Page 10 - Царь-трава белокопытник японский
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It's getting scary», — the great author shared his The plant can be eaten, pampering the body with
thoughts in his famous book «Sakhalin Island». vitamins and minerals, which are now so lacking in the
Butterbur Japanese can rightfully be called a environmentally unstable world. Our Asian neighbors
universal plant. It is used in food, medicine, and in — the Japanese — are actively engaged in the
the household. In the form of aqueous infusions of cultivation of butterbur in their gardens. One of the
leaves and roots, the plant is used for diseases of the legends says that gabo (butterbur in Japanese) really
respiratory system, especially when coughing, and wanted to make friends with a man whom he trusted
also as an antihelminthic agent. Crushed fresh leaves and respected as a ruler. But everyone hurriedly walked
are applied to wounds and swollen places, rheumatic past the plant, even brushed it off and scolded it. And
and gouty pains are treated with poultices. only one villager drew attention to the butterbur and
In the Middle Ages, even plague was treated with sheltered it in his small garden. Then, as a token of
the help of butterbur (hence the names "plague grass" gratitude for the friendship, the gabo promised the
and "plague root"). Since burdock leaves contain good peasant that his family would not lack food. Since
disinfectant compounds, plague buboes actually then, in Japan, you can find large beds with butterbur.
shrank in size, but of course there is no way to cure Asians also taught us to use butterbur inflorescences
this disease with the help of a plant. as a vegetable, cooking it akin to cooking cauliflower.
The stalks of young leaves are stewed with pepper as
a sauce for meat dishes, and the leaves themselves are
used to make sushi.
Interesting fact: butterbur is very effective in pest control.
Fresh leaves (1.5 kg) are put into a tank with 5 liters of water,
and the mixture is kept in a dark place for three days; then
filtered, 20 g of soap is added and mixed. The infusion is used
against cabbage whites, cabbage moths, tomato fruitworm
and other pests.
A strong effect is given by a mixture of butterbur infusion
with mustard leaf (1:2). It is used against aphids, meadow
bugs, tobacco thrips.
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