Small-flowered willowherb refers to a rather inconspicuous and perennial herbaceous plant, which is considered a weed by most people because of its prolific and invasive spread. It is now considered a medicinal plant, having been completely misunderstood as such until a few decades ago. Today, small-flowered willowherb is very popular as a medicinal herb, especially in its use against prostate complaints as well as inflammatory diseases.
Occurrence and cultivation of the small-flowered willowherb.
Small-flowered willowherb is a perennial, so it grows perennially. Small-flowered willowherb is originally found in temperate zone in Europe and in North America. The plant usually grows along forest edges, banks and clearings, yet it is now also found in native gardens and increasingly in junkyards, as it has spread widely as an invasive neophyte. Small-flowered willowherb is a perennial, so it grows perennially. It can reach a height of about 60 centimeters, and under ideal conditions may well reach more. The overwintering of the plant takes place by means of a rosette, which is located near the ground. From this, in the next growing season, a stem grows up, which is covered with many elongated leaves. The edges of these leaves are slightly serrated, and at the top of the stem, from the month of July, small pink inflorescences bloom, which have a total of four leaves. These have a notch in the middle. The flower of the willowherb grows in the form of a raceme with a narrow pod, somewhat reminiscent of beans. It is a very perennial herbaceous plant, which in favorable conditions can even reach a height of one meter. The shoot axes of the willowherb branch above the rosette, in the lower part they are shaggy and gray in color. The upper part of the shoot axils has small glandular hairs amidst the villi. Later in the growing season, the pods release the seed, which in turn can be spread innumerably by the wind.
Effect and application
The small-flowered willowherb contains a lot of so-called flavonoids. The majority designate substances such as glycosides, the concentration in the plants shows itself very variable and is about one and a half percent. The aglycones contained in them are not bound to sugar and consist mainly of kaempferol, myricetin and quercetin. Willowherb contains varying levels of tannins and tannins, varying widely from about four to 14 percent. These substances are derived from the so-called ellagic acid and usually denote the macrocyclic ellagitannins. However, incidentally, the plant also contains simple gallotannins. In folk medicine, the small-flowered willowherb is said to have a soothing effect on prostate complaints and all inflammatory diseases. Rarely, there were also reports of its help in kidney and bladder diseases. Scientific research has shown that the plant extracts of willowherb have an antibacterial effect, as well as impairing the growth of certain types of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli. Furthermore, a tea can be made from dry flowers, stems and leaves of the plant, which alleviates enlargement of the prostate gland and the resulting micturition problems. When the small-flowered willowherb is in bloom, substances such as tannins, myricedin, pectin, flavonoids, mucilages, sterols, gallic acid and various colorants such as anthocyanins are released. All parts of the plant have a diuretic effect and inhibit inflammation of any kind. On the prostate, the healing power of the plant has a regressive effect. Long-standing medical studies prove the effectiveness of willowherb here.
Importance for health, treatment and prevention.
The small-flowered willowherb with Latin name Epilobium was already known for a long time as not so very significant medicinal and medicinal plants. Already in the early modern times Leonhart Fuchs titled this plant in his “New Kreüterbuch” as willowherb, which was unknown to pharmacists. In Austria, the small-flowered willowherb suddenly became famous overnight in the seventies of the last century.Maria Treben, author of the work “Health from the Pharmacy of God”, discovered the plant based on experiences related to the ailments of the prostate or kidney and bladder diseases and attributed to it a great healing effect. As a result, there was soon an enormous demand for the small-flowered willowherb, which was excellent for making into tea. This, in turn, spurred medical research. In order to analyze the quality of the healing effect of this plant, it was now necessary to anatomically and morphologically characterize the more than 15 species of Epilobium found in Austria. Before clinical tests had examined corresponding drugs and extracts of the plant, further only the processing to the tea was possible. Significant here was the expression “willowherb tea” and so known in popular medicine. For this tea with healing effect should be about two to three teaspoons corresponding to two grams of cut plant with about 150 milliliters of boiling water poured over and filtered after 10 minutes. Maria Treben stated many successes in terms of curing prostate, kidney and bladder diseases, including cancer. However, these could never be proven. However, according to the current state of knowledge regarding these healing effects, it is advisable to take a tea of willowherb regularly in addition to a conventional medical treatment. This seems to be very useful and can support the medical therapy. The small-flowered willowherb thus represents a promising medicinal plant in alternative medicine, which should not be misjudged.
