What is a green strawberry? Where does the plant grow? What can be said about the beneficial properties of green strawberries? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our material.
Green strawberries - description
This perennial wild plant belongs to the large Rosaceae family. It is a short shoot that reaches a maximum height of 20 cm. Green strawberries have a brown rhizome with an extensive network of adnexal processes. Ground shoots differ in insignificant thickness, have a creeping character. The stems are branched at the top. Green strawberry leaves are basal with notches along the edge. Their front side has a light green tint. The inside of the leaves is smooth, grayish green.
Where does the green strawberry grow?
The plant is common in many European countries. There is a green strawberry (midnight) in Central Asia, Siberia, Eastern Europe. You can see its shoots in forest zones and forest-steppe. Most often, green strawberry colonies are formed onforest edges, sun-drenched glades. The plant is found in hilly areas, in clearings. In rare cases - in thickets of bushes, near steppe roads.
Fruits
Green strawberry flowers develop on pedicels that form corymbose inflorescences. The latter are white in color and large in size. Here, false fruits develop in the form of juicy, soft-textured berries of a bright red hue. They appear after the flowering of the plant. The true fruit of the green strawberry is the miniature seeds contained in the pulp.
The berries of the plant have a spherical shape. Their weight reaches an average of 1-2 grams. They are distinguished by a particularly rich aroma compared to garden strawberries. The berries are difficult to separate from the calyx. Often break down with her.
Chemical composition
Green strawberry (wild strawberry) has an extremely rich chemical composition. There is a wide range of vitamins, carbohydrates, tannins here. The leaves of the plant contain essential oil, organic acids, phosphorus s alts.
What is the mineral content of green strawberries? The fruits of the plant are rich in sugar, which is about 15% of their mass. There are pectin substances here - about 1.7%. The amount of ascorbic acid in leaves is 280 milligrams per 100 grams of raw materials, and in fruits - 90 milligrams. The shoots of the plant are rich in zinc, copper, chromium, manganese, iron s alts.
Useful properties
Specialists who studied the qualities of the plant came to the conclusion that the green strawberry has a mild diuretic, laxative and choleretic effect on the human body. Preparations based on it exhibit sedative, astringent, wound healing, anti-inflammatory activity.
The fruits of the plant are used in the development of skin ailments. They are also used to normalize the functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. The properties of the substances contained in the berries contribute to the treatment of rheumatic manifestations, the elimination of symptoms of joint diseases, nervous exhaustion, anemia, hypertension.
People have noticed that the use of green strawberry fruits makes it possible to quickly quench thirst, increase appetite. External use of berries has a positive effect on the elimination of age spots of the skin, all kinds of acne, eczema, freckles. Dried fruit infusions are used for scurvy, colitis, hypertension, gastritis and cholecystitis.
Vegetable juice is considered an excellent cosmetic product. It is used to regulate s alt metabolism. For centuries, an aqueous infusion based on juice has been used to remove an unpleasant odor from the oral cavity, remove periodontal disease and stomatitis. Green strawberry masks nourish the skin and allow deep cleansing of the face.
Leaf tea
To make a drink, you need to dry the raw materials in the shade. Before moving on to drying the leaves, the latter shouldcrush in the palms. This solution will allow the juice of the plant to stand out. Then the raw materials need to be laid out on a plane and covered with a piece of damp cloth, which helps to activate the fermentation processes.
As soon as the leaves are dry, you can proceed to the procedure for brewing tea. A few pinches of raw materials are placed in a teapot and poured with boiling water. The composition is covered with a lid and infused for 15-20 minutes.
Drinking tea from green strawberry leaves helps to eliminate the manifestations of urolithiasis. The tool is suitable for the treatment of anemia, liver diseases, elimination of pathologies of the digestive organs. As practice shows, this tea is good for hypertension, cystitis, gout. In the presence of kidney stones, the remedy is consumed three times a day, one glass as an alternative to regular tea.
Jam
To make jam from green strawberries, it is enough to fill them with sugar in equal proportions, and then leave them alone for 5-6 hours. This time is enough for the fruits to release the maximum possible amount of juice.
The container with berries must be put on medium heat. Boil the composition should be no more than 5 minutes. In this case, it is extremely important to periodically remove the resulting foam. Next, the pan should be removed from the heat, cool the raw materials and cover with a cloth on top. In this state, the base of the future jam must be left for about 10 hours.
Next, the container must be put on fire again. As soon as the jam boils, you need to remove it from the stove and coolfor an hour. In conclusion, it is enough to distribute the resulting composition among sterilized jars and cork with lids.
Secrets of traditional medicine
People have long used green strawberries to treat the following ailments:
- Gout - take the fruits of the plant in its pure form. For the disappearance of the manifestations of the disease, it is enough to eat about 0.5-1 kg of berries per day. A positive effect occurs in about 10-15 days.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular system - take a few fresh berries every day, combining them with milk and honey.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - fresh berry juice is consumed in a quarter cup 3-4 times a day. The exception is gastritis with high acidity, in which it is forbidden to eat the fruits of the plant.
- Anemia - an infusion based on a tablespoon of dried berries, take 1 glass several times a day before meals.
- Hemorrhoids, uterine bleeding - a few tablespoons of fresh berries pour boiling water and let it brew for 2 hours. Take the remedy inside 4 times a day, approximately 200 grams each.
Contraindications
Green strawberries are absolutely not recommended for women during the period of bearing a child. Also, fresh berries are forbidden to eat for people who suffer from gastritis with an increased level of acidity. Since the fruits of the plant contain a significant amount of small seeds, they should be excluded from the diet of those who suffer from chronic appendicitis.
There is a separate category of people who have individual intolerance to active substances in the composition of green strawberries. All kinds of manifestations of an allergic nature come to the fore here, which are expressed in skin itching, the occurrence of redness and rashes on the surface of the epidermis. In these cases, it is better to refuse to use the fruits of the plant. However, it is not at all necessary to exclude healing infusions and teas based on dried leaves from the diet.
Growing
Before the appearance of Muscat strawberries in the domestic expanses, the plant was collected in forests and fields, planted in gardens. At that time, green strawberries were called strawberries. After the spread of various varieties of cultivated plants, wild berries were no longer cultivated.
Nevertheless, green strawberries continue to be actively harvested in the places of its natural growth. This happens because the plant gives a more impressive yield compared to the garden variety. The fruits of wild strawberries do not give bitterness in the case of making jam. Freezing keeps the berries sweeter.
