory effect will be directly related to those tannins that will create a biological film that protects tissues from mechanical, bacterial and chemical influences.
A decoction and tincture prepared from the rhizomes of Potentilla erecta is recommended for use for enterocolitis, enteritis, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis with bleeding from the intestines, dysentery, gastritis, peptic ulcer of the duodenum and stomach, and also as a choleretic agent for cholecystitis, jaundice, cirrhosis of the liver, rheumatism, gout, ulcerative colitis, cholecystitis, acute and chronic hepatitis. An infusion prepared from the roots of Potentilla erecta is recommended for use in cases of nephritis. In dermatology, this plant is used internally for vasculitis, and externally used for neurodermatitis, skin cracks and upper limbs, as well as for eczema.
Kalgan – miracle root (cinquefoil erecta)
