Almost every person in the world knows a plant called Sudanese rose or hibiscus, the petals of which are used to make a very tasty hibiscus drink. It perfectly quenches thirst in the heat and warms in the cold. It has a pleasant aroma and rather unusual taste, with a slight sourness.
Growth area
Despite the popular belief that this culture is from India, its homeland is Sudan. In this country, it grows as a shrub. In Egypt, where the rose is actively grown, the plant has a tree shape. Also, this rose is cultivated and grown in Japan, Ceylon, Mexico, China and Thailand.
Short description
Sabdarif hibiscus, hibiscus and Sudanese rose are all names for the same plant.
Hibiscus petals are cup-shaped, fleshy, deep red. After the bud wilts, the petals greatly increase in size. The rest of the plant is green, sometimes with a reddish tinge. All of them are edible, except for the root.
The plant prefers a hot climate. The higher the temperature, the more the stem of the plant stretches, and the flowers acquire a more saturated color. The rose bush can reach 6 meters inheight.
Her root system is mixed, with primary and secondary rods.
Practical application
It is rose petals that are used to make tea, jellies, compotes and sauces. In the food industry, hibiscus is used to color food.
In countries where this plant is indigenous, all parts of the rose (except the root) are eaten as a raw vegetable dish.
Hibiscus has found its application in folk medicine. Flowers and leaves are part of the remedies for malignant neoplasms.
The petals are also used to make hair dye (black). The seeds are used to make unique jewelry. Naturally, one of the most popular drinks around the world is Sudanese rose tea.
Variety of flavors
Depending on the place of growth, hibiscus tea has a completely different taste. The one we are used to is a rose tea grown in Egypt. The drink has a dark red color and a sour taste.
Hibiscus, grown in Thailand, gives a sweet taste, and the drink from it will be scarlet. Tea from a Mexican plant is orange in color and s alty in taste.
Composition
Useful and harmful properties of any plant largely depend on the area where it grows. The better the environment, the greater the benefit. This also applies to hibiscus.
As part of the planta lot of vitamin C, due to which a sour taste appears. In addition, hibiscus contains vitamins B, E, K, D, PP and A. There are many trace elements in the rose. These are P, Fe, Ca, Zn and others.
How to make tea
The most common and easiest way to prepare a drink: pour 2 teaspoons of hibiscus with 250 milliliters of water and boil over a fire for 3-5 minutes. You can then add sugar to taste. Cooked broth can be cooled and ice added to quench your thirst in the summer heat.
Petal can be eaten after making tea as a vitamin supplement.
Useful properties
Even in ancient times, people knew about the benefits of the Sudanese rose, used it for cooking, even sewed clothes from it. The plant was used as a medicinal plant, although there was no scientific evidence for this. People used exclusively their observations and the experience of their ancestors. Remains of this flower have even been found in ancient tombs.
First of all, the Sudanese rose is a powerful antioxidant and a means to prevent the appearance of neoplasms. Regular consumption of hibiscus drink helps to smooth out wrinkles. But the list of useful properties does not end there.
Ascorbic acid, which is contained in the plant, helps protect the body from viruses and colds. Hibiscus helps to reduce body temperature and has a mild diuretic effect.
Positive effects seen when using hibiscus to solve problems withmale genitourinary system, including impotence.
Hibiscus stabilizes blood pressure, good for kidneys and stomach. After drinking the drink, a slight laxative effect is noted.
Increasing the permeability of the walls of blood vessels and reducing the level of bad cholesterol is achieved due to the presence of anthocyanins in the flower, which give a red color.
With a hangover, it is also recommended to drink a drink with hibiscus. And if you drink tea on an empty stomach, you can get rid of parasites.
Quercetin, contained in rosebuds, improves visual acuity and gets rid of a number of eye pathologies.
Will hibiscus help you lose weight
It has already become clear that the Sudanese rose is really a huge benefit. Hibiscus also has fat-splitting properties. Regular consumption of hibiscus tea contributes to:
- Remove excess fluid from the body.
- Acceleration of metabolic processes (due to the fructose in the plant).
- Cleansing.
- Has a mild laxative effect.
All of these factors are the foundation of most diets. Hibiscus also has a tonic effect, that is, it relieves the feeling of fatigue.
In many sources, you can find the following recommendations for losing weight with the help of Sudanese roses: you need to drink the drink for 21 days, then take a break for 7 days. The course can be repeated several times. Naturally, you can not seize tea with cakes and give up physical activity. In this case, the effect should not be expected.
Harmhibiscus
The benefits of the Sudanese rose are obvious. However, no plant is perfect for everyone.
Hibiscus will have to be abandoned for people who have high acidity and a history of stomach ulcers.
Do not use Sudanese rose for hypotensive patients. A drink from this plant can provoke a sharp and severe drop in blood pressure.
Although tea is not contraindicated for pregnant women, you should not abuse it too much. Women in position can drink no more than 2 cups a day. The same applies to children (from 12 months). They can drink compote from the plant, but not too much.
But the drink can be consumed by food allergy sufferers, because the red color is achieved not due to chemical additives, but due to anthocyanins.
The value of the plant for cosmetology
Egyptian legend says that the Saudi rose was called the "flower of the pharaohs." Cleopatra not only drank hibiscus in the form of tea, but also took baths with a tincture of the plant. As a result, her skin took on a coppery hue that no other product could have done.
Modern girls use hibiscus in the following cases:
- For skin problems. Soaked plant petals should be used as masks.
- Tewing helps to get rid of bags under the eyes.
- Pulp of petals relieves hair from excessive oiliness.
Growing at home
Sudanese rose, the benefits and harms of which we examined above,can be easily grown on the windowsill in your apartment. It will not be possible to obtain material for tea in industrial volumes, but flowers will be enough to make a mask.
It is unlikely that you will be able to buy seeds for growing a bush, so you will have to use the services of foreign online stores or try to find seeds in a bag of hibiscus. After the plant has grown, you can propagate it by cuttings.
If you find seeds in a tea bag, then they must be soaked in water. As soon as a small and tender sprout hatches, you need to carefully plant the seed in a small pot. According to the degree of growth of the seedling, the container with the soil will have to be changed to a larger one. The soil should be light, with sand, peat and humus. During the growth period, it is necessary to add new soil or transplant into a container with finished soil.
The plant loves abundant watering and a lot of light. In the room, the temperature should not fall below + 20 degrees. The rays of the sun should not be direct.
If there is not enough moisture, then the tips of the leaves begin to dry out, which is corrected by simple spraying from a spray bottle. In no case should you put a pot of hibiscus in a draft. As soon as the temperature in the room changes sharply or a draft appears, the rose immediately drops the flowers. The bush will begin to bear fruit only after 5 years. When the flowering of the Sudanese rose begins, the photo of which is presented in the article, it is difficult to look away from the bush. But in order to achieve flowering, you have to work hard. The plant needs to be fed regularly.fertilizers, physically destroy insects.
Drink Sudanese rose drinks, cold or hot. They are able to cheer up and are an excellent antioxidant. Never boil hibiscus leaves with boiling water. In this case, they lose all useful and vitamin elements.
