European Dodder
European Dodder is a member of the family Cuscutaceae, and its Latin name is Cuscuta europaea L.
As for the family name itself, the Latin name is Cuscutaceae Dumort.
Description of European Dodder
European Dodder is an annual plant with smooth, climbing stems colored yellowish-reddish or reddish. These stems are approximately two and a half centimeters thick. European Dodder flowers are pinkish-white or pinkish in color. These flowers are borne in spherical clusters, approximately one and a half centimeters in diameter. The calyx of this plant is three millimeters long, fleshy at the base, and somewhat shorter than the corolla. The lobes of this corolla are ovoid or broadly triangular, and may also have entire margins. The scales beneath the stamens of this plant are either entire or bipartite. The pistil of the European dodder has two styles, and the fruit is a spherical capsule containing four seeds.
This plant blooms in the summer. In the wild, this plant is found in Ukraine, the Caucasus, all regions of Russia, the southern regions of the Far East, the mountains of Central Asia, and Western and Eastern Siberia. European dodder prefers forest edges, alder forests, riverbanks and stream banks, damp meadows and moist mountain slopes, and vegetable gardens. It is noteworthy that the plant will also parasitize on many wild herbaceous plants, young trees, and shrubs. It should be noted that European dodder is also poisonous. Description of the Medicinal Properties of European Dodder
European Dodder has very valuable medicinal properties. The entire plant, including its flowers and stems, is recommended for medicinal use. This medicinal raw material is best harvested between June and July.
These valuable medicinal properties are attributed to the plant’s content of flavones, tannins, the glycoside cuscutin, carbohydrates, phlobophenes, leucoanthocyanins, and many other beneficial substances.
This plant has valuable analgesic, diuretic, and laxative properties. In the past, European dodder was recommended for various stomach ailments and colds, toothaches and headaches, painful menstruation, liver disease, cancer, and skin rashes.
In folk medicine, this plant has become quite popular as a laxative. In homeopathy, an essence based on European dodder is taken for various gynecological conditions and influenza.
Folk medicine also recommends using this plant for sore throats, nervous and mental illnesses, influenza, rabies, fevers, and dysmenorrhea. It is also used as a laxative and diuretic. An infusion prepared from European dodder is recommended for diathesis, metrorrhagia, angina, and alcoholism. Tibetan medicine uses this plant as a hemostatic and expectorant, and it is also used for lobar pneumonia and lung diseases: this remedy proves to be quite effective.
European Dodder. Plant overview and how to use.
https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=3Ft-5yeXIp4
European Dodder
