Fireweed is a herbaceous perennial in the Cyprian family. Among the people it is more popular under the names Ivan-tea, Kuril tea, willow grass, wild hemp, fireman, down jacket. The plant is common in the temperate climate of Eurasia and North America. You can meet him at the forest edges and sunny glades. Fireweed is a truly universal plant. With its flowers, it turns the site into a solid pink cloud for almost 2 months, which allows the bees to collect nectar for healing and delicious honey. You can talk about the healing properties of fireweed for a very long time and still not consider each one. These qualities make Ivan-tea just an irreplaceable plant on the site.
Botanical Description
Fireweed is a perennial, rarely annual herbaceous plant 40-150 cm high. Rhizome grows very deep and wide. It forms new growth points and numerous side shoots. Strongly branched stems are bare or densely pubescent. On them, to the very top, next to each other, next leaves grow. They sit tight on the stem or have short petioles.
Oval or linear leaf plates are pointed at the end. Their length is 4-12 cm and a width of 7-20 mm. On the edge of a dark green or blue-gray leaflet there are small teeth. The flip side is often covered with a purplish-red short pile.
In July, flowers collected in loose panicles at the top of the stem bloom. They persist for 30-50 days. Small regular corollas consist of 8 petals arranged in 2 rows. They have a round or square shape. Petals are painted in white, pink or raspberry color. The diameter of the flower is 25-30 mm. Flowering is accompanied by a strong honey aroma.
In August-September, the fruits ripen - fluffy curved seed capsules, similar to pods. A tiny oblong seed with a smooth surface has long, thin villi resembling a crest. The ripened fruits open and the wind carries seeds over long distances.
Types of fireweed
In total, more than 220 plant species are registered in the fireweed family. Many of them are found only in the wild, in the culture the following varieties are most often grown.
Narrow leaf fireweed (Ivan tea). A herbaceous perennial 50-150 cm high has strong creeping roots that form a large number of processes. The erect stem is branched weakly. It is densely covered with lanceolate sessile leaves. The foliage grows regularly and is randomly scattered along the stem, therefore it is difficult to track a single helix. Dark green or bluish leaves grow 4-12 cm in length and 0.7-2 cm wide. At the edges, the leaves are covered with small bluish glands, which acquire a purple-red or pink hue on the lower surface. Bisexual flowers up to 3 cm in diameter bloom in mid-July. They are collected in a loose brush 10-45 cm long at the top of the shoot. Flowers with soft pale pink or white obovate petals last until the end of summer. By September, the fruits ripen - fluffy curved achenes with small oblong seeds.
Fireweed is hairy. A plant with a height of 0.5-1.5 m is distinguished by a thick root and erect branched stems. On the entire surface of the shoot there is a perpendicular glandular pile. Opposite petiole leaves are oval or lanceolate on the sides covered with teeth. Their surface on both sides is also downy. Flowers bloom individually in the axils of the upper leaves. The cup in the form of a cut bell with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm consists of lilac, purple or dark pink obovate petals. Around the pestle is a ring of stamens. After pollination, a seed box 4-10 cm long matures, similar to an open pod.
Fireweed (Ivan tea) broadleaf. The plant is the most hardy. It is found in the arctic and subarctic zones. Shoots 50-70 cm long are covered with broad-oval or spear-shaped leaves with a pointed edge. The leaf length is 10 cm. The stem and edges of the leaves are painted in mauve and pubescent with a short pile. Flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences. They consist of dark pink wide petals. The diameter of the corolla reaches 3-5 cm.
Alpine fireweed. Grass 3-15 cm high has filiform roots and erect, unbranched stems with a smooth surface. Opposite naked leaves of broad-lanceolate form and small pinkish flowers grow on them.
Fireweed Glaberrium. Low-growing mountain grasses with lodging stems 10-90 cm high are densely pubescent. The shoots form a continuous carpet on the ground. Blue-green arcuate leaves grow opposite. In June-August, pink, white or red flowers bloom in the form of a wide-open bell.
Breeding methods
Ivan-tea is propagated by seed and vegetative methods. Seeds are picked fresh. In March, seedlings are pre-grown from them. To do this, prepare boxes with loose, fertile soil. A mixture of sand, peat and leaf humus is suitable. Small seeds are distributed on the surface, slightly pressed with a ruler and sprayed. The box is covered with a transparent material and placed in a well-lit place with a temperature of + 18 ... + 25 ° C. Shoots appear after 4-6 days. Seedlings with 2 real leaves are dived in separate pots. Landing in open ground, depending on the region, is carried out in May-June, when constant warm weather is established. Before planting, seedlings are hardened on the street for a week. It should be planted on a cloudy day or in light rain so that the seedlings do not suffer from the hot sun. In mid-summer, the length of the sprouts will reach 10-12 cm. Flowering will occur next year.
With vegetative propagation, the rhizome division method is used. It is better to do it in the early spring. A large plant is excavated on its own site or in a forest glade. It must be remembered that horizontal processes can be located 1.5 m from the main shoot. The dug root is carefully cleaned from the ground and the stolons are separated. Each dividend must have at least one growth point. The cut site is treated with ash and immediately planted a piece of wood in moist soil.
Care Rules
Fireweed is considered an unpretentious plant. It develops well with virtually no care. For planting, you should choose open sunny places or a slight shadow. So that tall stems do not break from the wind, Ivan tea is planted along the fences or walls of houses. Its creeping rhizome is quite aggressive and needs to be limited. To do this, the landing site is limited to slate or plastic sheets dug into the ground to a depth of 1 m.
The soil for planting should be loose and moderately fertile. It is recommended to add ash to it in advance. Fireweed grows very well in former conflagrations, so gardeners often pre-make a fire on the site.
The plant needs regular watering. In the absence of precipitation and on hot days, it is irrigated twice a week. It is advisable to do this in the evening, so that the sun does not burn leaves and flowers through drops of water.
Plants do not need regular feeding. Only on depleted soils in the spring a mineral complex is introduced once. It is recommended to loosen the soil at the roots monthly for better aeration. Young plants need to be protected from weeds. In the future, weeds will no longer bother the gardener.
In the fall, the ground part is cut to a height of 15 cm. In anticipation of snowless, frosty winters, the soil above the roots is covered with dry foliage or spruce branches, but the fireweed winter well and without shelter.
The plant is resistant to disease. Only in damp, shaded places does it suffer from powdery mildew, black leg and root rot. Sometimes aphids and spider mites settle on the leaves. From parasites, plants are sprayed with a soap solution. It is important not to use insecticides where the procurement of medicinal raw materials is carried out.
Composition and medicinal properties of Ivan-tea
The leaves, flowers and roots of fireweed are used in folk medicine as a medicine. The ground part is harvested during flowering. Immediately after the dew has passed, it is cut, dried in the shade in the open air, and then crushed and stored in cloth bags for a year. The roots are dug up in September. They are thoroughly washed and dried.
Ivan tea is rich in the following active substances:
- tannins;
- carbohydrates;
- flavonoids;
- pectin;
- trace elements (iron, manganese, copper);
- macrocells (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium);
- vitamins.
As the name implies, the medicine is prepared in the form of a decoction. It is water extracts that contain the largest amount of nutrients. Fireweed has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, astringent, sedative, antipyretic, hypnotic, vasoconstrictive and analgesic properties.
It is not necessary to drink it as a medicine in courses. Some people simply replace the usual tea and coffee with this decoction. Such a drug strengthens the body, helps fight colds and nervous disorders. Even doctors recommend drinking ivan tea for anemia, cholecystitis, hepatitis, cystitis, influenza, acute respiratory infections, gout, hypertension and cardioneurosis.
The drink is very popular among men and for good reason. With its help, the prevention of prostatitis, prostate adenoma, infertility, impotence and other sexual disorders is carried out.
Many drink ivan tea in any quantity without consequences, but for those who are prone to allergies, the first dose should be carried out with caution. Also, do not abuse the drink for people with increased blood coagulation, pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under 6 years of age.
Where else is the fireweed used?
Fireweed is often used in cooking. Dried leaves are added to meat dishes, salads and soups as a fragrant seasoning. Fresh young grass, like nettles, is added to borsch and other soups.
Thickets of fireweed near the apiary are indispensable. The plant is a good honey plant. During the summer, from 1 ha, bees will collect 400-800 kg of nectar. Fireweed honey is very healthy, it is rich in active substances and vitamins. There is a recommendation for strengthening immunity, combating nervous breakdowns and insomnia. Freshly harvested honey is liquid and greenish yellow. After a few weeks, the product crystallizes and becomes like whipped cream. The aroma is very delicate, and the taste is pleasant, soft.
Decorating the garden, fireweed is planted in groups near the curb, in the background of the flower garden, in rock gardens, and also on the high banks of fresh water bodies. Roots well strengthen soil in ravines and embankments. Inflorescences similar to candles form an airy pink haze above the undergrowth. The plant can be combined with umbrella flowers to achieve geometric diversity.
