Aquatic plants are often used for landscaping artificial reservoirs. For this, reeds, cattails and reeds are used, but many do not know what is the difference between these plants. Not only the townspeople, but also many rural residents do not know how to distinguish reeds from cattails.
Usually people think that there is no difference between cattail and reed, and it is just the same plant in different periods of development. In fact, they not only differ in appearance, but also belong to different families. In today's article, we will look at the difference between these plants and find out what practical uses they have found.
Universal plant reeds and recipes from it
The Scirpus reed has a long history. It was used not only in informal medicine for the manufacture of medicines, but also in cooking, everyday life and plant growing. Previously, the plant was used as a durable pad (reed belt), which was laid along the entire perimeter of the foundation. In addition, rugs and shopping bags were made from the stems.
Reeds are also widely used today. Its roots are edible. In addition, the rhizome of the plant is used to make a coffee substitute. Dried roots are ideal raw materials for making flour.
First steps after purchase
The acquired reed is immediately planted in a permanent place of growth. Since the genus is resistant to diseases and pests, the treatment of purchased plants with special preparations is not required.
In case of diseases of other ornamental grasses with fungal and bacterial infections, the appearance of harmful insects in the garden, Reeds are prophylactically treated with Fitoverm insecticide and Fitosporin fungicide.
It is important to carry out an insecticide and fungicide treatment of wild specimens transferred to the garden.
Botanical characteristics of the plant, photo of the reed
Reed is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the genus Reed and the Sedge family, and includes 52 species. This is a coastal plant, reaching a height of a meter or more.
It is endowed with a horizontally located long root, triangular cylindrical stems, broadly linear spreading three-row leaves narrowed in a triangular tip, bisexual small inconspicuous, collected in spikelets, forming complex spreading inflorescences of flowers.
Reed fruits are triangular nuts. The plant begins to bloom at the beginning of the summer period. It grows, as a rule, in humid places, swamps, ditches, banks of water bodies.
Collection and procurement of medicinal raw materials
For medicinal purposes, the leaves and rhizomes of the plant in question are used. The best time to harvest foliage is the beginning of summer. You can collect raw materials until the end of the summer period. Then the leaves are laid out in a thin layer on a pallet and dried in a room with good ventilation or in the fresh air in the shade.
As for harvesting roots, it is recommended to carry it out at the beginning of the autumn period. The raw materials are dug up, washed, cut into small pieces and dried in a dryer at a temperature of 40-50 degrees.
The blanks are poured into paper bags and stored in a room with sufficient ventilation. Shelf life is two years, no more.
Medicinal properties and composition of reeds
It is not for nothing that the plant is widely used in informal medicine. It is rich in valuable nutrients. It contains a lot:
Preparations from the plant have powerful medicinal properties - anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diaphoretic, astringent, bactericidal, diuretic, antiscorbutic, emollient, wound healing, anti-febrile, hemostatic effect.
Reed-based medicines contribute to:
Time-tested prescriptions
There are a considerable number of effective and efficient remedies for the treatment of various pathologies. However, you should not take them thoughtlessly, or even more so without consulting your doctor, because this can harm you and cause a worsening of your condition.
Remember, drugs from the people are just an addition to the main treatment prescribed by the doctor. Moreover, their use should be appropriate and reasonable.
1. Preparation of home remedies to strengthen the immune system. Peel the rhizomes of the reeds, about a kilogram, chop, and pour into a saucepan. Next, you need to pour the raw material with boiled water and simmer over low heat for an hour, then drain the liquid into a separate container, and pour the roots again with water and boil. After an hour, combine both liquids, boil. It is recommended to consume 200 ml of strained medicine once a day. This composition has powerful immunostimulating properties and is suitable for both children and adults.
2. Heart dyspnea: the use of tea. During the period of intensive flowering of reeds - in September, collect its flowers, pour into a glass container and steam 300 ml of boiling water. After an hour, start taking five sips of the filtered drug every four hours. The duration of the course is 30 days.
3. Means for the prevention of pain in the heart. Steam a few dried plant inflorescences with a liter of freshly boiled water. Add a few mint leaves to the reeds and set aside for two hours. Drink 20 ml of the strained composition several times a day.
4. Colitis: decoction therapy. Brew dry, finely chopped roots of the plant in an amount of 15 grams with boiling water - 200 ml. Simmer a little over low heat, cool, filter. It is recommended to use a spoonful of the drug at least five times a day.
5. Diabetes: the use of an effective drug. Steam a spoonful of dried crushed plant (stems, roots) in three hundred milliliters of boiled water. Boil, leave to brew. Drink a quarter glass of the filtered drink three times a day. The duration of the course is three weeks.
6. Preparation of a diuretic composition. Place 50 g of finely chopped leaves and cane stalks in a thermos. Pour boiling water over the raw materials. After an hour, filter and start taking 200 ml of the drink three times a day. An effective remedy with powerful diaphoretic and diuretic properties and helps to normalize kidney function and reduce swelling.
Who is contraindicated for medications based on reeds?
No particular contraindications to the use of plants have been identified. However, in order to prevent the occurrence of side effects or poisoning, before using this or that reed-based product, consult your doctor.
It is not advised to use the plant for medicinal purposes in the presence of gout, varicose veins. It is undesirable to drink reed-based products for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Long-term use can provoke constipation. Children of any age cannot be treated with plant preparations.
Collection and procurement of raw materials
It is necessary to collect medicinal raw materials in ecologically clean places. It is not recommended to collect reeds in reservoirs where animals swim and birds are found.The leaves are harvested in July and August, the roots are dug up in September and October, the inflorescences are cut off during flowering.
Drying is best done in an electric dryer or oven. You can do this in the shade under a canopy. The finished raw materials are laid out in canvas bags, cardboard bags, and stored for no more than two years.
Have you used reeds for the preparation of medicines? We are waiting for your feedback, recommendations, proven recipes.
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Reed bristles will get rid of cysts
Good afternoon, the editorial office of "Aibolit" and all the readers of the newspaper! I am writing to you for the first time, although I have been subscribing to the newspaper for the seventh year. I regularly use prescriptions from the newspaper, since I have three children who are often ill, and I don’t buy pharmaceutical medicines in principle, and not because it’s expensive, but because now it is almost impossible to buy real medicines. And in general I try to avoid chemistry, especially for children.
I use folk recipes for myself, although I am only 30 years old, but it is no longer a secret that our youth does not shine with health, including me. Many young mothers with the birth of a child acquire such an unpleasant sore as hemorrhoids. And until the child grows up a little, the mother does not have time to take care of herself, to cure this very hemorrhoids. And the disease progresses, and the further, the more difficult it is then to treat. I want to offer a time-tested, simple and short-lived recipe for treatment. Everyone knows the evergreen thuja tree. Take a twig of thuja, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, boil over low heat for 5 minutes - and the medicine is ready. The color of the infusion of the strongly brewed tea. Soak a cotton or gauze swab in warm broth, lie on your stomach, insert a swab between your buttocks, through
Remove 10-15 minutes. Do such procedures until a positive result. If the hemorrhoids are not old, then 3-4 procedures are enough for it to disappear without a trace. This is the best way we've tried. It is usually done at night.
From cysts on the kidneys and liver
And another repeatedly proven recipe for cysts on the kidneys and liver. Reeds grow on rivers and ponds, its panicles are just medicine. Immediately I will make a reservation that there are several types of reeds, and panicles are suitable only for those that grow fluffy, the size of a palm, not only in length, but also in width. Pour 2 panicles of reeds with 2 liters of boiling water, wrap up (preferably at night), leave for several hours, drain the infusion and store in the refrigerator. Drink 1 glass half an hour before meals 3 times a day. Usually a monthly course is enough for the cyst to disappear, but sometimes you have to repeat the course.
At the same time, heal your heart, as reed panicles are good for heart disease. It is not recommended to cut off green panicles; you need them to turn slightly yellow and fluff. We have a river nearby, and we tried to use unripe panicles, the result did not work, and the ripe ones gave very positive results. You can harvest panicles for the winter, they retain their medicinal properties well.
And finally, I want to offer a recipe to those who, in their youth or out of stupidity, had an abortion during their first pregnancy, and then could not get pregnant. A close friend of mine also got into this situation. Then a long treatment, a lot of wasted money - the result is zero. And yet she managed to get pregnant after this recipe. Before being close to her husband, she doused each time with a soda solution: 1 tsp. a spoonful of soda for 1 glass of warm boiled water, and after intimacy, you need to lie on your stomach and try to fall asleep - this is the most comfortable position for the uterus to get pregnant. This method was advised by an old midwife. Now this woman has two children.Douching should be done for 1.5-2 months.
P. S. I am finishing writing. My twins came from school, I need to feed. I will answer everyone if you put in a blank envelope.
Olga Viktorovna Krivosheeva, st. Vysotsky, 6, apt. 1, x. Izobilny, Egorlyksky district, Rostov region, 347674
Sugarcane seeds: collection, storage
Sugarcane seeds are short-lived, their viability lasts up to six months. Collecting sugar cane can be done when the cane has released its panicles, and they turn brown. However, in central Russia, it is difficult to achieve full maturation of reed seeds due to inappropriate climatic conditions. And in the southern regions of our country, with the usual planting, without additional agrotechnical measures, sugarcane seeds rarely fully ripen.
One "sugar" panicle, with proper care, brings about 600 seeds, when planted, it is quite enough for one hundred square meters of land. When collecting seeds, the panicles are broken off, threshed and sifted, you can pick the panicle with your hands, and then dry the seeds. Due to the fragility of the seeds, they can be stored in a tissue bag, no later than until next year.
Description of the plant reed
A perennial herb, reeds can grow up to two meters in height. For example, lake reeds grow along the banks of rivers, lakes, and also reservoirs. The stems of the plant are cylindrical, the leaves are sparse, elongated, narrow. Perennial forms are usually rhizome. During the flowering period of reeds, which is usually in June-July, flowers appear on the stems of the plant in the form of a panicle. In the seaside tuber (Bolboschoenus maritimus), the rhizomes have large tuberous formations up to 3.5 cm in length and 2.5 cm in width.
Sugar made from sugar cane
Brown cane sugar is considered to be a more natural product than beet sugar. Crystalline Sweet Nibs are obtained from cane through multi-level processing. Cane sugar is considered one of the most ancient sweets of the East.
Glucose from brown cane sugar, of higher quality, it feeds the brain and liver activity of the body and contributes to an energy surge in general. Such sugar is considered less harmful due to the content of plant fibers in it.
One of the distinguishing features of cane sugar is its high content of glucose and sucrose, which in total amounts to 2% of the weight of the stem. This fact implies cleaning without a lot of lime, and without a bleaching agent, thereby increasing the competitive component of the naturalness of brown cane sugar over white beet sugar.
The main production of cane processing plants is raw sugar. Only a few industrial factories bring cane sugar to a refined state. But in both cases, the primary processing of raw sugar is the same, the only difference is that raw sugar undergoes additional processing in the form of recrystallization, the same raw sugar.
The processing of raw sugar begins with the fact that panicles and leaves must be removed before pressing, that is, only the stem gets under the press to extract juice. Then the juice is evaporated to a concentrated syrup. The syrup, in turn, undergoes cooking and crystallization. After full processing, cane sugar is packaged and supplied to the sales markets.
One cup of coffee or tea with cane sugar will charge you with energy and positive mood for the whole day, in addition, cane sweetness contains trace elements and B vitamins in its composition.
Description of the plant reed
About 300 species are known, distributed throughout the globe, but mainly in temperate and subtropical zones. There are about 20 species in Russia. Perennial, rarely annual plants with creeping or shortened rhizome or without it.Stems are almost cylindrical or triangular, leafy, sometimes the leaves are only scaly.
Sea reed (Scirpus maritimus) - Perennial with creeping rhizome, stems 50-100 cm high and linear leaves 3-8 mm wide. At the top of the shoot there is a dense star-umbellate inflorescence of brown color. It can be used for landscaping areas with saline soil.
Reeds are usually used in natural-style gardens. They can be used to compose plant compositions in shallow water reservoirs, where water lilies, egg capsules and other plants floating on the surface of the water look especially impressive against their background. Some types are suitable for shady gardens. Reed thickets sometimes surround the reservoir with an impenetrable wall. Imagine such a two-meter hedge! The wind flutters the spreading inflorescences and carries pollen from one plant to another. Due to the rapid growth of rhizomes, reeds successfully colonize stagnant water bodies. Its thickets reduce water pollution.
The fish not only likes to eat small shoots of reeds, but also actively lives in these thickets, from time to time giving themselves out with characteristic bursts.
green-
Tall stems up to 2.5 meters in height with large ears - this is the cattail. True, reeds and cattails are slightly different plants, which are often confused. In reeds, the cobs are brown, and in cattail they are black or dark brown.
Reeds can be found on any lake or swamp throughout the European part of Russia, as well as in western Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Baltic states. Prefers stagnant reservoirs, forming whole thickets. Often, the stem is immersed in water up to 1 meter, so you still need to stock up on rubber boots and gloves to get the reeds.
The reed stem at its very base (the whitest part) is edible even when raw. Because reed root contains a lot of sugars, it tastes good. The rhizome can be ground into flour and mixed with wheat flour for a spicy flavor of flour dishes.
Sugar syrup can be made from reeds: just chop the rhizome and pour water over it. For 1 kg of reed root, you need to take 1 liter of water and boil for 1 hour, then strain this broth and evaporate to the required concentration.
Growing
Reed can be grown both in shallow water 10‒30 cm, and in very wet, swampy soils. Undemanding to the ground, but slightly acidic soils with a pH of 5.0‒6.0 or neutral ones with a pH of 6.0‒7.0 are preferred.
The reed needs a sufficient amount of sunlight, but under direct rays it loses its decorative effect. Forest reeds and Rooting reeds tolerate light shade well.
Does not require additional fertilizers and does not create difficulties in maintenance. Caring for garden reeds comes down to moistening the soil when the reservoir dries up during a drought, controlling self-seeding and plant growth.
ON THE PICTURE: A small clump of Cyperus Reed (Scirpus cyperinus).
Reed in folk medicine
Reed preparations have many medicinal properties, for example: anti-febrile, antiscorbutic, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, astringent and emollient.
There is no unusable element in the reeds; in folk medicine, it has found its use everywhere - both leaves, and pollen, and rhizomes, and a stem.
For example, if you mix the fluff of cobs of reeds with ghee, then such an ointment can very quickly heal damaged skin from burns.
A decoction of cattail or reed leaves is taken orally for diabetes mellitus, as well as for gastritis, enteritis, dysentery, bloody diarrhea. Simply put crushed cane leaves on a wound or scratch to stop bleeding and speed up wound healing.
It is good to use a decoction of reed leaves for those who have heavy menstrual flow, accompanied by pain, nausea or insomnia.
As a diuretic:
3 tbsp Pour 1 liter of boiling water over crushed leaves and stems of reeds and let it brew for 1 hour. Take orally 1 glass 3-4 times a day. An excellent diuretic and diaphoretic that normalizes kidney function and reduces body swelling.
For the treatment of diabetes mellitus:
1 tsp Pour 1 cup of boiling water over finely chopped reeds and keep on high heat for about 2-3 minutes. Cool, strain and take a third of a glass 3 times a day. The course is about 20 days, depending on the blood sugar content. When the sugar level returns to normal, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of the decoction to 0.5 cups per day. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to take it continuously to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
For the treatment of colitis:
Dry the roots of the reeds, chop and 1 tbsp. pour a glass of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, cool, strain. It should be taken before meals for 1 tablespoon. this broth 5-6 times a day until complete recovery.
For the treatment of cardiac dyspnea:
In September, when the reeds are blooming in full swing, you need to collect its inflorescences, brew like ordinary tea and drink a few (5-7) sips in a warm form constantly, with an interval of 3-4 hours. One month of such treatment is enough for shortness of breath, even the most severe, to completely disappear.
As a prevention of pain in the heart muscle, it is enough to brew two inflorescences in 1 liter of water, add a couple of mint leaves and let it brew. Drink constantly in small portions until the pain and discomfort in the heart muscle completely disappears.
Strengthening immunity:
Take 1 kg of peeled rhizomes, chop them and pour two liters of boiling water. Boil the roots of the reeds for an hour, then drain the water into a separate bowl, and pour the roots again with a liter of boiling water and cook. Then combine both broths, boil for another 10 minutes under a closed lid and take 1 glass a day. It is an excellent immune-boosting agent and is suitable for both adults and children.
Reed is an almost "harmless" plant that can be used by everyone. The only thing is that they are not recommended to be treated for people suffering from hepatosis, gout or varicose veins. Long-term use may cause unwanted constipation.
Sugar cane processing
Cane sugar without additional processing, unsuitable for consumption and further storage. Therefore, additional processing or refining is considered the optimal cycle to complete the production of cane sugar.
The technology for producing sugar from cane is similar to the method for producing sugar from sugar beet. Both raw material processing technologies include several identical steps:
- Grinding the product
- Getting juice from a processed product
- Purification of juice from additional impurities
- Concentration of juice to the concentration of syrup by evaporation method
- Crystallizing the concentrate and converting it into sugar
- Drying the finished product
Juice is obtained by crushing, pressing and further pressing the raw cane. Thanks to a special technology for treating cane with water, using a press, almost one hundred percent of the juice is extracted from the raw material. The juice goes through the cleaning procedure through a mash trap and accumulates in the measuring tanks.
The pulp, in turn, returns to the press, and carries out a secondary pressing together with the primary mass of the supplied raw material. After cleaning, the juice undergoes a procedure of cold or hot lime defecation. In this way, organic acids are neutralized and a neutral, soluble lime salt is formed. In the process of cold defecation, the juice is mixed with milk of lime, mixed and placed in sedimentation tanks. In order for the sugar to settle, the settling tanks are heated, and a thick concentrated mass is obtained at the bottom, with juice on top.
The thick mass is subjected to a filter press, and the juice is drained.In another method, the thickened syrup is fed into a vacuum apparatus and boiled into massecuite. The resulting cooked mass is placed in the master massecuite for crystallization and cooling. After that, the sugar is whipped in the centrifuge. The fine sand obtained in the production of sugar is re-loaded into the crystallizer and undergoes the procedure for re-melting the product and placed in the vacuum apparatus of all massecuite for boiling subsequent syrups.
The production of cane sugar described above is somewhat different from the production of sugar from beets. The first difference is that the cane is pressed on roller presses, and the beets are extracted in a diffusion battery. The second difference is the stages of juice purification, and processing with the least amount of lime than in the production of granulated sugar from beets.
Bulrush. Description, popular name, photo
Lacustrine reed, also known as lacustrine schenoplectus, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants belonging to the genus Schenoplektus of the sedge family. For a long time it was believed that this plant is practically useless. One old botanical manual says that this worthless grass has only one advantage - the ability to delay the passage of alluvial silt with stem-like thick stems during spring flooding, due to which drained places provide excellent fat chernozem soil.
But in fact, the reed is a valuable plant. Its pliable soft stems have long provided people with durable and beautiful material for weaving mats, baskets, handbags. You can knit various kinds of covers from dried stems and make decorative crafts. It is no coincidence that the Latin name of the plant - scirpus - goes back to the verbs "knit", "weave".
Role in nature
The reed is very vigorous. It grows rapidly, forming impassable thickets. They are home to coastal birds, some species of fish and crustaceans. In addition, it is an excellent hunting ground for herons.
Reed is a natural filter for water bodies. He cleans rivers and lakes. In addition, the reed, due to its massive stem and leaves, is able to absorb a huge amount of moisture. This dries up the swamps. With the help of reeds, peat is formed in them.
This crop serves as natural food for wild animals. They are eaten by muskrats, elk and deer.
Lake reed: description
It is a herbaceous perennial with a height of one hundred to two hundred and fifty centimeters with a hollow creeping rhizome. Stems are cylindrical in shape, with scaly leaves.
Shield-paniculate inflorescence, less often compressed, resembles a brush of prickly spikelets. Brown spikelets are eight to twelve millimeters long, at the ends of the peduncles they are clustered in three to four (less often up to eight).
Bracts slightly longer than inflorescence, subulate. Covering scales - with single warts or smooth.
Lake reed blooms in late spring and early summer. It is harvested in September-October.
The plant is distributed almost all over the world, mainly found in the steppe and forest zones, on the banks of reservoirs and shallow waters. It grows in the temperate zones of Russia and Europe, Siberia, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and North America.
This plant is popularly called kuga. Yes, the lake reed, the photo of which is presented in the article, is the same kuga from which you can weave a soft mat suitable for bed. Such a wicker product is called a crochet, respectively. You can also make a very light float for fishing from a kuga.
General information
Reed belongs to the category of perennial plants. Feeding occurs through massive creeping branched roots, reaching a length of two meters. Plant height reaches from 3 to 4 meters. Has a fleshy hollow stem. Young growth can be eaten.Its taste is comparable to that of asparagus.
Shoots are flexible, practically unbreakable. The leaves turn completely around the stem. This makes it possible to withstand strong gusts of wind. The leaves grow up to half a meter. They are located in close proximity to each other. In summer, a 20-centimeter panicle of purple spikelets appears at the top of the plant.
Pollination takes place with the help of the wind. At the end of summer, fruits appear on the reed - small caryopses with an oblong shape. The seed growth period is one year. There are a lot of seeds in the inflorescence - from 40,000 to 110,000 in each.
Reed in beekeeping
The plant, among other things, is held in high esteem by beekeepers. When lake reeds bloom, and this happens in June-July, bees take bee bread from its spikelets - pollen, without which they cannot grow a baby. During the season, a strong bee colony consumes up to twenty kilograms of bee bread collected from a variety of plants, including not only reeds, but also elm, alder, hazel, oak, burdock, broadleaf cattail, as well as weeds - nettle, quinoa, sorrel.
Lake reed has several varieties, the main of which are:
- Albescens is a plant with yellow striped stems reaching a height of 150 centimeters;
- Golden Spears - reeds with bright yellow stems in spring and green in summer;
- Zebrinus is an ornamental variety characterized by horizontal yellow stripes on green stems.
Lake reed belongs to hydrophytes - plants of coastal waters and swamps, which lack moisture. Their roots are in a viscous heavy silt, where there is almost no oxygen. Hydrophytes would be doomed to death if they did not have special devices. The fact is that the roots of such plants receive oxygen necessary for respiration, not through the soil surface, but through aerenchem - a special airborne tissue.
In lacustrine reeds, on the cross section of the stem, behind the outer cells, one can see the air passages - voids separated by films, which are a network of narrow cells connected in chains. These chains converge and form aerenchyme - air-conducting bundles. There is always air in the tissues of such bundles. It has been proven that the oxygen concentration is disturbed by mechanical damage to the stem, and this suggests that the marsh plant saturates the intercellular air with oxygen on its own: it is absorbed by the green chlorophyll-bearing tissue during photosynthesis.
Since air-conducting beams are present not only in the stem, but also in the rhizome, oxygen freely flows to the roots, and reaches the most distant underground organs, flooded with water and deeply buried in the silt. Thus, owing to aerenchem, the lake reeds receive a sufficient amount of oxygen for respiration.
The constituent components of the plant are still insufficiently studied. It is known that rhizomes and stems contain tannins, up to 48 percent of sugars, lactic acid, up to six percent of proteins and three percent of fats.
Difficulties in cultivating reeds
Basically, the reeds are quite resistant to harmful insects and diseases, but sometimes they are affected by spider mites or aphids. This is possible when the cultivation conditions become unfavorable: increased air dryness, excessive or poor soil moisture, keeping at low temperatures or when exposed to a draft. And since the reed reacts very badly to chemicals that could eliminate pests, it is better to create normal conditions for its growth and periodically inspect it. Otherwise, insecticides will have to be used.
Also, if the humidity is low, then the stems at the ends become brown. Spraying with warm water should be carried out and if the cultivation is indoor, then you can put a pot of reeds in a pan with water poured into it.
Application in the national economy
The stalks of lake reeds are suitable for weaving of various products, serve as raw materials for the production of paper, are used as heat-insulating, packaging and building materials.
The plant is suitable for the production of glycerin and alcohol. It also has environmental significance, acting as an excellent biofilter for industrial water purification. Reed plays an important role in soil strengthening.
Reed propagation methods
There are two ways to propagate a culture: vegetative and seed. Both are simple and convenient. Let's consider each option in detail.
Seed use
Before lowering the seeds into the ground, they must be germinated. You can scatter the seed as you please: either in clearly marked squares, or by random sowing into the soil. As soon as young growth has appeared, it is carefully dug up and identified in a container with soil mixture. A small layer of earth is laid on top and watered abundantly using a spray bottle.
Seeds sprout quickly and amicably at temperatures from +21 to +23 degrees. When planting in mid - late spring, when the soil temperature is high, the seed material can be immediately determined in the open ground. Seeds for planting are collected from a plant that has reached four years of age.
We use the mother bush
Vegetative method is the most acceptable. The bush divides either in early spring or late autumn. When reeds grow on depleted soils, they should first be fertilized with compost. Knowing about the strong growth of reeds, it is necessary for planting to use an old bucket, an unnecessary round metal structure, any container to limit the area of growth. Garden tape will do as well.
You can also divide the rhizome. It is removed, cut into several pieces of 4 centimeters. It is imperative to leave a root knot on each cut off area. Sometimes they resort to the grafting method. This is possible between May and July. However, the method is not popular. It is easier to use rhizomes and parts of the bush.
Food use
Young, not yet green stems and rhizomes are eaten. Shoots are eaten boiled, fresh, pickled, pickled. Previously, flour was ground from peeled dried rhizomes, which was then added to rye or wheat when baking bread. However, now this is not being done, since it has been established that the use of such a mixture for a long time can be harmful to the body. At the same time, you can prepare completely safe sweet syrup from rhizomes and stems. It is done simply: the raw material is finely chopped, boiled and evaporated to a certain density.
For sika deer and aquatic fur animals, the lake reed serves as a fodder plant.
The rhizomes and aerial parts of the plant contain phytosterols, flavonoids, carotenoids, saponins, higher fatty acids, catechins. Reed-based preparations produce a certain therapeutic effect, providing astringent, diuretic, sedative, enveloping, hemostatic action. Such funds are indicated for dispensation, diarrhea, gastroenterocolitis, urolithiasis, vomiting, pyelonephritis, poisoning, burns, spider bites, boils, epilepsy, dysentery.
Infusion of reed panicles helps with stress, pain in the heart, hypertension. If hypotension is present, treatment is contraindicated. Also, the infusion has a diuretic effect, when diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, it is used as a symptomatic treatment. The peeled rhizome can be applied to fresh wounds to stop bleeding.
Lake reed prefers slightly acidic or neutral soils. It can be planted in water, in shallow areas, or in a coastal swampy area. The plant thrives better in the sun, but in general is extremely undemanding.
At the dacha, lake reeds look great in the shallow water of reservoirs, decorated in a landscape style. The plant gives a natural flavor to compositions with egg capsules, water lilies, eichornia.
Reed thickets need to be limited in growth, since the plant can be quite aggressive and capable of capturing the territory of the entire reservoir. Then you will have to decide how to get rid of the lake reeds.
It is recommended to plant the plant in containers. In the autumn, the stems must be cut off.
Success secrets
When choosing a site for Reed, it is worth remembering its ability to quickly grow with rhizome and lateral shoots. Whole thickets-clumps are formed in a short time. To limit overgrowth, plants are planted in containers and then buried in the ground.
ON THE PICTURE: Small-fruited reed (Scirpus microcarpus) planted in containers.
To preserve decorativeness, the reed is cut for the winter to the level of the soil.
Varietal reeds are more demanding on the soil than representatives of natural species. Thanks to their slow growth, varietal plants are more suitable for thoughtful compositions of garden ponds. At the same time, they freeze faster when the water level in the pond decreases, therefore they need additional shelter in winter.
The healing properties of reeds
Narrow-leaved cattail, aka reed, is a rather tall plant (up to two meters in height), grows along the banks of reservoirs and in shallow waters. In folk medicine, reeds are used as an anti-inflammatory, astringent, bactericidal, hemostatic and wound-healing agent.
With sugar diabetes take a decoction of reed leaves, and a decoction of rhizomes for enteritis, gastritis, dysentery, gonorrhea, scurvy and fever. Pollen reed flowers are used for bone tuberculosis and to stop bleeding. Outwardly to wounds, cuts and burns crushed leaves of the plant are applied.
There are practically no contraindications to cattail, it is not advised only to treat it with gout, hepatosis and varicose veins.
When colitis, you need to pour a tablespoon of chopped plant roots with a glass of water, then boil over low heat for ten minutes. Insist for an hour, strain and use a tablespoon four to five times a day.
To cure diabetes, you need to add a tablespoon of dried and crushed reed leaves to a glass of boiling water, then boil for one or two minutes and let cool. Drink a third of a glass three times a day. If there is an improvement, then continue to take the broth in a quarter of a glass about every other day.
Before using folk recipes, be sure to consult your doctor!
<2008–2018, Panacea - treatment with folk remedies, traditional medicine and folk remedies. Copying and distribution of information about the treatment and maintenance of the health of the body is encouraged!
Reed control methods
First of all, farmers resist this plant with reclamation and drainage. The lowering of the water table and the drying out of the upper layers of the soil prevent the spread and growth of reeds. In this case, the plant should be treated with special herbicidal agents, the action of which is aimed at depleting and weakening the root system.
Mowing the cane before it has seeds is another effective measure. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to irrigation water. They should be cleaned of reed seeds that have got there. Together, all these measures will help get rid of unwanted weeds on the site.
Growing places
The growing area of reeds is Europe, Asia, the Caucasus, the Near and Far East, Hindustan, North Africa. It is especially abundant in the Columbia River Basin. Its favorite places are banks, river deltas, swamps, ditches. The Japanese even learned to cultivate it to use for weaving.
Most suitable for planting reeds is neutral and slightly acidic moist soil. He loves shallow water and full sunlight. Some species can grow in the shade.
Forest reed (Scirpus sylvaticus L.)
A perennial herb with long creeping rhizomes, thanks to which it forms extensive thickets. Has medicinal and economic value. Shows pronounced medicinal properties, in particular anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, diuretic, anti-febrile, etc.
Table of contents
In medicine
Forest reed is a non-pharmacopoeial plant; it is not used in official medicine of the Russian Federation. However, due to the presence of some medicinal properties, it is used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory, diuretic, sedative and hypnotic.
Contraindications and side effects
Although as such there are no contraindications to the use of forest reeds for medicinal purposes, in order to avoid side effects, it is recommended to consult a specialist. The use of preparations based on forest reeds is not recommended for people with gout and varicose veins, as well as for women during pregnancy, breastfeeding. In addition, with prolonged use of reeds, constipation is possible. The use of forest reeds in any form is contraindicated for children.
In cooking
Rhizomes of forest reeds are used in cooking. In tropical countries, it is eaten, and also a substitute coffee is made from them. It is also known that flour is made from dried rhizomes of reeds, which is mixed with rye or wheat and baked goods are baked.
In crop production
Forest reed is an undemanding plant, it takes root well in any wet area, has an attractive appearance, it can be bred for decorative purposes together with a water lily and a capsule in a summer pond. In addition, cut reeds (especially dried ones) are used in floral design when drawing up dry flower arrangements.
In other areas
Forest reeds are of economic importance. The stems are used for the manufacture of wicker products, mats, rugs, shopping bags, for roofing, as well as packaging, thermal insulation and building materials.
Related article: Common flax (sowing) - useful properties, description
Forest reeds also serve as food for cattle, especially young shoots - a favorite delicacy of deer.
In other areas
In the past, reeds were used for the production of building materials, in particular reed concrete, based on cement or gypsum binder, mainly in rural construction.
The high content of pentazanes leads to the use of reeds for the production of furfural, a valuable raw material for the production of plastics.
Classification
Forest reed (Latin Scirpus sylvaticus) - belongs to the genus Kamysh (Latin Scirpus), the Sedge family (Latin Cyperaceae). The genus unites over 250 species of perennial (less often annual) grasses, distributed throughout the globe, mainly in tropical and subtropical, as well as temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In the former USSR, there are about 25 species.
Botanical description
Forest reed is a bright green herbaceous plant, perennial, 30-130 cm (80-150) high with a horizontal long rhizome. Stems are triangular, almost cylindrical, with well-developed aerenchymal tissue. Leaves broadly linear (1-2 cm wide), three-row, spreading, two-fold, gradually narrowing into a triangular tip, separated from the rest of the plate. Flowers are bisexual, protogynous, very small, inconspicuous, collected in ovoid spikelets 3-4 mm in length, which in turn form a complex spreading paniculate-umbellate inflorescence. Spikelets are drawn together at the ends of the branches of the inflorescence by 2-5. Perianth with 6 setae. Stamens 3, column. 1-column pistil with 3 (2) filiform stigmas. The fruit is a triangular nutlet.Propagated mainly by rhizomes, also by seeds. Blooms in June-August.
Spread
Forest reeds are widespread throughout European Russia. In the northern taiga it becomes very rare, but it reaches the Arctic Circle. Prefers waterlogged places, in particular swamps, banks of reservoirs, marshy meadows, forests, shrubs, ditches. Often forms extensive continuous thickets.
Procurement of raw materials
Forest reed leaves are harvested for medicinal purposes from early July to mid-August. For drying, the raw materials are laid out on a pallet in a well-ventilated place, it is possible under a canopy. Rhizomes are dug out carefully in September - October, cut into small pieces, dried in dryers at a temperature of 50 ° C. Dried raw materials are placed in cloth bags and stored for no more than 2 years.
Chemical composition
Reed stems contain up to 43.5% - cellulose, 24% - lignin, 22% - pentazans, as well as protein - 9.87%. The leaves contain protein (15.99%), fats (0.79%) and ascorbic acid. During flowering and fruiting, the amount of protein drops to 3%. Fiber content also varies from 38.11% to 42.7% at the ripening stage. In inflorescences, the content of carbohydrates and starch is almost two times higher than in the stem, and cellulose is much lower. In the ash of the stem, SiO - 85.9%, K2O - 1.5%, CaO - 3.7%, SO - 1.8% were found, as well as a significant amount of silica.
Pharmacological properties
The therapeutic effect of forest reeds is due to the presence of useful substances in it, especially ascorbic acid. The plant has pronounced anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, antifebrile, diuretic, antiscorbutic, wound healing, emollient, astringent, bactericidal, diaphoretic and antiseptic properties.
Application in traditional medicine
In folk medicine, forest reeds (stems, leaves, pollen, rhizomes) are widely used. Crushed fresh reed leaves are used as a hemostatic and wound-healing agent for healing wounds. In folk medicine, reed fluff with ghee (in the form of an ointment) is used for quick healing of the skin in case of burns. Herbalists recommend taking a decoction of reed leaves orally for diabetes, gastritis, enteritis, dysentery, bloody diarrhea, as well as for heavy menstrual flow, accompanied by pain, nausea or insomnia. Reeds are also used as a prophylactic diuretic and diaphoretic, as well as to normalize kidney function, reduce swelling, and maintain blood sugar levels in diabetes mellitus. A decoction of the rhizome of forest reeds is popularly used to treat colitis and as an immunosuppressive agent. Reed inflorescences, brewed in the form of tea, are used internally for heart pain and shortness of breath.
Historical reference
The use of reeds and products made from it as a building material is centuries old. Since ancient times, the peoples of Central Asia have used reeds in ganch-reed and ganch-reed (local gypsum) ceilings. Especially in areas prone to earthquakes, reeds have been used as a durable pad (reed belts) laid around the entire perimeter of the foundation. The production and use of reeds as a thermal insulating material in Russia, in particular in the Nizhny Novgorod province, began in 1908-1910, where the inventor of the first domestic reed press F.L. Gogin lived and worked. At the same time, reeds and straw began to be produced near Moscow and in the North Caucasus. Reed and straw slabs in pre-revolutionary practice were mainly used as heat-insulating material for railway cars. After the October Revolution, the first plant for the production of reed slabs was built in 1918 in the city of Krasnodar.During the Great Patriotic War and especially in the post-war period, there was a new upsurge in the production and use of reed products.
The scientific name of the genus Kamysh comes from lat. "Scirpea" - "braid".
Cattail - a survival application!
1.
First of all, Rogoz is
a reliable way to make a fire
! Its dry (sagging for a long time, not young) seed heads are perfect as tinder for flint, and personally I prefer to use this kind of work! It is easy to find, it is easy and quick to assemble, even in winter conditions you can light a fire from just found cattail!
2.
Cattail, applicable and how
construction material
, using which you can not only build certain structures, but also increase the level of comfort in conditions of survival! For example, a sufficient number of dried seed heads can be used to fill homemade pillows, blankets, mattresses, which will contribute to better quality rest.
The stems and leaves are suitable for weaving and have long been actively used for all kinds of handicrafts (as a result of which not only various crafts are obtained, but also quite decent boxes, baskets, chests and even wicker furniture! , clothes (hats). It is clear that you also need to learn to weave, so that you really get something useful and suitable for use in survival life in the wild! Surprisingly, even from the root of the cattail you can weave threads that may not be as strong as, for example, from nettle, but will fit even for fishing needs.
3.
Eating cattails
! In a young cattail (with an unblown seed head), young leaves are used at the base of the stem. It is easy to distinguish the edible part, it is not so green, due to its youth and not participating in the process of photosynthesis. The taste of such leaves is very delicate and somewhat reminiscent of a cucumber.
The roots are also edible, since the root system of the cattail is well developed. In its raw form, it is better to use large white roots (large red ones are old! And they are more suitable for baking on coals (they are somewhat similar to potatoes), and you can also create threads from them (from the veins that are better not to eat), see the video below for more details) ... Also, by grinding and roasting the roots on a fire, you can prepare a coffee drink. The roots can also be put into flour, which will allow you to bake bread!
In addition to satisfying hunger itself, it should be noted that cattail contains a lot of sugar and starch, and therefore carbohydrates (energy necessary for survival)! A lot of fiber (thanks to which cattail is well absorbed, and does not take extra energy for digestion, proteins, fats and vitamins are present (young shoots have a lot of vitamin C). Cattail is an excellent food for physical fatigue, vitamin deficiency, scurvy, anemia, well, in general, as food source.
4.
Medical care with cattail
is very diverse, but now we will not go into detailed recipes of traditional medicine (there are really a lot of them and you should not limit yourself only to the information of our resource), but we note the most accessible, namely that crushed leaves (applied externally) can be used as an antiseptic, hemostatic and a wound healing agent!
The cattail chose swamps, the banks of rivers and lakes, and marshy lowlands of temperate latitudes as a habitat.
A perennial herb belongs to the cattail family. The homeland of cattail is the territory of the Northern Hemisphere, Australia and Polynesia.
The first settlers of the European continent and the American Indians actively used it as a food product.
Reproduction and plant care
In nature, the reproduction of reeds occurs with the help of seeds. It also very often comes out by dividing the rhizome. To propagate a certain plant variety, the division of the bushes is used. They transplant in early May or September.
The reed does not require any special care. It grows strongly, and its long rhizomes self-seed. It takes a rooting look very quickly. For a month or two, he gives a lot of new stems.
Contraindications
Treatment with cane-based products is contraindicated in:
- hypotension;
- pregnancy;
- breastfeeding;
- tendency to allergic reactions.
Eating cane should be done with caution, observing the measure - rich in fiber, it can lead to intestinal obstruction.
Southern reed
, or
common reed
(
Phragmites australis,
syn.
Phragmites communis
) Is a tall perennial plant of the Reed genus of the Bluegrass family. This plant is widespread, it is almost cosmopolitan, as it can be found everywhere except the desert and the Arctic. The southern reed is widespread in Western Europe, on the territory of the countries of the former USSR, in Asia, in North and South America, in North Africa. It prefers to grow along the banks of rivers, ponds, lakes, in wetlands, on damp sands, and even on crusty wet salt marshes. Usually, the reed stems are submerged in water by 20-50 cm, but they can submerge to a depth of more than 1 m. The reed forms thickets of impressive sizes.
The southern reed is one of the worst weeds on irrigated lands. Its thickets litter all crops, in particular rice, alfalfa, cotton, fodder and vegetable crops, as well as orchards and vegetable gardens.
Cattail and reed: difference and main differences
The first plant is more conspicuous due to its velvety brown candles or "horns", while the second is less conspicuous tall grass. The correct answer to the question, cattail and reed - what is the difference, is that a plant with a long brown horn at the end is a cattail, and the second on top does not have it (Figure 1).
Figure 1. In the photo on the left - cattail, on the right - thickets of reeds
The difference between cattail and reed is almost obvious. The first has a high, large stem with a tight ear on top, which contains seeds, as they ripen, the ear collapses and loses its density, fluffs and seeds fly out of it, leaving a bare stem. The reed stalk is triangular or round in section, on its crown there are inflorescences in the form of umbrellas or tassels, small heads.
If you look at the pictures of how reeds and cattails look, then the first thing that draws attention is their leaves:
- Long ribbons, partially submerged in water and stretching from the rhizomes themselves, belong to cattails - even if they are torn off and dried, they will not lose their elasticity for a long time, their width directly depends on the species.
- In reed plants, the leaf structure also depends on the variety - in lacustrine plants, only bare stems are visible, which are covered with scales closer to their root, while in forest plants they are similar to sedges.
The external difference between cattail and reed is very significant, but the latter is often confused with marsh reed, which is also fundamentally wrong. A distinctive feature of the reed is a massive soft panicle at the end. In reed inflorescences are hard and thorny, cattails - fly away with seeds and soft fluff, after which they germinate at the bottom of the reservoir.
Despite all the differences, cattails and reeds are considered very valuable plants:
- Their roots serve as nutritious food for many animals, including livestock.
- You can also get flour from the rhizome, which is suitable for human food purposes.
- On the farm, both representatives of the aquatic flora are excellent materials for the manufacture of wicker products.
Care rules
The reed does not need special care. A beginner can master the science. The reed is unpretentious, and therefore enjoys a well-deserved popularity among lovers of wildlife. Severe winter frosts are not terrible for him, there is no need for shelter. In very hot climates, it is worth giving it a place with constant partial shade.However, the plant shows its beauty exclusively in bright sunlight. Fertile soil has a positive effect on the color of the leaves.
It is advisable to choose the soil moist and loose. On one site, reed grows without losing its attractiveness for only 6 years. After that, it is necessary to transplant it to a new location in order to preserve varietal characteristics, decorativeness. Too old plants become loose, unattractive. It is worth getting rid of it.
Watering
Some types of cane, for example, two-source cane, tolerate drought well. However, it prefers to develop on damp or damp soils. The best option is close proximity to artificial or natural reservoirs. However, standing water has a negative effect on the plant's root system. You can even rot them. In order to avoid negative consequences, it is worth taking measures for high-quality soil drainage or transplanting the reeds to areas located at an angle to the water surface so that excess moisture drains off and does not stagnate.
Helpful information. Excess and lack of water leads to a decrease in the decorative effect of the plant. The leaves fade, become unattractive. During the dry period, abundant watering can be carried out once every 7 days. In strong heat, you can increase the frequency of watering as the land dries up. It is very important for young plants to grow in moist soil.
Pruning rules
To obtain beautiful reed thickets and give the site a special decorative effect, it is worth regularly pruning the crop at the level of 30 centimeters. Nondescript inflorescences can also be cut off. If you dry the panicles, they can be used to create unique autumn compositions and bouquets. At the end of the season, the reed is cut at the root with a knife or a sharp hoe. For mowing, you can use a scythe (if the areas are significant).
Mandatory feeding
There are no special feeding schemes. The reed has enough nutrients in the soil. If the places of growth are with clay or stony soil, then fertilize it with a small amount of compost. In the presence of depleted soils, they should be fed with potash fertilizers. If it is necessary to increase the decorativeness of the plant and enhance the contrast of the leaves, nitrogen fertilizers are used, which are applied once a season.
Limited root space
As mentioned above, many reed varieties grow too quickly, occupying more and more new territories, preventing the growth and development of weaker plants growing in close proximity to reed thickets. To prevent aggressive growth, preference is given to cultivated variegated varieties. Additionally, the possibility of reed growth is limited by using slate or metal restraints, garden tape, and other materials. Restraining structures are buried in the ground to a depth of 30 centimeters. You can use the container planting method in open soil.
Photo of common reed
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What does a perennial reed look like and where does it grow?
Common reed is an unusually large plant that grows up to four meters. The stem of the reed is straight and thick, with a diameter of about two centimeters. Reed stalks sometimes represent one interesting adaptation that is not often found. Sometimes the rhizome gives rise to special shoots, reaching lengths of up to 10 and even 15 meters. These shoots rise from the rhizome, first upward, then bend in an arcuate manner and go horizontally along the surface of the reservoir, heading towards its middle.
On the nodes of these shoots:
roots going down into the water and strengthening in the silt, and stems going up.Usually these nodes are submerged in water, while internodes are somewhat curved and rise above the water.
The purpose of these shoots is very clear: it is obvious that they serve to facilitate and accelerate the vegetative reproduction of the reed and contribute to their occupation of the free area of the reservoir, within the limits of the reed habitat. Where these shoots fall into too deep places, their roots extending from the nodes do not reach the bottom, the plant cannot take root here and. therefore, no new stems are formed here either.
Look at the photo of what a reed looks like in its natural habitat:
The reed leaves are elongated, their color is grayish-green, characterized by rigidity. The reed leaves consist of a sheath, covering the stem, and a wide linear plate extending almost horizontally from the sheath; if you run your finger along the plate, you will notice a small transverse ridge. On this basis, the reed differs from any other cereal, even in a non-flowering state. A piece of leaf is enough to say that it is a reed.
If a reed leaf has grown under water, then the plate does not develop at all, and only one sheath is visible, surrounding the stem; if the stems of the reed are under water during summer floods or accidental floods, then the leaf blades die and the stems, surrounded by only leafy sheaths, become visible as the water recedes; usually it is enough at the end of summer to look closely at the reed thickets in the lake to tell how high the water in the lake rose in summer.
Reed leaves represent another remarkable adaptation: if you observe a reed thicket in windy weather, you will notice that all leaf blades, like a weather vane, are directed in one direction, in the wind: it turns out that under the influence of the wind, the leaf turns with its sheath around the stem, and the plate is directed downwind.
At the end of summer, the reed forms inflorescences, which are large, but rather dense panicles with many spikelets, each of which contains 5-7 flowers.
Pay attention to the photo - in an ordinary reed, the lower flower in each spikelet contains only stamens, and the axis of the spikelet under it is bare:
The rest of the flowers in the spikelet are bisexual, and the spikelet axis bears there numerous long hairs, which give a characteristic appearance to the entire inflorescence.
Pollination occurs exclusively with the help of winds. Common reed forms whole thickets. The rhizomes of this plant are very long, while they are characterized by constant growth and branching, due to which the reed actively invades new territories. Strong gusts of wind are capable of bending the stems of common reed almost to the ground, but at the same time they rarely break them.
As you can see in the photo, the reed plant forms significant thickets in the coastal zone of all any large water bodies, and sometimes it even occurs on land in wetlands:
However, its distribution is rather capricious: we may sometimes not meet it in the most suitable places for it, and, conversely, sometimes we will meet it far from water bodies, in fields or on sandy places. In the latter case, it is not difficult to find subsoil waters at shallow depths, which allow the reed to develop there.
Where does the reed grow, what are its usual living conditions?
First of all, the depth is not too great, since the reed cannot grow deeper than two meters.
The properties of the bottom also play a very significant role: the most favorable are those places of water bodies where there are significant deposits of silt at the bottom; much less favorable conditions for the development of reeds are created on a clayey and especially on a sandy bottom, where the reed grows poorly or does not grow at all.On the muddy bottom, the reed develops very well, reaching, under favorable other conditions, sizes that are 2 - 3 times the height of a person.
When describing an ordinary reed, it is especially worth paying attention to the roots of the plant and familiarizing yourself with the conditions of their life in the silt. Silt represents very large differences from denser soils, since here, first of all, there is a greater poverty in air compared to denser soils; sludge is much more difficult to heat up and more difficult to lose heat, which contributes to the early loss of air dissolved in water. Finally, the sludge contains a significant amount of decaying substances of plant and animal origin, which also interferes with the normal metabolism of the plant.
Typically, reeds reproduce vegetatively, like many other grasses, by the formation of short, strong shoots extending from the base of the stem, densely covered with folded sheaths and making their way in the damp mud that serves as soil for the reed.
The reed plant faces the same problems as agricultural crops: without special protective measures, the plantations will be eaten very quickly. The pest can freely strike, reproduce freely, and by increasing the population, destroy even more plants.
A farmer stands up to protect the crops and sprays them with chemicals. The reed has to find a way out of the situation on his own. For example, in the fight against the reed moth. This caterpillar lives exclusively in reeds and from reeds. It does not touch only the hard leaves containing silicic acid, but it immediately bites into young stems, which break out of the ground in spring, and eats away the soft insides. Moreover, she starts with a young sprout and, when it becomes too narrow for her, timely changes the disposition, moving to a thicker stem. She also gnaws it and eats it clean. In these thickets, the caterpillar will change housing up to six times, each time leaving behind a destroyed house.
By swinging the upper part of the body, the caterpillar determines whether the new stem is wide enough, and only then bites into it. She knows her business very well. In the last stem (seven millimeters in diameter), the caterpillar pupates and leaves the "cradle" as a butterfly ready to mate.
No doubt the reed moth leaves a devastation in its wake, which in subsequent years can spread like a fire in dry weather. After all, butterflies lay eggs mainly in their habitat and thereby greatly increase the force of destruction.
Without retaliation, the reed would have died very soon. However, he fights back - economically but efficiently. The plant waits for two or three years, "pondering" whether it is worth considering the attack of caterpillars as serious, and then makes a small compositional correction.
As usual, new shoots sprout in the spring, but around the affected area they become noticeably thinner - at least less than seven millimeters in diameter. The change is small, but the effect is serious.
Caterpillars, however, begin a normal life, moving from stem to stem, but in the end they do not find a suitable place for pupation. And sometimes they get stuck in the stem even earlier, because it is too narrow. Be that as it may, transformation into a butterfly is impossible, and reproduction in this "hotbed" suddenly stops. Treatment for thinness makes itself felt. And it really can be noticed: in the sea of reeds, seemingly randomly distributed islands of thin stems are likely to be found. Witnesses of an ingenious defensive struggle.
But this is only half the story. Losing the stem would be useless without a second, no longer such an amazing step: after two or three years, the reed stems will return to normal size.As mentioned, it doesn't sound particularly intriguing, but it is nevertheless a very sensible move. So the caterpillars are unlikely to invent a response strategy, they can hardly adapt to cramped conditions and learn to form smaller pupae. They will not have enough time for this. Before they can adjust, things will be the same again. So the reed defends its thickets, as if it really understands something in the laws of evolution.
What does it look like
Common reed has an erect, hollow, smooth and flexible straw-stem up to 2 meters or more, leafy with rigid, linear, narrow leaves. The stem and leaves are gray-green in color. The stem ends with a panicle inflorescence, consisting of spikelets of brown, purple or yellowish color.
The rhizome of the reed is long, creeping, with numerous shoots. Once every few years, the reed bears a fruit - a caryopsis: up to 100 thousand caryopses can form on one inflorescence.
Composition and scope
Reed is rich in: ascorbic acid, vitamin A, proteins, fiber, starch, amino acids, phytoncides. This plant has anti-inflammatory, vitaminizing, diaphoretic, antipyretic and diuretic properties. Common cane is used for:
- colds;
- cystitis and other diseases of the bladder;
- kidney disease;
- edema;
- diarrhea;
- anemia, vitamin deficiency;
- non-healing wounds, ulcers, insect bites (externally).
Rooting view
The peculiarity of this species is that in the spring it turns brown-red. In summer, the leaves turn green. His barren stems are very unusual. They are long and bend beautifully. These curves cause the plant to touch the water and a new bush begins to sprout. There are many other types of reeds. Among them are pointed, bristly, decorative.
Composition and useful properties
The cane contains a significant amount of nutrients and healing substances:
- ascorbic acid;
- fiber;
- squirrel;
- carotene;
- cellulose;
- fat;
- sugars;
- starch;
- phytoncides;
- amino acids;
- carbohydrates.
The preparations of the plant have wound healing, bactericidal, hemostatic, antiseptic, diaphoretic, diuretic, antiemetic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, decongestant, antipyretic, immunostimulating and restorative properties.
Reed products help to:
- strengthening the immune system;
- early healing of wounds;
- elimination of edema;
- normalization of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
- elimination of vomiting;
- therapy of cystitis, anemia, wounds, abscesses, hypovitaminosis, fever, colds.
