Many herbaceous plants are edible. Most of them contain almost all the substances necessary for humans. Plant foods are richest in carbohydrates, organic acids, vitamins and mineral salts. Leaves, shoots, stems of plants, as well as their rhizomes, tubers and bulbs are eaten. The underground parts of plants, being natural stores of nutrients, are very rich in starch and are of the greatest value from the point of view of providing nutrition; plants with edible leaves and shoots are widespread. Their main advantage is the ease of collection, the possibility of eating raw, as well as in the form of salads, soups and additives to other products. Substances contained in herbaceous plants can partially restore expended energy and support vitality body, stimulate the cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems.

One of the most common forest plants is stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). Its stems are straight, tetrahedral, unbranched, up to one and a half meters high. The leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate, with large teeth along the edges. The entire plant is covered with stinging hairs. Nettle grows in shady, damp forests, clearings, burnt areas, along ravines and coastal shrubs. Due to its high nutritional value, nettles are sometimes called “vegetable meat.” Its leaves contain large amounts of vitamin C, carotene, vitamins B and K, and various organic acids. Nettle has been used as a food plant for a long time. Very tasty green cabbage soup is prepared from its young leaves. Scalded with boiling water, nettle goes into salads. Young, non-coarsened stems are chopped, salted and fermented, like cabbage. The inflorescences are brewed instead of tea. Nettle also has numerous medicinal properties. It is used mainly as a good hemostatic agent. Fresh juice (one teaspoon three times a day) and infusion (10 grams of dry leaves per glass of boiling water, boil for ten minutes and drink half a glass twice a day) are used to treat internal bleeding. Externally, fresh leaves or powder from dried leaves are used to treat festering wounds.

Dandelion (Taraxácum officinále) is also common in forest flora.— perennial height from 5 to 50 centimeters with a thick vertical almost unbranched root; oblong, pinnately serrated leaves collected in a basal rosette and bright yellow flower baskets. Dandelion settles on weakly turfed soils - in floodplains, along roadside ditches, on slopes. Often found in forest clearings and edges, along the sides of forest roads. Dandelion can be fully classified as a vegetable crop (in Western Europe it is grown in gardens). The plant is rich in protein, sugars, calcium, phosphorus and iron compounds. All its parts contain a very bitter milky juice. Fresh young leaves are used to make salads. The bitterness is easily eliminated if the leaves are kept in salt water for half an hour or boiled. Peeled, washed and boiled roots are suitable as a second course. Boiled roots can be dried, ground and added to flour for baking cakes. Ground dandelion root can replace tea. The dug up and cleaned rhizome of the plant is first dried until the milky juice ceases to be released at the fracture, then dried and fried. To obtain an excellent brew, all that remains is to finely crush it.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) grows in river valleys, along sandy coasts, in meadows in spruce, light coniferous, birch and mixed forests. In the spring, its pale spore-bearing stems emerge from the ground, looking like densely spaced arrows with brown tips, and a month later they are replaced by green “fir trees” that do not wither until autumn. This strange ancient plant is edible. Young spring spore-bearing shoots are used for food - they are used to prepare salad, cook soup or eat raw. You can also eat ground nuts - nodules that grow on horsetail rhizomes - they are rich in starch, taste sweet and can be eaten raw, baked or boiled. Horsetail grass (“Christmas tree”) is rich in valuable medicinal substances and has long been used in medicine. Having hemostatic and disinfectant properties, infusion (20 grams of horsetail per glass of boiling water), powder or juice of fresh herbs is used to treat festering and incised wounds. Horsetail infusion is used to gargle for sore throat and inflammation of the gums. All of the above applies only to horsetail; other types of horsetail contain alkaloids.

Burdock

Among the many herbs of the forest, there is nothing more common than burdock (Arctium tomentosum). In hollows and ditches, in the forest, on bushy slopes to the river - everywhere you can find this green giant, sometimes exceeding human height. The trunk is sinewy, fleshy with a red tint. The dark green, arshin-length leaves seem to be covered with felt on the reverse side. In Siberia, burdock has long been considered a vegetable plant. In spring, young tasty leaves are boiled in soups and broths. But the main thing about burdock is that it is a long, powerful root vegetable that can replace carrots, parsley, and parsnips. The fleshy roots of burdock can be eaten raw, as well as boiled, baked, fried, used in soups instead of potatoes, and made into cutlets. In camping conditions, burdock roots are thoroughly washed, cut into slices and baked over a fire until golden brown. Fresh burdock leaves are used as compresses for joint pain and bruises.

In the spring, when the buds on the trees barely begin to unfold in forest clearings and thickets, stems of primrose (Primula veris) appear along the banks of rivers and in thickets of bushes, looking like bunches of golden keys. This is a perennial plant with a straight flower arrow and large woolly, whitish, wrinkled leaves. The bright yellow corollas of flowers with five cloves are fragrant with honey. In some countries, primroses are grown as salad greens. Its leaves are a storehouse of ascorbic acid. It is enough to eat one primrose leaf to replenish the daily need for vitamin C. In early spring, fresh leaves and flower shoots of this plant are an excellent filling for a vitamin salad. Soothing and diaphoretic teas are prepared from the leaves and flowers of primrose.

One of the first spring grasses is wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). This simple forest plant is unsightly and inconspicuous. Oxalis has no stems. Fleshy, light green, heart-shaped leaves emerge immediately from the roots. Dense thickets of this grass can often be found under the trunks of spruce trees. It grows everywhere in shady and damp forests. Oxalis leaves contain oxalic acid and vitamin C. Along with sorrel, it is used to season cabbage soup and soups. Sour sorrel juice is very refreshing, so a sour drink is prepared from crushed sorrel, which perfectly quenches thirst. Oxalis can be added to salads, brewed as tea, or eaten fresh. When applied to purulent wounds, boils and abscesses, crushed oxalis leaves or their juice have a wound-healing and antiseptic effect.

At the end of spring, in forest clearings among the grass, it is easy to find a straight stem with a tassel of spotted flowers and oblong (like a tulip) leaves, also covered with spots. This is an orchis. From the Latin name it is clear that this plant is an orchid. Indeed, the first thing that catches your eye is the purple flower - an exact smaller copy of a tropical orchid. In addition to its beauty, orchis has long attracted people with its juicy tuber, which is rich in starch, protein, dextrin, sugar and a whole range of other nutrients and healing substances. Kissels and soups made from orchis rhizomes perfectly restore strength and save you from exhaustion. 40 grams of crushed tuber powder contains daily norm nutrients needed by humans. Orchis tubers, which have enveloping properties, are used for stomach disorders, dysentery and poisoning.

On wet edges, lowland and watershed meadows, grassy swamps, swampy banks of reservoirs, snake knotweed (Polygonum bistorta) grows - a perennial herbaceous plant with a tall, up to a meter, stem; large basal leaves as long as the palm of your hand, but much narrower and more pointed. The upper leaves are small, linear, wavy-notched, grayish below. The flowers are pink, collected in a spikelet. Snake knotweed is edible. Young shoots and leaves are mainly eaten, which, after removing the midribs, can be boiled or eaten fresh or dried. The above-ground part of the plant contains a fair amount of vitamin C. The rhizome of the plant is thick, twisting, resembling a crayfish neck, and is also edible. It contains a lot of starch, carotene, vitamin C, and organic acids. However, due to the large amount of tannins, the rhizomes must be soaked. They are then dried, pounded and added to flour when baking bread and flatbreads. Snakeweed root is used as a strong astringent for acute intestinal disorders. Externally, decoctions and tinctures are used to treat old wounds, boils and ulcers.

The very first newcomer to forest burnt areas is fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium). It lives on the edges, in tall grass meadows, clearings and slopes. This is a plant with a smooth, tall, ankle-shaped stem, on which alternate leaves, dissected with a network of veins, sit. Fireweed blooms all summer - from a distance its lilac-red or purple flowers, collected in long brushes, are striking. The leaves and roots of fireweed contain a large amount of proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, and organic acids. Almost all parts of the plant can be used as food. So, young leaves taste no worse than lettuce. Leaves and unopened flower buds are brewed as tea. Fireweed roots can be eaten either raw or cooked, similar to asparagus or cabbage. Flour from dried rhizomes is suitable for baking flat cakes, pancakes and making porridge. An infusion of fireweed leaves (two tablespoons of leaves, brewed with a glass of boiling water) is used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and tonic.

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) grows on forest edges, along roadsides and wastelands. This plant, which was introduced into cultivation long ago and moved into vegetable gardens, is known to everyone - everyone has tried its sour, spear-shaped leaves on long cuttings. The stem of the plant is straight, furrowed, sometimes up to a meter high. The leaves grow from a lush basal rosette. Just three weeks after the ground thaws, sorrel leaves are ready for harvesting. In addition to oxalic acid, the leaves contain a lot of protein, iron, and ascorbic acid. Sorrel is used to make soup, sour cabbage soup, salads, or eaten raw. A decoction of seeds and roots helps with stomach upsets and dysentery.

Another edible herb, gooseberry (Aegopodium podagraria), is often found in moist, shaded forests, along ravines and gullies, and damp stream banks. This is one of the very first spring grasses, appearing in the forest at the same time as nettle shoots. Umbrella is from the umbelliferous family - the inflorescences are mounted on thin spokes, which radiate with rays in radial directions. At the top of the plant is the largest umbrella, the size of a fist. In places where there is little light, the tree forms thickets, entirely consisting of leaves without flowering stems. In clearings rich in sun, the plant acquires a rather tall stem with a white umbrella. Even in the heat, the leaves of the plant are covered with droplets of water - this is perspiration that seeped through the water cracks in the green plates. Cabbage soup cooked from cabbage soup is not inferior in taste to cabbage soup. Young, unexpanded leaves and petioles are harvested. The stems, from which the skin is first cut off, are also eaten. Petioles and stems placed in the salad will give it a piquant taste. Wild greens, as a very nutritious and vitamin-rich product, were widely used by Moscow canteens in the spring of 1942 and 1943. Dozens of people went to the forests near Moscow to harvest this grass. In those difficult years, squash also came to the rescue in the winter - it was chopped and salted in advance, like cabbage. Soup from snyti is prepared as follows: chopped and fried petioles of snyti leaves, onion, finely chopped meat is placed in a pot, poured with meat broth and put on fire. Add crushed marigold leaves to the barely boiling broth and cook for another thirty minutes, and fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, add salt, pepper, and bay leaf.

One of the few forest plants whose leaves, stems, and rhizomes are edible is hogweed. Among our herbs there is hardly another such giant. The powerful ribbed trunk, covered with bristles, of this plant sometimes reaches two meters in height. The trifoliate leaves of hogweed are also unusually large, rough, woolly, dissected into large lobes. It’s not for nothing that the popular name for hogweed is “bear’s paw.” This is a common inhabitant of forest edges, forest meadows, wastelands, and roadsides. Its peeled stems have a sweetish, pleasant taste, somewhat reminiscent of the taste of cucumber. They can be eaten raw, boiled or fried in oil. In spring, hogweed is tender, and its young, carrot-flavored leaves are also edible. All types of hogweed contain essential oils and therefore have a strong smell. Hogweed greens are usually first scalded in order to reduce the pungent odor, and then placed in borscht or stewed. Hogweed decoction resembles chicken bouillon. The sweetish rhizome of the plant, containing up to 10% sugar, is not inferior in calorie content and taste. garden vegetables and corn. The juice of some hogweeds contains furocoumarin, which can cause skin burns. Therefore, care must be taken when collecting this plant.

In clearings and fires, in damp and shady places, large areas are often covered with luxurious fans of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum). Its thick brown rhizome is overgrown with thread-like roots; Large pinnately complex leathery leaves emerge from the top of the rhizome. Bracken differs from other ferns in that the sacs with spores are placed under the folded edges of the leaves. How food product bracken is widely used in Siberia and the Far East. Its young shoots and leaves are boiled in plenty of salt water and washed thoroughly to remove all scales from the leaves. Soup made from bracken shoots tastes like mushroom soup.

Another inhabitant of the forest, migrated and cultivated in vegetable gardens, is rhubarb (Rheum). In rhubarb, long-petioled leaves with more or less wavy plates, collected in a rosette, extend from the underground shoot (rhizome). It grows on forest edges, along streams and rivers, on hillsides. Fleshy leaf cuttings are used for food, which, after peeling, can be eaten raw, boiled, or prepared into compote or fruit juice. In England they make soup from rhubarb.

Along the banks of rivers, swamps and lakes in the water you can find dense thickets of cattails (Typha angustifolia). Its black-brown inflorescences, resembling a ramrod on long, almost leafless stems, cannot be confused with anything else. The fleshy rhizomes containing starch, proteins and sugar are usually used for food. They can be boiled or baked. Pancakes, flat cakes, and porridge are baked from cattail roots dried and ground into flour. To make flour, the rhizomes are cut into small slices, dried in the sun until they break apart with a dry crack, after which they can be ground. Young spring shoots, rich in starch and sugar, are eaten raw, boiled or fried. When boiled, cattail shoots taste very much like asparagus. The yellow-brown flower pollen, mixed with water to form a paste, can be used to bake small loaves of bread.

One of the most beautiful plants in the forest is the white water lily (Nymphaea candida). It grows in quiet reservoirs, in standing and slowly flowing waters. The leaves of the water lily are large, their upper side is green, the lower side is purple. Its highly developed rhizome is eaten boiled or baked. The roots are also suitable for making flour. In this case, they are cleaned, divided into narrow strips, cut into centimeter-long pieces and dried in the sun, and then pounded on stones. To remove tannins from the resulting flour, it is filled with water for four to five hours, draining the water several times and replacing it with fresh water. After which the flour is scattered in a thin layer on paper or cloth and dried.

Water chestnut chilim

Another inhabitant of water bodies, the chilim, or water chestnut (Tgara natans), is also edible. It is an aquatic plant with large greenish leaves, very similar to currant leaves. Long thin stems stretch from the leaves to the very bottom. If you lift them, then under the leaves on the stem you can see small blackish boxes with five spines. Chilim is similar in size and taste to chestnuts. The local population sometimes collects it in bags in the fall. In some countries, water chestnut (Tgara bicornis) is widely cultivated. Chilim can be eaten raw, boiled in salted water, baked in ashes like potatoes, or made into soup. Bread is baked from nuts ground into flour. Boiled fruits of this plant are sold everywhere in China.

The bog grass has long been called the bog grass (Calla palustris). This conspicuous inhabitant of swamps is short and, being a relative of exotic callas, has many similarities with them. “The leaves are on long petioles - flush with the stem. Each plate is wide, pointed, with a contour like a heart, sparkling with lacquered greenery... But first of all, this plant stands out for its spadix, in which small flowers are collected. Such cobs among the thickets of marsh grasses turn white like a stearine candle. The whitewing cob rises one and a half, or even three centimeters, putting forward the cover - the covering leaf. This leaf is fleshy, pointed, snow-white on the inside and green on the outside,” this is the description given by A.N. Strizhev and L.V. Garibova. All parts of the plant and especially the rhizome are poisonous. Therefore, before eating, the calliper root is cut into small slices, dried, ground, and the resulting flour is boiled. Then the water is drained and the grounds are dried again. After this treatment, the flour from the root of the calliper loses its bitterness and toxic properties and can be used for baking bread. Bread made from white butterfly flour is rich and delicious.

Susak - wild bread

Along the banks of rivers and lakes, in swampy meadows, susak, nicknamed wild bread, grows. An adult plant is large - up to one and a half meters in height, and usually lives in water. On its straight, erect stem, umbrellas of white, pink or green flowers stick out in all directions. There are no leaves on the stem, and that is why the flowers are especially noticeable. The triangular leaves of susak are very narrow, long, and straight. They are collected in a bunch and rise from the very base of the stem. The thick, fleshy rhizomes are edible. After peeling, they are baked, fried or boiled like potatoes. Flour obtained from the dried rhizome is suitable for baking bread. Rhizomes contain not only starch, but quite a lot of protein and even some fat. So nutritionally it is even better than regular bread.

Wild plants come in different varieties. They can be found in the field, in the forest, and even on summer cottage as weeds. These can be herbs, flowers, and cereals. Those interested in nature native land, knows that they are not only beautiful, but can also bring great benefits to a person. However, these representatives of the domestic flora can also be dangerous weeds, posing a serious threat to gardeners. Getting rid of these weeds is quite difficult.

Wild plants can be both enemies and friends of humans, so understanding them is very important, especially for those who live close to nature - in rural areas.

Wild plants: examples

One can give a great many examples of such representatives of the fauna. Among these plants there can be a variety of different ones. In general, they can be divided into three groups. The first group includes plants that bring neither benefit nor harm to humans. These are the majority. As a rule, they are used by animals and birds as pasture. The second group includes plants that benefit humans. And finally, the third group includes flowers and herbs, which it is advisable to avoid, since they only bring harm to a person.

The “harmful group” includes poisonous shrubs (for example, poisonous weed) and weeds that cause great harm agriculture, drowning out beneficial plants (for example, wheatgrass or sow thistle) . The “useful” group includes the following:

In many wild plants there are “cultivated” doubles. As a rule, in this case they differ from each other in size and appearance. For example, wild sorrel differs from sorrel grown in the garden by being smaller in size and having a different leaf shape. In the same way, wild strawberries differ from their “cultivated” relatives, strawberries or Victoria, in the shape of the leaves, the size and taste of the berries.

Peculiarities

These representatives of the flora many interesting features. You can read about this in school textbooks on botany, as well as in special reference books. Among the most striking features are the following:

There are many poisonous plants among wild plants. posing a mortal danger to humans. One of the most dangerous is the poisonous vekh; it was even used in the old days as poison when they wanted to destroy an unwanted person. In order to avoid mortal danger, you need to know what poisonous plants look like. You can see their photographs on the Internet and in specialized literature. And children should firmly know that tearing, much less putting them in their mouths, without the permission of adults is strictly prohibited.

This elementary rule of safe behavior in the forest and in the field must be strictly observed. Farmers who prepare their own feed for livestock must also be familiar with poisonous plants by sight. Among the wild plants there are herbs that are harmless to humans, but can cause serious food poisoning in domestic animals.

Practical benefits

Among these plants there are many medicinal. Also, many wild plants are excellent food for small and large livestock. If you read about the benefits of these plants, you can learn a lot of interesting things. From time immemorial, many herbs in Rus' were considered medicinal, beneficial, and even nutritious: during the hungry years of crop failure, many herbs were eaten. Of course, among wild herbs and flowers there are many poisonous and harmful weeds. Therefore, it is very important not to confuse beneficial wild plants with harmful or “neutral” ones, which bring neither benefit nor harm.

For example, There are two types of wild sorrel: edible sorrel (small small leaves) and “horse” sorrel, which has no nutritional value and does not have a pleasant taste (a plant with a thick long stem and large leaves, shaped like edible wild sorrel). Many wild plants that have practical benefits are purposefully planted and grown by people. For example, clover can grow on its own, or it can be grown as feed for large and small livestock or as a honey plant for beekeeping.

Now there are few people who are well versed in the benefits of wild plants, with the exception of botanists. However, in old times in Rus' there were a lot of herbalists. They not only prepared medicines from them, but also attributed sacred or magical properties. Practical knowledge the benefits of wild plants were mixed with superstitions. Currently, the ancient science of herbs has turned into a practical branch of medicine - herbal medicine.

Modern herbalists no longer attribute magical properties to wild herbs, but use them to make medicines that effectively treat many serious illnesses, up to oncology. Many people leading healthy image life, actively include edible roots in their daily diet. Their main advantage is that they contain powerful antioxidants that slow down the process of physiological aging.

Wild plants have played an important role in human life since ancient times. They may also be friends" and "enemies". Therefore, it is very important to know “by sight” both useful and poisonous. Useful wild plants are man’s first assistants in treatment, nutrition, and agriculture. To make the most of them beneficial features, you need to read specialized literature on botany, biology and the nature of your native land as often as possible.

This is the name given to the life form of higher plants. Among them there are poisonous varieties and those that can be eaten. Tea is brewed from individual herbs and infusions are made for internal and external use. Different types contain different beneficial substances (in the root or in the shoots), extracts of which are also used in perfumery, the production of cosmetics, household chemicals, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Avran

(lat. Gratiola officinalis) is a poisonous herbaceous plant common in Central and Eastern Europe. There are many common names for avran: God's grace, grace, fever grass, horse tinder, moknets, deer grass, draciolia, bloodworm. The Russian-language name is of Turkic origin and translated means “to be sick.”

Aloe

(lat. Aloe- bitter) is a perennial plant with fleshy, sword-shaped leaves that form rosettes as they grow. The name of the plant comes from Arabic, however, in the Russian language there are several common nicknames for aloe - agave, rannik, sabur.

Althea

(lat. Althaea officinalis) is a perennial medicinal plant. The name of the herb comes from the Greek word Althaca, which means “heal” or “multi-beneficial.” In the Russian and Ukrainian languages, there are several popular names for marshmallow: marshmallow, mallow, kalachiki, rozha, wild rose, palyanitsya, dog, pasirnik, ruzha psyacha and others.

Pansies

(lat. Viola tricolor) is one of several popular names for a flower known scientifically as tricolor violet. In various Slavic countries and their regions, people call it in their own way: viola, three-flowered, Ivan-da-Marya, brothers, brother-and-sister, but the most common name is still Pansy.

Aster

(lat. Aster- star) is a plant known for its huge number of species and variety of color palette. In science, annual varieties belong to the genus Callistephus chinensis (Callistephuschihensis). The Greek word "Callistephus" means "beautiful wreath". It is this type of flowers that has gained the greatest popularity, has become widespread and is known as garden or Chinese aster.

Astragalus wooliflorum

(lat. Astragálus dasyánthus) or Astragalus dense-flowered is a herbaceous perennial plant of the Legume family and the numerous genus Astragalus, which has almost 2000 species. Its name is believed to come from the Greek word " astragalos" That's what they called dice made from lamb ankles. The plant has many popular names - cat's pea, Polish recount, centaury, Scythian grass of life.

Ledum

For respiratory diseases, use wild rosemary herb in the form of infusions; it is also a diuretic, disinfectant and antiseptic.

Oil from the wild rosemary plant is an ideal remedy for a runny nose.

Periwinkle

The genus of this plant has a Latin name Vinca, translated meaning “to entwine.” Its representatives belong to the Kutrovye family and are creeping herbs or subshrubs. IN wildlife Mostly found is the small periwinkle, which has the following popular names: grave grass, cucumber, burial ground, brilliant green, ivy, khreshchatik, noyushka, wreath, cornflower, witches' violet.

Valerian

The most common version of the origin of the name is from Lat. “valere” – “to be healthy.” The species system of valerian is diverse, many types of valerian are used both in official and in folk medicine, have medicinal value.

cornflower

Decoctions and infusions of cornflower are used for: inflammatory and chronic kidney diseases, inflammation of the urinary tract, edema, urolithiasis, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, urethritis, cystitis, pyelitis, nephrosis, decreased vision, liver and biliary tract diseases. Helps resolve problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Elecampane

Elecampane preparations improve expectoration of sputum, reduce intestinal secretory activity, normalize metabolism, stimulate bile formation, increase diuresis, and have antimicrobial and anthelmintic properties. Elecampane preparations are used internally for chronic and acute bronchitis, enterocolitis, functional diarrhea, colitis, chronic and acute pharyngitis, gingivitis, tracheitis, difficult-to-heal wounds, and periodontal disease.

St. John's wort

This plant was credited with the ability to drive away evil spirits. St. John's wort protected against ghosts and witches, and the purple juice obtained by pressing flower buds was considered a charming remedy. For medicinal purposes, the herb St. John's wort is mainly used - leaves and young shoots.

Blooming Sally

The name is associated with the role of the plant in the history of trade, in an era when “Russian tea” made from fireweed grass was one of the most exported products from Russia to the countries of Albion and Europe. Traditional and Popular Russian name“Ivan”, thanks to the light hand of foreign dealers and suppliers, became firmly entrenched in the name of the then popular drink, which became famous on the world market.

Calendula

It gained fame after Queen Margaret of Navarre called this plant her favorite flower and ordered it to be grown in her garden. It has antispasmodic and anticonvulsant effects. People believe that calendula helps with spleen disease, crushing stones in bladder, for hypertension and cough, stomach cramps, cardiac neuroses, alveolar pyorrhea, burns, for the treatment of wounds, non-healing ulcers and fistulas.

Clover

This is a plant of the legume family. The flowers depend on the species and are red, pink or white. Herbalists have been using clover since ancient times as a source of calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A, B and C. In medicine, they use the leaves, stems and flowers, which are collected during flowering.

Hemp

It grows in Western Siberia, the Volga region, and Altai in the European part of Russia. Nowadays, this plant is cultivated in almost all countries. Officially, the plant is allowed to be grown and consumed only in Colombia. In other states, cultivation, consumption, distribution or possession is criminally punishable.

Nettle

Distributed in Europe and Asia, Africa and Australia, and North America. It can be found in the CIS countries, India, China, Japan, the USA and Great Britain. A large amount of vitamins and useful substances makes nettle one of the most used plants in official and folk medicine, dietetics and cosmetology. The most commonly used plant is stinging nettle.

Red brush (rhodiola)

In folk medicine, Rhodiola quadrupartum is prescribed for prostatitis, prostate adenoma and diseases of the genitourinary system. The red brush is used in the complex treatment of neoplasms (tumors); as an adaptogen and as a means of rejuvenating the body. To the main medicinal properties red brush include: adaptogenic, immunostimulating, hemostatic, tonic. The red brush is successfully used in gynecology.

Burnet

There are about 27 types of burnet, but not all are the most famous and useful. Burnet preparations help with various types of bleeding, such as uterine bleeding, hemoptysis, gastric, heavy menstruation, hemorrhoids, etc. Burnet is used externally as a means to promote the healing of wounds, abrasions and cuts.

Lavender

Lavender is a subshrub, up to 60 cm high. It is widespread in India, Arabia, southern Europe, northern and eastern Africa, and even the Canary Islands. There are about 30 varieties of this shrub. Lavender is widely used in cooking, household chemicals, production of soft and alcoholic drinks, toilet soap, deodorants, air fresheners, perfumes and cosmetics.

Burdock

Burdock originally appeared in the Mediterranean and then spread widely throughout the world. It grows, as a rule, in the southern regions, steppe zones, along river valleys and ravines. It is also often found under the walls of buildings, in parks, under fences, along the edges of gardens, as well as in forests with good humidity. Widely used in folk medicine. Most often the roots are consumed, less often the leaves with fruits.

Poppy

Different parts of the plant are used for different purposes. In cooking, only seeds are used - small, dark grains with a round shape. Poppy seeds are sprinkled on baked goods to give them more aroma and taste. Mix with powdered sugar to make the filling for buns and various sweet cakes.

Coltsfoot

Perennial plant, order Astroraceae (Asteraceae or Asteraceae). The flowering of this plant can be seen in early spring. Coltsfoot is very common in Eurasian countries and North Africa. In North America, this plant has been grafted and is now also quite common.

Mint

Mint - aromatic and useful plant. It contains a large amount of essential oil - menthol. Used as folk remedy against many diseases, as well as in cosmetology - it is added to shampoos, creams, lotions and other products.

Tansy

The name itself comes from the Czech or Polish word “pizmo”, which means “musk”, that is, the smell is of organic origin. In fact, all plants of this species have a very strong, rich aroma, and the smell is emitted by every cell of this plant.

Plantain

Of the more than 200 species of this plant highest value have two - flea plantain and large plantain. They are considered the most healing. This plant has been known for its medicinal properties for more than a thousand years. Juice from plantain leaves is taken in the form of lotions, fresh cuts, rinses for bruises, chronic ulcers, wounds, fistulas, boils, and abscesses. In the form of a compress, fresh leaves are applied to treat furunculosis and purulent wounds.

Sunflower

A type of herbaceous annual plant. The stem grows up to 3 m high, straight, covered with hard hairs. The leaves are oval-heart-shaped, dark green, up to 40 cm long, covered with hard, short, pubescent hairs. Flowers have large diameters of 30-50 cm; during the day, young sunflowers turn towards the sun .

The world of plants on planet Earth is very diverse. In the process of centuries-old evolution, they adapted to growing in different conditions: survive in northern regions with cold climates, in deserts where there is practically no rainfall. In this article we will talk about wild plants, which come in different varieties. These include herbs, cereals, and shrubs. Some of them have a beautiful appearance, others are beneficial to humans, and others are dangerous weeds that harm garden crops.

What plants are called wild?

These are those species that spread by self-seeding or shoots without human participation or intervention. These plants do not need to be created special conditions. They adapt to life in their natural environment on their own. Cultivated plant species appeared much later than wild ones. A person takes care of them in order to get good harvest. He sows them, fertilizes them, waters them, weeds them, and loosens the soil in which they grow.

Wild plants have high energy value, so they are now increasingly being used as food additives or as an independent dish. The fact is that they are not afraid of chemicalization of agricultural land, after which the soil contains a large amount of poisons and nitrates.

If it is an initially non-poisonous plant, it is impossible to be poisoned by it, like many vegetables, for the cultivation of which increased doses of various chemical fertilizers are used. Here is a small list of names of wild plants that can be eaten:

• Nettle.
• Horsetail
• Sorrel.
• Oregano.
• St. John's wort.
• Mint.
• Raspberries.
• Currant.
• Thyme.
• Hop.
• Plantain.
• Chicory.
• Burdock.
• Snooze.
• Lungwort.
• Clover.
• Angelica.
• Blooming Sally.

Care must be taken when harvesting herbs. If for some reason we distinguish useful herbs from others it is impossible, it is better not to collect them, they can harm your health.

Classification

All plants are divided into cultivated and wild. There are many types of wild plants, for example:

• Herbs: nettle, spurge, cornflower, dandelion, plantain and many others.
• Shrubs: raspberries, forest grapes, currants, blackberries, etc.
• Trees: apple, pear, rowan, plum, oak, pine, birch, willow, etc.

There are wild plants that grow in the garden: onions, garlic, watermelons. In addition, plants are divided into medicinal, beneficial, edible and poisonous.

Families

In nature, there are a huge variety of plants that are conventionally divided into groups with similar properties, structure, and appearance. Most of the flowering plants on the planet are monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Each of these classes is divided into families depending on the structure of the flower. The most numerous and widespread species belong to the following families:

• Lilies are herbs with a multi-year life cycle. They form bulbs, corms, and rhizomes. They differ in form and growing conditions. For example, lilies, tulips, goose onions.
• Poa (grass) is a family of plants (wild and cultivated) with a different life cycle. For example, bamboo, cane, millet, feather grass, etc.
• Solanaceae. Representatives of this family are mainly herbs or creeping shrubs and much less often trees. Among them there are many poisonous species, such as henbane.
• Rosaceae - This family includes trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. For example, pear, cherry plum, apple tree, raspberry, currant, blackberry, strawberry, hemp, nettle, fig.
• Cruciferous plants are herbs, less often subshrubs, and shrubs as an exception. Examples of wild plants of this family: shepherd's purse, rapeseed, leftover, mustard, horseradish, cabbage.
• Compositae - the family includes 25 thousand species of herbaceous plants, shrubs, subshrubs, vines, and low-growing trees. Example: elecampane, meadow cornflower, thistle, dandelion, sunflower, yarrow.
• Umbrella plants - this family includes herbaceous plants. Most known species- Siberian hogweed, ribbed hemlock, speckled hemlock.

Many wild flora have all parts that are edible, while some can only be eaten with fruits, such as acorns. They can be collected after the first autumn frosts. Acorns are edible if cooked correctly. But you should beware of unripe fruits of wild plants, they are poisonous. They are easily distinguished by their green color.

Wild apples are a favorite delicacy for children. They are especially good in winter, when they freeze. Foresters do not pass by wild raspberries and currants. The berries of these plants are much smaller, but they have a unique taste and aroma.

Edible wild plants

They often come across our path, but many people do not know that they can be eaten, although they are often used to treat various diseases. Read about which wild plants can supplement our diet with vitamins in the article below.

Shepherd's Purse

The medicinal properties of this plant have long been known, but few people know that it is eaten. However, in China this herb is a vegetable. Here, shepherd's purse is used to prepare first courses, salads, and salted for the winter. Best time To use the plant for food - spring.

Surepka

This plant is the most common. The habitat is meadows, fields, vegetable gardens, pastures. Everything useful is contained in the leaves. But they need to be collected before the plant blooms. This herb has a bitter taste, so it is mixed with other types of greens when preparing a salad. Pancakes made from flowers, but fully bloomed, are tasty and healthy. However, the wild plant is contraindicated for people with stomach and intestinal diseases.

Chistets marsh

This is an edible plant with an unpleasant odor. But don't immediately reject it. The smell will disappear as soon as you start cooking the dish. Ripe tubers are suitable for food and should be collected at the end of summer. They are fried, boiled, dried, and salted for the winter. Chistets tend to fade quickly, so you need to collect as many plants as you need for cooking.

Clover

This unpretentious plant grows in nature as an annual and perennial herb with white, red, and pink flowers. Clover is famous for its useful qualities. It contains vitamins and microelements that our body needs. Many peoples use the herb in in different forms. It is dried to make a seasoning, an additive to flour. Fresh clover is used to make salads. In the Caucasus, pickled flowers of the plant are eaten. This grass is an excellent honey plant; the flowers are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. Honey produced by bees from clover nectar and pollen tastes great. This grass is an important part of livestock feed.

Rogoz

This representative of the flora belongs to wild herbaceous plants. In nature it grows near water bodies, in swamps and adjacent areas. The roots of this herb are edible. They can be baked, boiled, dried, pickled, and also ground into flour. The leaves located at the rhizome are suitable for salads.

Blooming Sally

This plant is also known as fireweed. All its parts are suitable for food. Many people use this wild plant to make tea, but not everyone knows that it can be used to make flour and salads. The leaves and flowers are used to make wine, and the roots are used for casseroles.

Common bracken fern

The petioles of the plant, until they bloom, resemble snails. They are the ones used for food. Prepared from fern vegetable stew, it is salted for the winter. If the leaves have blossomed, such plants are not suitable for consumption. Fern harvesting time is late spring or early summer.

Beautiful flowering wild plants

These plants are beautiful in most cases when they bloom. It is generally customary to talk about flowers as something special and sublime. But in nature there are many wild plants, the flowers of which will compete with garden hybrids and varieties. And there is another category of plants. Once you intentionally plant them for beauty, you run the risk of never getting rid of them. In the garden and vegetable garden, they compete with cultivated plants, as they consume 1/3 of all nutrients contained in the soil and moisture. Weeds are very tenacious plants; they adapt even to the herbicides that are used to treat them. But many wild, herbaceous plants are so beautiful that they can hardly be considered weeds. These include:

• Mayweed.
• The bell is crowded.
• Lily curly (saranka).
• May lily of the valley.
• Lychnis chalcedony.
• Day-lily.
• Kupena is fragrant.
• Black hellebore.
• Tansy and many others.

Dandelion

These plants are considered the most common urban weeds. They are very unpretentious and grow everywhere, with the exception of the Arctic, high mountain areas and Antarctica. This flower is a perennial wild plant. The genus dandelion includes more than 2000 apomictic microspecies, but in our country the most common is the medicinal one (field or common).

Violet

A genus of wild plants, numbering 500 species, about twenty of which are found in the European part of Russia.

Violets are annual, biennial and perennial. They are most common in the Northern Hemisphere, regions where a temperate climate prevails. Violets of many types are cultivated; they are grown as ornamental plants, in one place, without any transplants. But in abandoned gardens and parks they are running wild again.

Wild medicinal plants

The flora of our planet is amazing and diverse. Among the numerous families there are poisonous and edible plants, there are also those that are beneficial for Agriculture and other industries. But wild medicinal plants that help a person cope with or prevent illness are of particular importance. Some of them are listed below in the article.

Coltsfoot

This wild plant blooms in April, as soon as the gentle sun warms the ground. In well-lit areas, yellow flowers appear, looking like little suns. This is mother and stepmother. The plant is medicinal and is used in medicine. For example, flower and leaf infusions are used to treat cough. The plant is an excellent honey plant for spring collection of pollen and nectar by bees.

Calamus common

Refers to perennial wild plants. It reaches a height of 10 cm. It grows near lakes, rivers, swamps, streams, and in flooded meadows. It is believed that next to calamus there is always pure water. The roots of the plant have medicinal value. They need to be harvested early in spring or late in autumn. They are dried and used for nervous disorders and fever.

Sweet clover

This plant reaches a height of one meter. Places of growth - meadows, fields, roadsides. The leaves and flowers of the plant are valued and should be harvested in June-August. The dried leaves are used to prepare a tincture, which is taken to treat gout, rheumatism, and insomnia. The plant also has diuretic properties. It should not be used during pregnancy or bleeding disorders.

Burdock (burdock) felt

This plant is easily distinguished by its large leaves and characteristic flowers and fruits. As a rule, burdock grows in wastelands, roadsides, and forests. This is a well-known and widespread representative of the flora. Rhizomes should be harvested before the onset of winter or early spring. An ointment is prepared from fresh roots to treat wounds and burns. The leaves are used to protect against bacteria and relieve heat well. They need to be applied to wounds. A decoction prepared from the roots helps in treating the intestines and stomach; it is used as a diuretic. The benefits of burdock in the treatment of various diseases have long been known, but few know the fact that the leaves and roots of the young plant are eaten. The roots of young plants are suitable for food. But if burdock is not cooked correctly, it will taste bitter. It is better to fry or boil it.

Hogweed

This plant has a perennial life cycle, is powerful, and is large: two meters in height. Distributed everywhere. Place of growth - meadows, fields, coniferous forests, gardens, banks of reservoirs. In folk medicine, rhizomes and leaves are used, from which soothing infusions are prepared to relieve seizures, prevent and treat skin diseases (for example, scabies), and digestive disorders. Fresh leaves are used as a lotion for rheumatism. Hogweed is an edible plant. Its herb, dried, pickled or salted, is added to first courses.

Kislitsa

The plant is distinguished by its small height (up to 10 cm) and creeping shoots. Places of growth - forests, shores of lakes, rivers. Oxalis prefers to grow in moist soil and shade. Prepared from the plant herbal infusion. It is used in the treatment of liver and kidney diseases. The herb has a diuretic and analgesic effect. It is also used externally, especially helping in the treatment of festering wounds. In addition, sorrel is suitable for consumption. Soups are made from it.

Nettle

There are two types of medicinal herbs that are used in official and traditional medicine: stinging nettle and stinging nettle. This plant has a diuretic and expectorant, laxative and anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and wound-healing, analgesic and hemostatic effect. Pregnant women who take nettle infusions normalize the level of iron in their blood. In folk medicine, nettle is used to treat:

• I have a cold.
• Dropsy.
• Constipation.
• Dysentery.
• Gout.
• Haemorrhoids.
• Liver.
• Bronchi and lungs.
• Rheumatism and much more.

Mint

The genus has about 42 species, and this does not take into account garden hybrids. She is valued as medicinal plant, containing large quantities of menthol, which has an anesthetic effect. This substance is included in drugs for the treatment of heart and vascular diseases: “Valocordin”, “Validol”, Zelenin drops. Mint has the following beneficial properties:

• Normalizes intestinal function.
• It puts the nervous system in order.
• Eliminates insomnia.
• Relieves nausea.
• Helps with diarrhea.
• Reduces swelling, relieves pain during inflammatory processes of the respiratory organs.
• Strengthens gums, destroys germs. It is used to rinse the mouth.

Plantain

IN medicinal purposes Two types of this plant are used: flea plantain and Indian plantain. They contain ascorbic acid, carotene, and phytoncides. Plantain extracts obtained from the leaves of the plant are used to treat severe gastrointestinal ulcers. The juice is taken for gastritis and enteritis. It improves digestion. Leaf infusions help remove phlegm from bronchitis, pleurisy, whooping cough, pulmonary tuberculosis, and asthma. In addition, plantain is used in the following cases:

• To cleanse the blood.
• Healing of wounds.
• Relieving inflammation.
• Pain relief.

Wormwood

This plant is used in gastroenterology. Its leaves are rich in substances beneficial to the human body. The benefits of nettle are as follows:

• It has a stimulating effect on the reflex function of the pancreas.
• Normalizes the activity of the gallbladder.
• Relieves inflammation.
• Contained in the plant essential oil excites the nervous system.
• The bitterness present in the herb stimulates appetite and normalizes digestion.

Quinoa

This herb is well known to the older generation. During wartime and lean years, quinoa seeds were ground, added to rye flour and baked into bread. It, of course, did not have an attractive appearance and was tasteless, but it helped to survive. Quinoa is valued for its chemical composition. It contains potassium and rutin in large quantities. Due to this, the medicinal herb is widely used in cardiology. In addition, it is useful for treating diseases:

• Respiratory organs.
• Stomach.
• Skin.
• Inflamed wounds.

Quinoa has wound-healing and soothing, cleansing and expectorant, choleretic and diuretic effects. This herb is edible. It is used to prepare cabbage soup, soups, cutlets, mashed potatoes, and even bake bread. Quinoa dishes are very filling.

A perennial herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family. It grows in the forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, in Western Siberia. It grows in damp places, along the banks of rivers and mountain streams, in thickets of bushes. Listed in the Red Book. Bad honey plant. There is no commercial honey from elecampane.

Siberian hogweed, Puchka, Pikan - Heracléum sibíricum. Herbaceous plant of the Apiaceae family. Siberian hogweed, despite the name, is predominantly a European species, common throughout Central Russia. It is also distributed in Central Europe, Ciscaucasia and Western Siberia (in its southern part it reaches Altai). Found in Crimea, Kazakhstan (Dzhungar Alatau). It grows in damp places - in meadows, between bushes. It grows in meadows (especially flooded ones), along the banks of rivers and streams, forest edges, roadside meadows, and […]

Ural ribbed plant - Pleurospermum uralense A two- or three-year herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Pleurospermum of the Umbrella family (Apiaceae). It grows in coniferous and birch-aspen forests, along their edges, in forest clearings, rarely in subalpine meadows, in ravines and near swamps. Secondary honey plant, produces up to 180 kg of honey per hectare.

Belongs to the Umbrella family. Deadly poisonous biennial plant. Grows on forest edges, water meadows, limestone slopes, as a weed in crops and vegetable gardens, on fallow lands and wastelands, near housing, near roads and fences, in landfills, on the slopes of ravines, on canvas railways. Bees visit hemlock well, taking nectar and pollen from it. Under certain conditions it produces a large amount of nectar.

Bog thistle belongs to the Asteraceae family. Perennial or biennial plant. Grows in damp meadows, swamps, swampy forests, and bushes. Its stem is completely covered with thorns. Grows in Siberia. Honey productivity per hectare is 250 - 300 kg. Sometimes it produces commercial honey.

Weed plant. The species infests all types of crops and is found in fallows, orchards and orchards, as well as along roads, along ditches, and in fallow lands. Contains white milky juice. Strong honey plant and pollen plant. It releases nectar only in the morning, because... After lunch the flowers close. Intensive honey collection up to 380 kg per hectare. The honey crystallizes quickly and is dark amber in color. The pollen is dark yellow.

A perennial herbaceous plant 30–90 cm high from the Asteraceae family. It grows in various meadows, clearings, meadow clearings, along roads in many regions of Russia. Well visited by bees, which, under favorable conditions, weather conditions They collect a lot of nectar and pollen from it. Honey productivity in terms of continuous tracts is over 100 kg/ha. The pollen is yellow.

Perennial honey-bearing herbaceous plant. Sandy cinnamon grows mainly on sandy soils, in dry copses, forest glades, hills, on fallow lands, rocky and sandy slopes everywhere. The hard scales of the inflorescence wrapper do not wither and do not lose color even when the inflorescences are cut off - hence the name of the plant immortelle.

Herbaceous perennial plant from the Euphorbiaceae family. A good honey plant. Produces commercial honey. It grows in meadows, in light forests, along pebble and sandy river banks, along roadsides and in crops, especially on loamy soil. Acute milkweed displaces all plants that live in prairies and fields, shading them and taking away moisture and nutrients, as well as releasing […]

An annual or biennial herbaceous weed plant of the aster family (Acteraceae) with an erect branched stem 30-80 cm high. The leaves are lanceolate-linear, the lower ones are petiolate. The flower baskets are solitary, at the ends of the branches they consist of dark blue marginal funnel-shaped and central purple tubular flowers, surrounded by hard scales of an ovoid involucre.

Mediocre honey plant. It blooms in June - September, the fruits ripen in August - September. A perennial herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family. It grows on sandy and loamy fresh and moist soils, in meadows, forest clearings, forest edges, in bushes, less often as a weed in crops. Prefers soils of average fertility and drainage.

A perennial herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family. It grows in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, in Western Siberia. It grows in damp places, along the banks of rivers and mountain streams, in tall grass meadows, forest clearings and edges, and in thickets of bushes. Bad honey plant. There is no commercial honey from elecampane.