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heather

Botanical name: Erica manipuliflora, Calluna vulgaris

Family: Ericacaea

Common heather, ling, or simply heather.

The name Calluna comes from the Greek kallunein, "beautify, sweep clean", by Richard Anthony Salisbury in reference to its traditional use in besoms.

Plant Description

Erica manipuliflora is native to the Mediterranean.The shrubs reach heights of 60 to 100 centimetres.Erica manipuliflora is evergreen. The dark-green, simple leaves are whorled. They are linear, entire and petiolate.It produces racemes of pink tubular flowers from August to November.In each flower formed about 30 seeds of the plant, which means that each bush produces each year more than 150,000 seeds. This is one of the reasons for the wide spread of the plant in large areas. Heather honey (made ​​from the flowers of heath) is very beneficial and has the same therapeutic properties as the plant.

Constituents

The shoots of Calluna vulgaris contain the phenolic compounds chlorogenic acid, its 3-O-glucoside, 3-O-galactoside and 3-O-arabinoside.

THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS & USES IN OUR DAYS

It is astringent, slightly hypnotic and sedative herb with diuretic, expectorant and sweating properties.

In modern herbal medicine, Heather is considered one of the best antiseptics and disinfectants of the urinary tract. It cleans the entire urinary system by slightly increasing the production of urine. It is considered suitable for the treatment of cystitis and fight urinary tract infections. It acts positively on stones formed in the urinary tract, kidney colic, chronic cystitis, prostate and swellings. It has a positive effect in cases of arthritis and rheumatism(internal and external use).

It helps in gastritis with hyperacidity of digestive fluids, intestinal colic accompanied by diarrhea and diseases of the liver and bile. Thanks to its sedative properties, it helps in nerve excitability, nervous exhaustion and insomnia.

Heather tea helps to eliminate inflammations of the throat and oral cavity, coughs and colds. In arthritis, polyarthritis, rheumatism and gout help both the beverage and compresses and baths external use.