Wolfberry, according to Wikipedia, is not one clearly defined plant. This phrase is a collective name for many plants whose fruits are toxic or irritating. The group popularly called “wolfberry” includes wolfberry, raven eye, crowberry, belladonna, red elderberry, castor bean, honeysuckle honeysuckle and others.
Belladonna or belladonna
So a beautiful word, which translated means “beautiful lady,” is the name of a plant whose poisonous berries can cause the death of a person who eats it. Both the roots of this plant and its leaves are also harmful. Even just touching belladonna causes skin damage similar to a chemical burn. That is why people gave belladonna another name - wolf berry. The plant itself can grow up to one and a half meters in height. The famous belladonna Atropa, about which there is a legend. After all, the word Atropa comes from Atropos - the name of one of the three Fates. Exactly these greek goddesses allegedly held magic scissors in their hands, with which they cut the threads human lives. But in real life Wolfberry can suddenly end the lives of not only people, but also animals.
St. John's wort
Speaking about poisonous berries, we should remember others, such as the fruits of lily of the valley, juniper Tamariscifolia, and St. John's wort. And these plants ripen bright, attractive berries that just beg to be eaten. Many are confused by the fact that St. John's wort and lily of the valley are medicinal plants and should not be fraught with danger. However, the fruits of these plants are inedible berries. For example, St. John's wort is often used as a hedge in gardens and courtyards. You can also find this shrub in forests. The berries, when ripe, first turn red and then turn black or purple. They are used as medicinal plants They are used in medicine, but it is not recommended to simply eat the attractive berries - they are poisonous.
Nightshade
The Solanaceae family includes potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, physalis and nightshade itself. Nightshades also come in several varieties. Widely represented in middle lane In Russia, black nightshade is an annual herbaceous plant. It is found in ravines and gardens, on the banks of reservoirs and in bush thickets. The above-ground part of the plant is often used to make medicines. But you should be careful with berries. This plant is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. After all, the ripe fruits of nightshade have been used by people for food since ancient times, both raw and as a filling for pies. But unripe berries can cause severe poisoning. Therefore, you should be extremely careful if this grows nearby. insidious plant. When picking berries for a pie, you need to carefully select only ripe fruits of a bright black color.
Red elderberry
Both privet and red elderberry are not a rare old-timer in yards, especially in rural areas. There is a belief that the clusters of bright berries from these plants repel mice and rats. Perhaps that is why our ancestors planted these shrubs so actively. And in the spring they delight the eye with their beautiful flowering. But you absolutely cannot eat their berries - they are poisonous! This is especially true for fresh fruits hanging on branches and tempting those who do not know about the dangers of these beautiful berries. Of course, it’s better to just uproot this elderberry out of harm’s way! But here lies the problem: this shrub is so tenacious that next year from a small piece of root remaining in the ground, a new plant will again reach for the sun.
Wolf's bast is a plant belonging to the family Thymelaeáceae. This is a popular name, but according to the official classification it is called wolfberry, or common wolfberry. 14 of its species are found on the territory of Russia.
Description
This is a shrub, barely reaching a height of 1 m, with flexible thin branches. Its bark has a grayish-brown tint and is strewn with brown spots. The leaves are rounded-oblong on short petioles. The flowers are tubular, four-petaled, with eight stamens, reminiscent of lilacs. They are without peduncles and are located directly on the stem of the wolf's bast plant. The photo demonstrates this perfectly.
Distinctive feature
During flowering (April - early May), it is impossible to confuse this plant with any other. Its leafless branches are literally strewn with lilac pink flowers, collected in piles. If you sniff, you can feel the aroma of vanilla emanating from them. Just don’t get carried away by this smell, otherwise you won’t be able to avoid headaches and malaise.
Fruit
The fruits of this plant are berries that ripen in August. They are small in size, bright scarlet in color, oval, juicy. Just like flowers, they are located on the branches in a few groups. At this time, the branches already have leaves, although only at the tops.
Why did such an unusual name stick?
The names of shrubs, as well as other plants, are not born out of nowhere. Wolfberry has a very strong bark. Not even the bark, but the bast layer located under it, namely bast. Thanks to it, it is easy to break a branch of this shrub, but difficult to tear it off; considerable strength will be required. The adjective in the name stuck because the wolf has always been associated with evil and deceit. And this plant is exactly that.
Wolf bast is poisonous, and all its parts. The aroma of flowers is intoxicating, poisonous. A small drop of juice that gets on the skin will cause a burning sensation and irritation on the mucous membrane. If you unknowingly chew a twig, your lips will become swollen, your throat will be very sore, your eyes will become watery, your head will hurt, your temperature will rise, and you may experience vomiting and convulsions.
Spreading
Scientists have not come to unanimous opinion how the wolf's bast spreads. One version: birds peck the berries, digest them without problems and spread the seeds with excrement.
Why are there no thickets?
In Russia, wolf's bast grows in the Caucasus, Siberia and the forest-steppe zone of the European part of the country. However, this plant is quite rare. Botanists believe that thickets do not form because plants are capable of poisoning each other, as they contain toxic substances.
Application
Wolf's bast contains glycosides and flavonoids, which, when entering the human body, contribute to blood incoagulability and upset digestive system, and blisters and burns form on the skin. However, in folk medicine these qualities are used to treat neuralgia, paralysis, gout, rheumatism, i.e. only as an external remedy. Tinctures are prepared from fresh bark collected during the flowering period.
Finally
If you come across a wolf's head, it is much safer to admire it from afar. It is a source of food for birds in autumn and a decoration. spring forest. In addition, the plant is protected as rare.
It just so happens that the term “wolf berries” hides different concepts.
1
Firstly, wolf berries are one of the popular names for a shrub called wolf's face(other names are wolfberry, wolfberry, daphne). This amazing plant already in the spring it begins to behave differently from other “respectable” bushes and trees: leaves appear on them first and only then flowers. And the wolfberry first becomes covered with beautiful pink flowers (in April-May), and only then produces “whirls” of narrow ovoid leaves on the tops of its branches.
Bright red wolf bast berries are the size of a pea, sitting directly on the branches, 2-3 pieces, like sea buckthorn.
Despite the fact that they look very appetizing, you should never eat them, as they are highly poisonous! However, all parts of the plant are poisonous. Even a small drop of plant juice, if it gets on the skin or mucous membrane of the lips or eyes, causes irritation. If you eat a wolfberry, you will experience a burning sensation, nausea, vomiting, weakness, convulsions may begin, your temperature will rise... Therefore, try not to approach this beautiful bush!
"Wolf's bast"... Why wolf's? Probably because among the people, wolves have long been the personification of deceit, cruelty and evil. Why bast? And because the bark of the wolfberry (more precisely, the bast layer under the bark) is very durable. Previously, paper, ropes, ropes, and even bast shoes were made from it. Anyone who has tried to pluck a wolfberry branch “as a souvenir” knows: it’s easy to break it off, but tearing it off from the bush is more difficult. The reason is a strong bast.
Just after reading these lines, please do not treat this plant as an enemy if you are lucky enough to meet it in the forest! Firstly, it is quite rare and is listed in the Red Book. Secondly, wolf's bast is a wonderful honey plant, and it blooms at a time when there are still very few other flowers. Thirdly, the wolfman - medicinal plant. Fourthly, despite the poisonousness, birds for some reason can eat the fruits of the wolfberry without any harm to themselves, so do not deprive the birds of this source of food.
2
Wolfberry is sometimes called wild honeysuckle. Its berries are very similar to wolf bast berries:
It can be distinguished from the wolfberry by two characteristics: its berries on short stalks extend from the nodes (that is, from where the leaves come), and not from the internodes. In addition, honeysuckle berries come in twos. They are not poisonous, like wolf bast berries, but still inedible. You bite into a berry and at first you feel a sweetish taste, but almost immediately you feel a strong bitterness in your mouth, which then does not go away for a long time.
By the way, forest honeysuckle is a close relative of edible honeysuckle. Its blue, bluish-tinged berries have a delicate aroma and a bitter-sour taste, reminiscent of blueberries, and contain a lot useful substances and are valued as medicinal. It is grown in gardens.
3.
And finally, “wolf berries” is a collective popular name all berries with black or red berry-like fruits that are inedible or poisonous. Here are some examples of such plants.
Probably, many Russians have heard about such a unique representative of the flora as the wolf's bast plant (poisonous). This perennial shrub, whose height in the natural environment usually does not exceed one meter, can be found in forests Russian Federation(Caucasus, Siberia, European part). In garden and park areas where best conditions and nothing interferes with growth, the wolf's bast stretches up to two and a half meters.
Description of the plant
Bright red, attractive and appetizing-looking egg-shaped fruits of a plant known under other names - deadly wolfweed (or, in fact, are not at all suitable for relishing, but, on the contrary, are poisonous.
Feels good in a slightly shaded place, but nutrients there should be sufficient quantities in the soil. Depending on the area, flowering occurs either in February-March, or in the period from April to May.
Elongated berry shape - distinguishing feature wolf's bast bush. refers to those species whose flowering precedes the appearance of leaves. On the still bare branches in each axil, where last year the buds were green, sometimes three beautiful, pink and fragrant flowers bloom. With their smell they vaguely resemble hyacinth, and in appearance they differ little from lilac branches. The trunk of the bush is gray-brown.
Dangerous berry
The plant contains many substances that make it extremely poisonous.
If at misuse berries, the surface of the skin has acquired a pronounced red tint, blisters form or the stomach is upset, then, most likely, the meserine resin is to blame. And the appearance of bleeding is provoked by the glycoside of dafrin. Therefore, we can safely say that wolf's bast is a deadly poisonous plant.
Therefore, before starting treatment with drugs based on wolf bast, you should definitely consult a doctor. In addition to the substances described above, berries are rich essential oils and coccognin, and also contain fat. The bark that covers the trunk of the bush contains wax and resins. Both the fruits and the bark are rich in coloring substances.
Wolf's bast is a poisonous plant, but despite this, it is often used in folk medicine.
Therapeutic effect
It is believed that various drugs can be prepared from the plant that have laxative and analgesic effects. They can be used to treat epilepsy and insomnia.
The therapeutic effect is usually achieved provided that the amount of plant components in the preparation is negligible, that is, it is taken in homeopathic doses. Moreover, you must be careful and adhere to the instructions of a specialist. The plant wolf's bast (poisonous) is suitable for preparing an infusion, which, when applied externally, significantly alleviates the condition of neuralgia (including the sciatic nerve) and radiculitis. This method of treatment is effective in case of edema. The tincture, which is taken orally, will help with outbreaks of dysentery or jaundice, and will expel colds and sore throats.
Secrets of traditional medicine
Medicines, where the wolf's bast plant (poisonous) is the main component, can fight leukemia and some cancer diseases. Traditional medicine advises preparing decoctions from the bark of this berry as preparations. With their help, the condition greatly improves when there is a malignant tumor of the uterus, in the oral cavity, esophagus or larynx.
There is an opinion that the use ripe berries with the required dosage, it can even overcome sarcoma. Thanks to good combination chemical substances in wolfberry we can talk about its treatment of severe cough and partial relief of symptoms of tuberculosis.
Others are also used in folk medicine poisonous plants: lily of the valley, wolf's bast are especially dangerous, so inexperienced healers should not experiment with such raw materials.
Rheumatism
To relieve discomfort caused by rheumatism, it is advisable to make a tincture from the dry bark of the bush. It is prepared quite simply: in glass jar place the bark and pour in 0.5 liters of vodka. In two weeks the miracle cure will be ready. A sign of this will be a yellow-green tint to the tincture. The effect of its use through thorough rubbing will be much greater with the parallel use of tea oil.
Poisonous plants should be used with caution. The wolf's bast, described above, is no exception.
Relieving toothache
When a tooth (or teeth) hurts, it’s time to remember the existence of a wolf’s bast. You need to prepare a decoction from the flowers of the wolfberry. Pour 20 milliliters of water, preheated to boiling point, into a container with two grams of flowers. Next, the components are brought to readiness by holding the container over the fire for 20 minutes, after which the contents are filtered and the remaining cake is squeezed out. Final stage consists of adding boiling water in such an amount that the total volume of the medicine is 250 milliliters. The decoction is taken in the morning, lunchtime and evening in a precisely measured dose with a pipette - five drops of decoction.
Toothache can also be relieved with powdered flowers. It is applied and rubbed into the gum with the disturbing tooth. It is advisable to warm it up slightly boiled water, rinse your mouth. Not everyone can properly prepare the wolf's bast plant (poisonous). This is why doctors are wary of folk recipes, in which it is a component.
