Hyssop officinalis: 9 recipes of traditional medicine

The collection of medicinal herbs is often done in wild form. However, since the reign of Peter I, the beginning of a medicinal garden was laid, which after some time grew into a luxurious botanical garden. This beginning served as an example and incentive for others, and soon, near every house, a small plot of land was allocated, and for some, quite a large one, where not only ornamental and aromatic herbs were grown, but also medicinal herbs.

Often, such plants served as decorative decorations for the front garden. Among such plants, hyssop is quite common. It can grow in almost any soil and does not require special care. It is capable of producing a good harvest, with minimal care and watering requirements, and providing garden owners with excellent medicinal raw materials that can cure many different diseases.

Appearance and places of growth

The wild variety of hyssop can be found in Europe and Asia. It grows on hillsides, selecting the driest and rockiest soil . Nowadays, it is rare to meet someone who will hunt for this plant in difficult-to-reach natural conditions.

Basically, they prefer to grow this fragrant and beautiful shrub in their own garden bed or garden. They began to cultivate it since time immemorial. The medicinal properties of hyssop were widely known in Ancient Greece. It was often used in medicine and cosmetology, and was often used in cooking.

Depending on the region of growth, it can be called differently - bee grass or blue St. John's wort. In fact, there is some external resemblance, but real experts would never confuse these plants. Due to its wide range of uses, it is also called a country healer, and if possible, it is sure to be planted in an area where its beautiful appearance can be admired.

itself is not tall, capable of growing up to 65-70 cm in height . The root of the plant is powerful. Many stems come from it, covered with strong bark at the very base, and, reaching the top, they gradually become thinner.

The leaves are arranged in tiers. They are slightly elongated and narrow in shape, with the tips slightly curved inward. The flowering period begins in July and ends in September. The flowers have a beautiful blue color, sometimes found with lilac or pink shades. It is very rare to find a plant with white flowers.

The shrub is classified as a perennial .
It withstands drought and severe frosts well. The leaves and flowers have a strong spicy aroma that can repel pests from the garden. Bees flock to the spicy smell, so hyssop is often planted next to the apiary, collecting aromatic honey with healing properties.

Summing up

Medicinal hyssop is a very beautiful and healthy herb with a tart, bitter taste and exquisite spicy aroma. Thanks to these properties, this plant has found wide use in the culinary and perfume industries. And thanks to its valuable and useful composition, it is often used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. However, like all other medicines, hyssop is not useful for everyone and in some cases can be harmful to health. Therefore, before using it as a medicine, you should discuss it with your doctor.

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Kinds

There are few varieties of hyssop, only 3, among which the following are distinguished:

Narrow-leaved or medicinal hyssop . This type of plant is used to make teas, decoctions and various infusions. The flowers of the plant are collected in small inflorescences, 8-10 in total. Harvesting begins from the moment the first buds open, throughout the entire summer period, until the end of flowering. For medicinal hyssop, only the upper part of the stems is cut off, capturing the flowers themselves and part of the leaves. It is a perennial plant and can live quietly without replanting for up to 10 years.
Chalk hyssop . It acquired this name because of its love for the soil, where a significant content of chalk rock predominates. This species is very rare and is therefore listed in the Red Book. Unlike the others, it is less decorative and has a miniature size. The inflorescences are painted in a delicate blue color. The smell of the flowers itself is quite sharp with a predominant balsamic tint.
Anise hyssop . Externally it is very beautiful, with a pleasant anise smell, which is where the name comes from. With a slight physical impact on the leaf, the smell of anise is significantly enhanced. Due to its unusual aroma, it is sometimes also called licorice mint. It differs from other species not only in smell, but also in external features. The stems are quite tall, and under favorable conditions they can grow up to 1 meter in height. The leaves of the plant are covered with purple spots. The flowers themselves have a beautiful rich blue color. The opening of the flowers occurs gradually, starting from the very bottom, maintaining a beautiful and spectacular appearance throughout the summer. In culinary art, you can use both delicate buds and open flowers. They are added to various salads, which gives dishes an exquisite spicy taste.

When growing together, different species are capable of cross-pollination; to avoid this, they should be planted at a distance from each other.

Description of the plant

Hyssop

The wild culture is found on forest edges and in the steppes of the European part. In the Caucasus and Altai it grows in dry and rocky places. Hyssop officinalis is a herbaceous plant with a strong tap root. There are many stems, they reach a height of up to 70 cm, pubescent or almost bare, extremely hard at the base. Hyssop herb is one of the medicinal plants that is known to have been used by the famous ancient Greek healer and philosopher Hippocrates. The herb is mentioned in many ancient herbal books: it was used in cooking, cleansing cathedrals, and also to protect oneself from the plague. On the pages of the Bible, speaking about metaphysical cleansing, King David said: “Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will be clean.” In the Old Testament, blue St. John's wort is written about as a herb, decoctions of which are drunk during the Jewish Passover.

Healing raw materials are collected during flowering. Dry the upper part of the plant in the attic, under a canopy or on pallets in a dryer, at a temperature of at least +60 C. It is better to store the herb in canvas bags, glass or wooden containers, but no more than two years. Representatives of traditional medicine have long used the medicinal properties of blue St. John's wort, bringing great benefits to people. Bee grass is characterized by the ability to reduce tone, reduce the contractile activity of smooth muscles, remove bronchial secretions from the respiratory tract, and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

What does hyssop look like?

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)

Blue St. John's wort is a lovely miniature shrub with lovely purple flowers. Perhaps not many medicinal plants look as attractive as hyssop does. Hyssop flowers especially attract attention - blue, indigo, ultramarine, sometimes pink or snow-white. The flowers form intermittently spike-shaped inflorescences. The leaves are elongated, poisonous green above, olive green below. The leaves on the lower part of the stem are larger than those on the upper. Four chocolate-colored nuts form the fruit.

The herb has a strong aroma. Blooms all summer. The plant is unpretentious, so it will not be difficult for even a novice gardener to grow a fragrant, fragrant herb in the garden.

Collection and storage

The methods of collecting all types of plants and the principles of subsequent harvesting are almost the same, however, given the different purposes of use, they may differ slightly. So, for example, to add to salads, leaves and flowers are plucked as needed. To make decoctions, raw materials are prepared starting from the moment the first inflorescences bloom . If the plant is stored in crushed form, it should be collected at the very peak of flowering, then the aroma will be most pronounced.

To collect hyssop, the stems of the plant are cut, tied into a bunch and hung in the attic, or any other place where air flows well and there is no direct sunlight.

When hyssop is dried and stored under the hot sun, the essential oils contained in it will evaporate, which will significantly reduce the medicinal properties of the plant.

Raw materials prepared for storage are placed in fabric bags and stored for two years . This storage allows you to preserve all the beneficial properties in the grass. The chopped herb is stored in a closed container, away from light.

Plant care

Growing and caring for fragrant hyssop includes loosening and weeding. Water the plant as needed, about 3-4 times during the summer. In autumn, the shoots must be pruned, leaving stems up to 15 cm high, giving the bush a hemispherical shape. Thanks to this, in the future the shoots will branch well and bloom profusely.

You can trim the shoots in the spring, which will lead to the formation of above-ground shoots from a node located at the base of the main shoot of the plant. Self-sowing is not expected; the inflorescences are cut off when the seeds turn brown and scattered on the surface, waiting for ripening. The plant is frost-resistant and can withstand drought. A sunny, damp corner of the garden is favorable for fragrant grass. The grass is unpretentious to the soil, but grows better on loose, drained soil with a slightly alkaline and neutral environment. Seeds do not lose their viability for 3-4 years.

Chemical composition

The leaves and flowers of hyssop contain useful elements, including a large number of:

Essential oils and tannins;
Flavonoids and glycosides;
Organic and ascorbic acids;
Bitterness and resin;
Alcohol and gum;
Camphene, cymene and cineole.

In addition, the plant contains biologically active substances; it is thanks to them that hyssop can be used as a healing agent.

The healing properties of the herb hyssop

Among the people, hyssop has deservedly acquired the title of “country doctor”. It is used in various folk recipes and can be very useful for many diseases:

From intestinal parasites;
For irritability and depression;
As a therapeutic agent during the treatment of central nervous system disorders;
To improve memory and concentration;
To relieve inflammatory processes;
As a remedy for healing wounds and abscesses;
For colds and bronchitis;
For problems with the secretory functions of the gastrointestinal tract;
The plant is highly valued for its ability to influence the acceleration of regeneration, and in addition, it can stop the development of staphylococcal infection.

Decoctions, compresses and various infusions obtained from hyssop are recommended in the following cases:

In case of diseases of the respiratory system, including asthma and tuberculosis;
When fungal skin lesions are detected;
With excessive emotionality;
In case of severe rheumatism and hyperhidrosis;
During various diseases of the genitourinary system;
For frequent colds.

Hyssop goes well with other ingredients such as honey, licorice root, many berries and raspberry leaves.

For women

Hyssop decoctions help relieve acute symptoms of PMS. They can improve the condition of the skin and stop age-related changes. The resulting extracts, extracts and essential oil enriched with beneficial properties are widely used in cosmetology.

For men

The plant is a natural aphrodisiac, so a product prepared from it helps men enjoy the attention of women for a long time. This remedy is made from inflorescences and white wine. One tbsp. a spoonful of prepared raw materials is added to one liter of drink. After combining the ingredients, the product is infused for about 10 days in a dark and cool place.

For better dissolution of the contained essential oils, the container with the contents is shaken every day. Take the remedy a few hours before bedtime, in the amount of 50 drops.

For children

It is not advisable for children under 12 years of age to drink infusions and decoctions of hyssop, or with its components, except when the benefits of consumption outweigh the possible harmful consequences.

Features of use during pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood

There is a whole list of medicinal herbs and plants that are contraindicated for use during pregnancy. Hyssop is also on this list. This is due to his actions:

increased blood pressure;
increased uterine tone;
promoting the development of seizures.

Therefore, it is prohibited for women to use it during pregnancy. In the early stages, this can cause miscarriage, and in the later stages, premature birth. During breastfeeding, you should also avoid taking medicinal herbs.

The use of drugs and hyssop orally significantly reduces the production of breast milk and can negatively affect the health of the newborn baby.

Hyssop can be used to treat children. But the following points are taken into account:

The child must be over 10 years old.
He does not have an allergic reaction to grass.
A decoction or infusion for a child is prepared less concentrated.

Children often get relief from a sore throat, toothache or stomatitis with a special infusion for rinsing. It is prepared from hyssop and oak bark. The ingredients are mixed, poured with hot water and left in a dark place for about an hour. Next, the liquid is filtered and used to rinse the mouth or throat (after 10 years).