Pine (Pinus sylvestris) - medicinal plant

Pine is a representative of a family of pine, under good natural conditions, it can reach a height of 50 meters. The duration of her life can be 400 years. If the tree has comfortable conditions, then its annual growth reaches 80 centimeters.

Pine tree - description of the plant

This plant has a straight trunk, which is covered with red-brown bark. The leaves of the pine in the form of needles that are dark green, very long and stiff, their lifespan is about 2-3 years. Pine forest has staminate spikelets, which are twisted at the base of the shoot, the pistillate spikelets are gray-yellow in color and very numerous, and the stamens and pistils are on one tree. After fertilization, cones grow and become rusty, the seeds ripen only after a year and a half. Usually in early March they fall out of the cones and germinate. The pine of the pine tree starts from the age of 15, this occurs in May-June. This tree is distributed throughout the forest zone in the territory of the CIS countries.

Needles of pine have medicinal qualities. It is used for poultices and compresses for more than 5 thousand years. In ancient times, the resin of this tree was used for embalming. Some of the discovered compounds retained their bactericidal properties despite the fact that it has been about 3 thousand years. In ancient Rus pine needles helped many to strengthen the gums and teeth, and also disinfected the oral cavity, for this it was simply chewed.

Pine coniferous - collection of raw materials

In medicine, not only the needles of this tree, but also the kidneys, resin, and pollen are used. From pine they get turpentine, rosin, tar, wood vinegar.

Collection of kidneys begins in early spring, at a time when they have already swollen, but have not yet blossomed. If you start to collect them earlier, they will be small in size and they contain few more biologically active substances. You can not collect apical buds on young trees, this should be done only during sanitary cleaning or spring cutting. After the kidneys are torn off, they are dried, usually in an attic or in a sheltered place from the sun and a well-ventilated place. If there is favorable weather, then within a week or a week and a half the buds dry up completely. You can use them for two years.

Conducting the collection of needles can be at any time, but it is best to harvest in winter or late autumn. It is at this time in it the greatest amount of essential oil, as well as ascorbic acid.

To prepare coniferous paws, which are used in the preparation of coniferous-vitamin flour, chlorophyll paste or pine extract, you can go out into the forest at any time, shoots are prepared, the thickness of which is not more than 8 mm.

During the vegetation period , the preparation of the gum is carried out. After the cleaning of the gum has been carried out, rosin and turpentine are obtained from it.

When tarred stumps are uprooted, they pass through a dry distillation. Thus, it turns out turpentine, charcoal and liquid tar. And after carrying out of distillation with application of water steam through feet - receive an essential oil.

Pine (Pinus sylvestris) - use in medicine

As an expectorant is used decoction of pine buds. It excites the secretory activity of the epithelium of the respiratory tract, therefore, the viscosity of the sputum decreases, the functions of the ciliary epithelium are stimulated. This broth also has a diuretic, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant effect. Drugs from pine need an expectorant, antimicrobial, disinfectant, diuretic, antiscorbutic, analgesic effect on the body.

Infusion of cones helps in the treatment of heart disease. Tea from pollen is indispensable for rheumatism and gout, and tincture in the treatment of lung diseases.