Meadow geranium (herb) - description, medicinal properties, application. Geranium meadow flower - medicinal raw materials, properties, treatment, use, contraindications Geranium meadow botanical characteristics
Description
Geranium meadow flower - perennial 0.45-1 m high. Belongs to the geranium family. The stem at the top has a corymbose branching, pubescent, erect. Its leaves are seven-parted, their lobes are pinnatifid, serrated. The flowers of meadow geranium are blue, solitary, on long pedicels, five-petalled. The geranium fruit after ripening breaks up into one-seeded fruitlets, dry. The plant blooms from June to September.
Where does meadow geranium grow?
Meadow geranium is common in Siberia, Central Asia and throughout European territory Russia. It grows in glades, meadows, along country roads, in river valleys.
blank
meadow geranium plant medicinal raw materials. Medicinal raw materials the roots and grass of meadow geranium serve. The grass is stored during the flowering of the plant, and the roots - in early spring or in autumn. Raw materials are dried in the open air under a canopy or in dryers at 40-45°C. Shelf life of finished raw materials medicinal plant- 12 months.
Chemical composition
The leaves contain saponins, carbohydrates, raffinose, glucose, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, a lot of ascorbic acid and trace elements.
The roots of the plant contain starch, flavonoids, carbohydrates, tannins, saponins, catechins, phenolcarboxylic acids.
Meadow geranium - properties
Geranium has disinfectant, astringent, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, wound healing, analgesic and soothing properties.
Geranium meadow - application
Traditional medicine uses the plant to treat hemorrhoidal and uterine bleeding, as well as diarrhea. The medicinal plant meadow geranium is also used in the treatment of snake bites and epilepsy.
Depending on the dose, preparations of geranium meadow can inhibit or excite the function of the central nervous system.
An infusion of the roots of the plant is used internally for poisoning and indigestion.
Outwardly, medicinal infusions and decoctions of the roots of the plant are used in the form of lotions and baths for rheumatism, abscesses, ulcers and purulent wounds that do not heal for a long time. Herbal infusions are used to treat diseases of the oral cavity and sore throats in the form of rinses, in addition, they wash their hair with warm infusion of herbs when hair falls out of it.
Meadow geranium - treatment
Infusion
2 glasses cold water it is required to brew 2 tbsp. spoons of chopped geranium herb and insist for 8 hours, then drain through gauze to clean the infusion, squeeze out the raw materials. Consume throughout the day in equal portions.
Infusion for hair loss
2 cups cold water, brew 2 tbsp. spoons of chopped herb meadow geranium, then insist for 8 hours and then filter, and squeeze out the raw materials. Wash your head with warm medicinal infusion, let your hair dry on its own. Carry out the procedure for 3-4 weeks every 1-2 days.
Decoction for profuse menstruation and diarrhea
Pour a glass of boiling water over 5 tbsp. tablespoons of grass or 30 g of meadow geranium roots, then heat for 15 minutes in a water bath. Clean the broth with gauze, and squeeze the raw material. Use after 1-2 hours for 1 tbsp. spoon.
Decoction for external use
Brew 40-50 g of the roots or herbs of a medicinal plant of meadow geranium with 1.5 cups of boiling water, then heat for 15 minutes in a water bath. Then clean the broth by draining it through cheesecloth, squeeze out the medicinal raw material, bring the broth to 300-330 ml. Use for compresses and rinses. For douching, the volume of liquid should be brought up to 1.5 liters.
Juice for uterine and hemorrhoidal bleeding
Take 20-30 drops of fresh geranium herb juice every 2-3 hours.
Meadow geranium - contraindications
Individual intolerance to the components of this medicinal plant, constipation, thrombosis, increased blood viscosity, gastritis, intestinal atony.
The Tale of the Geranium
There is a tale about amazing flower Geranium. Once upon a time there was a lonely woman who was gloomy every day and complained to her neighbors about her gray life. She thought that the people around her were more lucky than she was, but she lives in a gray boring house and does not know joy. Once a neighbor got tired of her constant complaints, and she decided to give her a flower in a pot with a bright color. It was a geranium that flaunted in almost every home. She brought the flower to her house, put it on the table. After a few days of changes, not everything happened in any way, although, as her neighbor said, that the flower has magical powers ...
And then the thought came to this woman that this bright flower I don't like to stand on the table without a tablecloth. She took out the most beautiful tablecloth embroidered with threads from the chest. After thinking and deciding that one tablecloth is not enough for magic flower, she washed all the dirty dishes, hung up elegant curtains of fine lace. She did not stop there, taking up brushes, she repainted all the chairs in the house in bright and saturated colors. And that wasn't enough for her! She repainted the gray and dull walls of her house in bright colors, laid knitted carpets on the floor.
So the day flew by unnoticed, she was so carried away by the flower that she forgot about her neighbors and her complaints. In the evening, a worried neighbor, accustomed to hearing everyday complaints, looked in on her. How did this fairy tale end?
The woman greeted her neighbor warmly, treated her to tea and pies and thanked her for the flower. The meaning of the tale is this: Do not complain about life, we build our own life path. Here is this simple story from a fairy tale says about it.
We all know and love this enough unpretentious flower- geranium. It has hundreds of species and varieties, and now we will talk about garden option geranium, that is, one that can grow in open ground. In general, this is the same geranium that grows at home in a pot, but, of course, there are differences - this is a more meager color scheme, and not especially lush bloom. So, what is perennial garden geranium: types and varieties with photos and descriptions.
Unpretentious perennial garden geranium: varieties with photos
Garden geranium is a small herbaceous shrub with curly carved leaves that will decorate the site from spring to autumn. It is the foliage that is its value. Due to the fact that garden geraniums are not very whimsical and can get along on a variety of soils, they are successfully planted in many areas.
Of course, when choosing a geranium for garden plot, you should focus on varieties that are most suitable for this area, which have characteristics that are more adapted to certain natural conditions. Consider a few different types garden geranium:
Geranium Balkan / large-rhizome (Geranium macrorrhizum)
The name of this type of perennial garden geranium is speaking. Firstly, it originally grew in the Balkans, and secondly, it has a larger rhizome than other varieties, creeping along the ground and from which petioles grow about 20 cm long, with rosettes at the tips. This whole system of Balkan geranium forms a dense carpet on the soil. The height of the shrub is no more than 30 cm. The leaves of this variety are large (width reaches 10 cm), with large round-toothed edges, have a medium green color. But with the advent of autumn, they fade into reddish hues.
The flowering of the Balkan geranium begins at the end of June and lasts for about a month. The flowers are small (3 cm diameter), but bright - magenta.
Also, this variety has enough strong aroma mountain air.
As for landscape design, Balkan geraniums are best planted next to stones - their combination will give an indescribable look. And in mixed large flower beds it is worth placing it in the foreground, in front of more tall plants.
Varieties: Spessagt, Czakor, Ingwersen's Variety, Insversen, Variegata.
Blood red geranium (Geranium sanguineum)
This perennial variety of geranium is famous for its abundant flowering - the bush is simply strewn with bright red flowers, 4 cm in diameter. Its flowering is not only plentiful, but also long-lasting - it lasts the whole summer season. The bush itself can grow up to 60 cm, but most often low, with light green rounded foliage with a dissected pattern. By autumn, the lower foliage acquires a reddish tint. The rhizome of the blood-red geranium is large, knotty, with bristly petioles, on which, in fact, the leaves are kept. It is worth noting that this species geranium has an interesting bush shape - spherical, as well as increased decorativeness - in spring, summer and autumn it will serve as a decoration for the site.
When planting this type of geranium, you should focus on conditions such as neutral or slightly alkaline soil pH, and partial shade is also important.
Varieties: Album, Prostratum, Compactum, Lancastriense, Nana.
Marsh geranium (Geranium palustre)
This type of garden geranium grows on its own in swampy areas, in meadows. Therefore, it is best to plant it on the site in the same places - with high humidity, near water, but these places must be sunny.
The leaves of the plant are large, seven-parted, formed on long (20 cm) hairy stems. With the onset of August, all foliage, unfortunately, falls off, leaving only a flower-bearing branched tall stem, on which you can contemplate several flowers (3 cm in diameter) surrounded by foliage. Swamp geranium seeds are ready in August and form self-sowing.
positive characteristic of this type of geranium is its "not capriciousness" in growth and care. AT landscape design best suited for mixed beds.
Georgian geranium (Geranium ibericum)
This type of geranium is considered almost the most beautiful, thanks to the abundant flowering of bright purple flowers against a background of bluish foliage. Flowers with bright veins gather in umbellate inflorescences. Flowering, starting in June, lasts only 1.5 months. Georgian geranium blooms annually, regardless of the weather.
This garden geranium is a perennial, and if you do not touch it (do without transplanting and dividing the bush), then it can last up to 12 years. Quite unpretentious, has good indicators of resistance to the vagaries of the weather.
The Georgian geranium bush is quite tall, it can reach up to 80 cm. Yes, and in appearance it is strong, solid. The rhizome is short, obliquely growing. The bluish foliage is rounded, with jagged edges, has about 6 cuts. This color of the leaves is obtained from the fact that they are pubescent. In autumn they turn red, then die off.
When planting, it should be noted that the Georgian geranium loves only the sun and fertile lands. In landscape design, they are used as a single plant, planted on lawns.
Himalayan or large-flowered geranium (Geranium himalayense = G. grandiflorum)
This variety came to us from the Himalayas - there it grows freely in the meadows. Enough large flowers of this geranium (d = 5 cm) of saturated violet color, with a certain blue, stitched with dark veins - catch the eye from anywhere in the garden. On the peduncle, at the end of May, 2 flowers bloom, which stay on the bush all summer. Flowers of this variety have a pleasant tangible smell.
From the rhizome, geranium grows, covering the soil with shoots. The bush can reach a height of up to 60 cm. The leaves are rounded, unevenly dissected. These shrubs prefer to grow on sunny places, are quite demanding on drainage.
This variety also has a slightly different form - undersized, in which the bush is small, dense, not higher than 30 cm.
In landscape design, Himalayan geranium is most often used in rockeries and borders.
Varieties: Gravetye, Jonson's Blue, Plenum.
Meadow geranium (Geranium pratense)
The difference between the meadow geranium is, perhaps, its high growth. Its few stems can stretch up to 120 cm. But the bush is not always stable, it can fall apart. There is a lot of basal foliage, it begins to appear early - in April. The leaf is hairy, seven-parted, the lobes are rhomboid.
As for flowering, it begins in mid-June and lasts no further than mid-July. Meadow geranium flowers with rounded petals, have a delicate lilac-cornflower blue color. Seeds ripen by August.
In the landscape, her prerogative is mixed flower beds, especially those varieties that imitate flowering meadow.
Varieties: Flore Pleno, Splish Splash, Mrs Kendall Clarc.
Geranium forest (Geranium sylvaticum)
This variety of geranium loves dark places, grows well on excessively moist and loose soils.
The flowers are pink-lilac-purple, depending on the variety, fully opened. During the flowering period, two flowers form on the peduncle, the flowering is short - about 20 days.
The rhizome of the forest geranium is long, several long stems (80 cm) depart from it, which break up into different sides. The leaves of the shrub are located on long hairy petioles, have rounded outlines, are divided into 7 parts. The edges are serrated. Of the minuses - the leaves die off very early - already in August, so the use in the landscape is possible only in the background in mixed flower beds.
Geranium magnificum (Geranium × magnificum)
This geranium has been known for a very long time. Appearance shrub - dense, large, 60 cm high. In addition, it grows quite quickly, conquering new areas. But large shrubs can also disintegrate. Geranium is magnificent - photophilous and demanding on fertility.
Flowering begins in July. The flowers are numerous, scattered throughout the bush, have a light purple, light lilac color, which fades to yellow-orange in autumn. The flower itself is beautiful, jagged, with five-parted petals.
A feature of the magnificent geranium is that it will not give birth to seeds.
Varieties: Mrs. Kendall Clark, Rosemoore, Lighter Schatten.
Basic requirements for the care of garden geraniums
Watering is the first part of care. It should be regular, but it is not worth "draining" the plant. Abundant watering it is needed only after direct planting, for rooting, and during the dry season. In principle, garden geraniums should only be monitored - if its leaves begin to fall, this indicates a lack of moisture, which means that it is urgent to water!
Loosening and mulching are perhaps the most necessary components care, because geranium loves just light and loose soils. You can plant ground cover plants next to it - they also “loose” the ground well. If the fertility of the soil on the site is still low, then so that after watering the earth next to the flower does not turn into a crust, it is better to walk nearby with a flat cutter.
Pruning of geraniums is carried out periodically, mainly - this is the removal of yellow, dry leaves, dead shoots, broken stems. This will be both a healthy bush and a growth activator. Pruning prolongs the flowering of the bush.
As such, geraniums do not need top dressing. Peat and compost when planting is enough for her. But if you really want to, you can use complex organomineral fertilizers, but do not abuse it. Geranium also has a negative attitude towards transplants.
The garden geranium also has two misfortunes - bacterial rot and withering. But if the agrotechnical process is fully observed, and the care is carried out correctly and regularly, then these diseases are not terrible for the shrub.
Garden geranium partners in landscape design
Garden geranium is a very plastic perennial, it can be used in almost any landscape compositions. For example, they can be hit lower tier rosary:
Geranium is a good partner for any kind of peonies. In partial shade, it combines beautifully with hellebore and bitter gourd. In the sun - with sage, irises and veronica.
She looks great in trunk circles fruit trees, as well as the edge of shrubs.
Are you sure you got general idea about what perennial garden geranium is, and from the photo of its most popular species you can choose for your site interesting varieties. In the next article, we will focus on the propagation methods of street geraniums.
Many flower growers want to know how to grow meadow geranium and apply it at home. Let us describe in more detail what medicinal properties this plant has, how to prepare and store products from it, and also consider the process of planting meadow geranium and caring for it.
common data
Meadow geranium (crane, field geranium) - herbaceous dicotyledonous plant genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae. Translated from Greek the name means "crane". In Bulgaria, the flower is usually called "health resort" due to its rich healing properties. The leaves of a bluish-purple hue are valuable in pharmacology and folk medicine.
Botanical description of a flower
The flower has a thick, powerful brown root system, from which stems extend. The height of the plant ranges from 60 to 80 cm. The flowers are large, sitting on long pedicels, consist of blue-violet petals, arranged in pairs and form an umbrella inflorescence. The stems and pedicels of the plant are covered with small glandular hairs. 
The leaves are long-petioled, divided into 7 lobes. The plant needs to be cross-pollinated. Geranium blooms from June to September. The process of fruit ripening falls on the period from July to September: they look like a crane's beak, which, when fully ripe, is divided into 5 one-seeded fruits.
Chemical composition
The plant in all its parts contains tannin (tannin), which has astringent, hemostatic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects on the human body. Rich in tannin and root system meadow geranium - in dry mass more than 30%, its aerial part contains 16%.
Did you know? To prevent moths, it is recommended to put a few pink geranium flowers in the closet. And to prevent the appearance of mold in a jar of jam, the leaves of this plant are used.
The root system also contains phenolic compounds, phenol carboxylic acids, starch and catechins. Herb meadow geranium contains minerals (iron, zinc, manganese), essential oils, glucose, raffinose, vitamin K, ascorbic acid, keratin and more.
Spreading
area wild plant vast, covers the temperate regions of Eurasia. It is cultivated everywhere. Grows in wet meadows, clearings, forest edges and in mountain river valleys. Crail can be found more often in the forest-steppe, forest belt, less often in conifers. 
Application features
Studies have shown that preparations based on meadow geranium have a wide spectrum of action. For medicinal purposes, both the aerial part of the plant and the rhizome can be used. Crail is also used as a honey plant and a natural dye.
Medicinal properties
The value of a plant lies not only in its beautiful flowers that notify the onset of summer - meadow geranium has a variety of medicinal properties which have been used by traditional healers since ancient times.
- in cardiology in the treatment of angina pectoris and tachycardia;
- in gynecology in the treatment inflammatory processes, chronic diseases of the female reproductive system, normalization of hormonal levels;
- in oncology in the fight against malignant tumors;
- in the treatment of nervous disorders;
- in pulmonology in the treatment of tonsillitis and pharyngitis;
- in gastroenterology in the treatment of diseases gastrointestinal tract.
Contraindications and harm
The plant, in addition to medicinal properties, also has contraindications for use. Means prepared on the basis of the meadow crail should not be used by people suffering from thromboembolism, gastritis, gastric ulcers, as well as those who have age-related intestinal obstruction and chronic constipation.
Traditional medicine recipes
In folk medicine, meadow geranium is used in the form of tinctures, decoctions and powders.
Let's take a closer look at the most popular recipes:
- herbal solution from hair loss. Need 2 tbsp. l. dry grass, pour 0.5 liters of cool boiled water, insist for 8-9 hours at room temperature. With abundant hair loss, the head should be washed with a filtered solution every other day for 3-4 weeks.
- A decoction of rhizomes with menstrual and postpartum bleeding, as well as bloody diarrhea. To prepare the first recipe, you need 3 tbsp. l. crushed roots pour 250 ml of water and bring to a boil, boil on fire for no more than 5 minutes. The resulting broth must be filtered and consumed 1 tbsp. l. every 2 hours until bleeding stops. The second recipe for douching - follows 2 tbsp. l. dilute roots in 0.5 l drinking water, boil for 5 minutes. After straining, the solution will be ready for use. For the third recipe, fresh grass juice must be applied orally, 20-30 drops at intervals of 2-3 hours until the uterine or hemorrhoidal bleeding stops completely.
- For diseases of the upper respiratory tract, 1 tbsp. l. dry raw materials pour 200–250 ml of drinking water. Then the resulting solution must be brought to a boil and kept on fire for 5 minutes. It is recommended to use cooled and filtered infusion during meals, 2 tbsp. l. 3 times a day.
Procurement and storage of medicinal raw materials
For better storage herbaceous part of the geranium should be collected during the flowering period. Raw materials must be dried in a closed and well-ventilated area or in a professional electric dryer. Temperature regime should be between +40 and +45°C. With more high temperatures all useful essential oils will evaporate from the plant. To increase the medicinal properties, it must be collected in clear sunny weather after the dew has disappeared.
Important! Harvest should be raw materials collected in environmentally friendly places, and not what grows along highways and near industrial zones.
The resulting blanks should be stored for 2 years in a wooden or glass container. Rhizomes for storage are recommended to be dug in autumn period. It is necessary to dry the roots that have been previously cleaned from the ground and washed. 
Growing at home
Meadow geranium can be grown on personal plot both for decorative and medicinal purposes. wild species Geraniums are unpretentious in cultivation and never get sick.
Suitable varieties
On a personal plot, you can plant such cultivated varieties of meadow geraniums:
Landing
The considered perennial for growth in open ground needs large space and well lit area. At optimal conditions meadow geranium will delight you with its flowering throughout the summer. The soil for its planting should be fertile, slightly acidic and moderately moist.
Latin name
Geranium pratense
Folk names
Geranium, wild geranium, bone breaker, aching grass, knucklebone
Used part
collection time
June August
Description
perennial herbaceous plant from the geranium family (Geraniaceae) with an oblique rhizome, several stems 20-80 cm high, branching in the upper part, and numerous basal long-petiolate leaves, reniform-rounded in outline, deeply divided into 7 rhombic-ovate lobes, which, in turn, divided into lanceolate lobules. The flowers are arranged in pairs on long peduncles, collectively forming large umbellate inflorescences. The flowers are large, with five green sepals, five blue-violet petals, ten stamens, one pistil with a five-celled upper ovary. The fruits are dry, fractional, break up into one-seeded parts, equipped with awned arcuate appendages. Blossoms in June - August, fruits ripen in July - September.
Spreading
Meadow geranium is distributed almost throughout the country, with the exception of the Crimea. Grows in meadows, clearings, forest edges, in thickets of shrubs, roadside strips, along the banks of streams, in ravines.
Used part.
For medicinal purposes, flowers, the aerial part (grass) and rhizomes with roots of meadow geranium are used. There are many tannins in all parts of the plant (up to 30% of dry weight in rhizomes), traces of alkaloids in the stems, vitamin C and carotene in the leaves.
Collection and preparation
The grass is harvested during flowering, dried under a canopy or in a dryer at a temperature of 40-45°C. Shelf life 2 years.
cultivation
The soil is fertile, loose, sandy clay; sun or partial shade. Does not tolerate hot, dry areas and sweaty soils. Propagated in spring by seeds or by dividing the bush in spring or autumn.
Application
In folk medicine, astringent, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of geranium are used for diarrhea, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, enterocolitis), dysentery. The herb is also recommended for nephrolithiasis, rheumatoid lesions of the joints, gout. The use of geranium as a hemostatic agent for various internal and external bleeding (hemorrhoidal, uterine, pulmonary) is successful. For nosebleeds, it is recommended to put tampons moistened with infusion or decoction of geranium into the nose. Relatively recently, it was found that aqueous extracts have a depressing effect on the central nervous system. This explains the effect of folk medical use of geranium in case of increased nervous excitability, insomnia, and convulsive conditions. Geranium infusion and decoctions are used for gargling with sore throats, douching for women's diseases, for baths, washings and lotions in the treatment of eczema, festering wounds and ulcers.
Recipes
- for internal use cold infusions are usually prepared at the rate of 1 tablespoon of chopped herbs or roots per 2 cups of cold water, infused in a closed vessel for 8 hours, and the resulting amount of infusion is drunk in small portions throughout the day.
- often use more "strong" decoctions, which are prepared at the rate of 25-30 g of crushed roots or grass per 2 cups of water. Take a cold decoction repeatedly for 1-2 tablespoons.
- infusion preparation: Infuse 2 teaspoons of dry herb for 8 hours in 2 cups of cold boiled water. Drink infusion in sips throughout the day.
- decoction preparation: 1 tbsp. l. herbs pour a glass of boiling water, simmer for 5 minutes, cool, strain and bring to the original volume. Drink 1-2 tbsp. l. 3 times a day with meals. The same decoction can be diluted 4-5 times with water and used for rinsing.
Instructions for use:
Meadow geranium is a perennial plant belonging to the Geranium family.
Description, places of growth
The plant has a short rhizome. Ground shoots branching, strong. Stems are well leafy at the top. Basal leaves have reniform-rounded plates 6 to 12 cm long, seven-parted almost to the base, long-petiolate, have pinnately incised lobes. Stem leaves are smaller, with shorter petioles, five-parted. Upper leaves sessile, tripartite.
Flowers numerous, umbrella-shaped. On each peduncle there are two flowers of a large correct form, wide open. During flowering, they are directed with the open part up, and before and after flowering they droop.
The plant produces box-shaped fruits, which break up into five single-seeded parts when ripe.
Meadow geranium prefers meadow areas, mountain river valleys, deciduous, sometimes coniferous forests, as well as wet forest glades.
Distributed in Central Asia, in Western Siberia (except for the Daursky region), in Belarus, in Ukraine (except for the Crimea), in the Siberian Arctic (lower reaches of the Yenisei River), in the European part of Russia, in the Arctic (Murmansk coast, European Arctic).
Grass (flowers, leaves and stems) and roots of meadow geranium are used for medicinal purposes.
Chemical composition
The roots of the plant contain starch, carbohydrates, tannins, flavonoids, catechins, phenolcarboxylic acids, triterpene saponins.
The leaves, stem and flowers of the plant contain sucrose, fructose, glucose, saponins, raffinose, alkaloids, carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin K, flavonoids, leukoanthocyanins and anthocyanins, tannins.
Application and useful properties
The tannins in the plant have an antibacterial effect. The extract of the aerial part of the plant, depending on the dosage, is able to have both an inhibitory and stimulating effect on the nervous system, has an antitoxic effect against snake venoms.
Meadow geranium has found its application in folk medicine, as an anti-inflammatory, astringent and disinfectant, with bone fractures, as well as in the treatment of tumor diseases.
Infusion or decoction of herbs or plant roots helps with epilepsy, fever, insomnia, colds and stomach diseases, gastritis, hemorrhoidal bleeding, enteritis.
The herb is used as an infusion, decoction or powder for lotions and powders for long-term non-healing wounds, abscesses, ulcers, for gouty and rheumatic pains in the joints, as well as for rinsing with tonsillitis, gingivitis and stomatitis.
An infusion of herbs is taken for gout and rheumatism, urolithiasis, tachycardia, angina pectoris, some women's diseases, scabies, and for the treatment of respiratory diseases.
A decoction of the herb rinses the hair with alopecia.
The roots in the form of a decoction are effective in dyspepsia and dysentery, and the crushed roots are effective in caries.
Fresh crushed leaves of the plant are applied to snake bites.