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Heather common. Legends, myths, symbolism, description, cultivation, methods of application

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Content

1. Photos, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
2. Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
3. Botanical description, reference data, useful information, illustrations
4. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology
5. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing

Common heather, Calluna vulgaris. Photos of the plant, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism

Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism

Sort by: Calluna

Family: Heathers (Ericaceae)

Origin: Europe, North Asia

Area: Widespread in the northern hemisphere, including Europe, Asia and North America.

Chemical composition: Common heather contains flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, essential oils and other biologically active substances.

Economic value: Heather is used medicinally to treat various ailments such as bronchitis, coughs, asthma, cystitis, gastritis, and peptic ulcers. It is also used in the cosmetic industry for the production of creams, lotions and other skin care products. In some regions of Europe, common heather is used as sheep feed.

Legends, myths, symbolism: In Celtic mythology, common heather was associated with the goddess of motherhood and agriculture - Brigit. According to legend, Brigit gave her name to common heather, and it became a symbol of her patronage and blessing for farmers. In Norse mythology, common heather was associated with the goddess of love and beauty, Freya. According to legend, Freya used common heather to give her magical spells extra power.

Common heather, Calluna vulgaris. Description, illustrations of the plant

Heather. Legends, myths, history

Archaeologists believe that heather has been used in everyday life as far back as 4000 years ago.

During excavations at Skara Brae, a prehistoric village was discovered. One of the items found during the excavations was a rope made from heather stalks.

Subsequently, heather was used to cover the roofs of churches and houses, weave baskets and rugs, and also to make a miracle drug - the oldest fermented drink in the history of Britain (boiled and infused). The recipe for this drink, heather ale, has been passed down from generation to generation.

Heather (Norwegian roslyng) is the national flower of Norway.

When the Lord created Scotland, he looked at the bare hillsides and decided that they needed to be decorated with something.

God asked a gigantic oak, the mightiest of all trees, to do so, but the oak declined the offer, citing the soil being too weak for it to put down its strong roots and thrive.

Then the Lord turned to the fragrant golden honeysuckle flowers with a request to give their beauty and fragrance to the bare slopes of Scotland. But the honeysuckle also refused, because it saw nothing here but an inhospitable and hungry area, unsuitable for flowering.

The royal rose, the sweetest of all flowers, was next to whom the Lord spoke. But she explained that her delicate petals were not able to withstand harsh winds and endless rains.

The disappointed Lord decided to stop his attempts and leave everything as it was, and suddenly his gaze fell on a small modest, low-lying green shrub with tiny flowers: white and purple. It was heather!

The Lord asked the heather if he was ready to settle in these lifeless hills to make them beautiful. Heather looked at the poor soil, the harsh climate and doubted whether he could cope with such a task, but, to the joy of God, he agreed and promised to do everything in his power.

The overjoyed Lord decided to reward the brave plant with generous rewards and bestowed upon it: the strength of the oak - the bark of the heather is stronger than the bark of any other tree or shrub; honeysuckle aroma - the delicate aroma of heather is used in the manufacture of fragrant soaps, candles and cosmetic products; made it flexible like a willow, and allowed it to grow where no other plant can settle. God rewarded him with increased endurance and natural charm, as well as the aroma and qualities of a honey plant.

To this day, heather has three divine gifts and adorns the desert Scottish hills, despite the soil, rains and winds.

According to another old Scottish legend, once upon a time, a princess was waiting for her husband to return from a military campaign. The only thing left of her beloved is a white silk scarf and memories of the days spent together. The princess cried out all her eyes and one of her tears fell on the purple heather flower. At the same moment, the flower turned white, like a silk scarf of a loved one. This story ended well.

The princess nevertheless waited for her husband from the war, he returned safe and sound. Since then, white heather has been considered a symbol of good luck in Scotland.

According to another legend, once brave and strong people lived in Scotland - the Picts. Only they owned the secrets of preparing a miraculous drink - heather honey, which gives people strength and youth. The king of Scotland decided to master the secret and sent his army to this tribe to find out all about the drink. But the freedom-loving and proud people did not reveal the secret of preparing the drink and took it to the grave.

Heather was also used in the production of heather ale, a traditional Scottish strong beer, the first mention of which dates back to the XNUMXnd century BC. e.

Scotland is also called the country of heather honey, and in ancient Scotland, heather was depicted on the coat of arms of one of the clans.

Heather really has a healing effect - diaphoretic, disinfectant, sedative, hypnotic, wound healing.

In Japan, there is still a tradition of burning heather on Wakakusayama, Mount Wakakusa. Now this is an unusual festival (January 12), and earlier on Mount Wakakusa, the monks set fire to the heather, whose thickets (heath) reached 33 hectares (80 acres), after which the warrior monks knocked down his flame.

Heather is used in magical rituals to cleanse the home and yard from evil spirits and evil spirits.

Heather dispels any sorcery. It is good to plant heather in the garden, best of all on the east and north sides. This will bring protection to your home, good luck and financial well-being to you.

White heather protects against violence, and heather ale - a healing drink - brings comfort.

Robert Stevenson recreated the legend of the heather fields tragedy and wrote the ballad Heather Honey.

Heather dispels any sorcery. It is good to plant heather in the garden, best of all on the east and north sides. This will bring protection to your home, good luck and financial well-being to you.

Author: Martyanova L.M.

Heather. Interesting plant facts

Heather has been known for a long time. Even in hoary antiquity, its leaves were used instead of hops, flowers - for dressing and dyeing leather, and the image of a flower was included in the coat of arms of one of the Scottish clans.

Flowers of pink and purple heather were adored by the famous French writer Aurora Dudevant, who acted under the pseudonym George Sand. She spoke with delight about them in her works, decorated the windows and tables of the living room with them.

Pipe craftsmen consider heather roots to be an indispensable raw material, which are worth almost their weight in gold.

Previously, they knew how to make wonderful drinks from heather, but now we know about it only from the poems of the Scottish poet Robert Stevenson and from legends. One of them tells how long ago the king of Scotland intended to learn the secret of "heather honey" - a drink that was perfectly prepared by one of the tribes in the north of the country. The king equipped the army. The conquerors passed through that region with fire and sword, but no one gave the aliens the secrets of preparing the drug.

Heather grows very quickly. As soon as the snow melts, it already sprouts green shoots, and at the time of flowering, its pinkish-lilac panicles carry a honey-tart aroma in the wind and attract bees.

Heather honey from a late bribe is slightly bitter, and therefore people compare it with belated love. But according to the amount of nectar delivered by bees, heather is considered almost the first honey plant.

The heather family is numerous. Only in ornamental gardening there are more than twenty species of them, differing in the color of flowers, leaves and the shape of crowns.

Heather with snow-white double flowers is beautiful, but heather with white or golden yellow leaves is not inferior to it in splendor.

In Belarus and Ukraine, the month of heather flowering, September, is named after the "veresen" plant.

Heather sometimes grows in small clumps (beds), but most often it grows into wide thickets that cover vast areas. Such thickets are found not only in the Baltic countries and Belarus, but also in Poland, Germany, and Scotland. As far as the eye can see, they stretch along the valleys and hills, reminding people that these places have very poor soil.

However, people who boldly settle in difficult lands have come up with a kind of proverb: "Where heather grows, there a person can live."

Having chosen areas convenient for sowing grain, a person sets fire to heather thickets and fertilizes the soil with ash.

And when the earth needs to rest again, people return to growing heather.

Heather is able to disperse its seeds downwind for a hundred or more kilometers. They have even been found on the eastern coast of the Jutland peninsula, where it now grows in abundance. It turned out that heather fruits were brought to the Jutland Peninsula by a wind from Sweden.

Small heather flowers with lilac-pink perianths, collected in long one-sided racemes, are very graceful. Their bouquet, although modest in appearance, enlivens the room and creates a festive mood.

Author: Krasikov S.

Heather ordinary. Description of the plant, area, cultivation, application

It grows in pine forests, on swampy wet and dry sandy soils, often forms thickets called heaths.

Branched, evergreen shrub up to 70 cm high. Twigs and stems are covered with reddish-brown bark. The leaves are small, short-needle, trihedral, sessile, tiled.

Blooms profusely from July to autumn. The flowers are lilac, occasionally white, small, bell-shaped, collected in many-flowered one-sided brushes.

The fruits are small capsules with many seeds.

Heather grass contains tannins, arbutin glycoside, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, mineral salts, organic acids, provitamin A, gum, resins, starch, etc.

Good honey plant (bees collect up to 1 kg of honey from 200 ha).

Heather flowers are used in food. They make tea and drinks. Branches and flowers are used in the manufacture of wine, tinctures, liqueurs.

Heather tea. 50 g of dried heather flowers and rosehip petals, 100 g of strawberry leaves, mix thoroughly. Brew like tea, at the rate of 10-15 g of the mixture per 250 ml of water. Tea has a calming, mild hypnotic effect. Store in glass jars, in a dry, dark, cool place.

Heather syrup. Infuse fresh heather flowers in 400 ml of boiling water in a warm place for 24 hours, strain, add sugar, bring to a boil. 20 g heather flowers, 500 g sugar, 1 liter water.

Heather drink. Boil dried heather flowers in water for 2-3 minutes, add honey, stir, 3-5 g of heather flowers, 1 liter of water, 80 g of honey.

Heather drink. Leaves of blackcurrant insist in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, strain, add heather syrup, stir. Drink chilled. 20 g currant leaf, 25-40 ml heather syrup, 300 ml water.

Heather powder. Grind dried heather flowers in a coffee grinder. Use as a seasoning in snacks, first and second courses.

In folk medicine, heather grass, leafy tops of shoots with flowers are used. They have a diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, sedative, hypnotic, expectorant effect.

Heather herb infusion. Infuse 25 g of herbs in 400 ml of chilled boiled water for 4-5 hours, strain. Drink 100 ml 4 times a day for gout, rheumatism, colds.

Heather herb infusion. Infuse 20 g of herbs in 500 ml of boiling water for 2 hours, strain. Drink 100 ml 3-4 times a day 1 hour before meals for urolithiasis, inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, bladder, diseases of the liver, gallbladder, gastritis with high acidity of gastric juice.

Infusion collection with heather grass. 40 g of heather herb and motherwort, 30 g of cudweed insist in 1 liter of water for 24 hours, strain. Drink 100 ml 4 times a day for insomnia, nervous disorders, depressed mood, neurasthenia.

Contraindications: diseases of the stomach with low acidity of gastric juice.

Heather grass is harvested during flowering, cutting off young leafy apical shoots with flowers, laid out in a thin layer and dried in the air, in a ventilated room, in the attic, under a canopy. Dried raw materials are stored in boxes. Shelf life up to 2 years.

At the time of collection, at least half of the plant must be left for maturation and seeding. The apical parts should be cut off without damaging the root system.

Authors: Alekseychik N.I., Vasanko V.A.

Common heather, Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hill. Description, habitats, nutritional value, culinary use

Heather is an evergreen shrub 20-80 cm high.

The leaves are small, rolled up and more like a small spruce needle. Heather leaves remain on the plant for several years, remain green for the winter. On closer examination under a magnifying glass or under a microscope, you can see that they are not twisted, but folded in such a way that they form a sort of boat keel from above, and a groove from below. Such a leaf arrangement allows the plant to retain moisture, and the stomata located in the furrow from below serve to obtain carbon dioxide from the air.

For heather growing in dry soil, moisture retention is very important.

Heather flowers are small, lilac-pink, bell-shaped, on short deviated axillary pedicels, arranged in one-sided racemes. Sepals rigid, concave, ovate-oblong.

Stamens 8, their curved filaments are attached to the sub-pistillate disc.

The fruit is a small box in which a lot of small seeds ripen, which are carried by the wind.

Heather blooms very profusely from July to autumn. Good honey plant, but produces tart or even bitter honey.

Heather grows on poor sandy and sandy loamy soils, in pine forests and near peat bogs, on mountain slopes. In some regions it forms extensive thickets.

Bees collect up to 200 kg of honey per hectare of heather thickets. Honey is tart, thick, viscous, poorly pumped out of the honeycombs.

Branches and flowers contain arutin glycoside (up to 0,86%), quercetin, up to 7% catechin tannins, saponins, starch and gums.

In medicine, branches with leaves and flowers are used.

At home, fragrant tea is prepared from heather flowers, tinctures, liqueurs, and wines are made from flowers and branches.

Author: Koshcheev A.K.

Common heather, Calluna vulgaris. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology

Ethnoscience:

• Treatment of respiratory diseases: heather can help improve the condition of the respiratory tract, cope with coughs and bronchitis. To do this, prepare a tincture of heather leaves and take it inside.
• Treatment of diseases of the urinary tract: Heather can help treat cystitis and pyelonephritis. To do this, prepare a tincture of heather leaves and flowers and take it inside.
• Improving digestion: heather can help improve digestion and relieve indigestion. To do this, prepare a tincture of heather leaves and take it inside before eating.
• Treatment of skin diseases: heather can help reduce inflammation and heal wounds and sores on the skin. To do this, use a decoction of heather leaves to wash the affected skin.
• Treatment of nervous disorders: heather can help manage stress and nervous disorders such as insomnia. To do this, prepare a tincture of heather flowers and leaves and take it inside.

Cosmetology:

• Skin cleansing: heather can help cleanse the skin and rid it of excess oil. To do this, use a tonic or lotion based on heather extract.
• Skin Moisturizing: heather can help hydrate the skin and make it softer and smoother. To do this, use creams and face masks based on heather extract.
• Reducing redness and inflammation: heather can help reduce redness and inflammation of the skin, including acne and irritation. To do this, use cosmetic products based on heather extract.
• Hair strengthening: heather can help strengthen hair and reduce hair fall. To do this, use shampoos and conditioners based on heather extract.
• Improving the condition of nails: heather can help improve the condition of nails, making them stronger and healthier. To do this, use nail oils based on heather extract.

Attention! Before use, consult with a specialist!

Common heather, Calluna vulgaris. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) is a shrub native to Europe, Asia, and North America.

Tips for growing, harvesting and storing heather:

Cultivation:

• Heather loves a sunny or partial shade location and acidic soil.
• Choose a sunny or semi-shady place for heather, protected from the wind. The plant is demanding on the acidity of the soil, so it is recommended to use a peat mixture when planting. Heather also needs regular watering, especially during growth and flowering.
• Heather propagation occurs through seeds or cuttings. Seeds are sown in spring or autumn, and cuttings can be rooted in early summer.
• Plants need regular pruning to keep their compact form and encourage new growth.
• To keep heather looking its best for longer, prune it regularly in the spring. Remove old, dried and damaged shoots, leaving only healthy ones. You can also cut off the tops of the shoots to form a beautiful crown.

Workpiece:

• Heather blooms in August-September. To keep cut flowers fresh for as long as possible, place them in a bowl of cool water and change it periodically. You can also make a bouquet that will please the eye for several days.
• Flowers and leaves are collected in dry weather, after the dew has evaporated.
• Dry heather quickly, in a well-ventilated place, avoiding direct sunlight.
• To save heather for the winter, you need to prepare the plant for the winter period. Around the end of October - beginning of November, when the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off, you need to cut the bushes and mix the remaining leaves and branches with sand or peat. Then the plants can be covered additionally with peat or dry leaves. But, in general, heather is quite cold-hardy and can survive the winter outdoors in temperate climates.
• Store dried heather in closed containers in a cool, dry place.

Please note that heather is not recommended for ingestion without consulting a doctor.

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