The majestic evergreen tree with glossy, leathery leaves and edible fruit nicknamed laurel is no coincidence: the leaves like a laurel crowned, and the fruits are like drupe. The plant is poisonous, seeds, bark and leaves contain prussic acid, because at home to prepare dosage forms from it is not recommended. Laurel often bred for ornamental purposes, as a bright decoration of gardens and parks.

What is the laurel

Evergreen tree laurel (Prúnus laurocerásus) belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus plum. At the height of the plant is often reaches more than six to eight meters, has a large glossy top and matte bottom leaves like laurel. The fruit of the tree is edible, but the seeds contain prussic acid. It grows mostly in the wild in Asia Minor, Iran, the Mediterranean, on the island of Java, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Mexico, China, the United States (California and Florida).

He lives and feels comfortable in the shady laurel dense forests of beech and fir trees, boxwood and hornbeam, forming undergrowth for giant old trees. The plant grows well in a dusk where other trees do not have enough sunlight. Laurel withstand temperatures down to minus twenty degrees. It is very demanding to places of high humidity: its main thickets are possible only in the climatic regions of the world where the annual rainfall exceeds six hundred millimeters.

As used poisonous plant

The leaves are used for medical purposes plant, containing a large number of essential oils, glycosides, hydrocyanic acid, benzyl alcohol, steroids, tannins and a whole range of valuable minerals - zinc, molybdenum, barium, selenium Selenium in food - in small doses is useful , Manganese, nickel. The therapeutic effect of plants is associated with the process of degradation of the glycoside amygdalin in the intestine of the patient and the release of hydrocyanic acid, rendering anesthetic effect. Nitrogen poisons in small doses are potent immunomodulators, for use in the pharmaceutical plant for the treatment of cancer. Most often used for these purposes vodka infusions applied dropwise by daily capacity. This treatment is carried out against the background of strengthening therapy, with the reception of royal jelly, mummy, green tea Green tea , Large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Treatment of cancer is recommended together with the prevention of dysbiosis.

Fresh leaves of laurel preparing analgesic water used in the treatment of pain in the heart and in homeopathy in tuberculosis and other lung diseases and epilepsy. Fruits cultural garden plants contain poisons and are used in the food and cosmetic industries. Fruits look like cherries, big, black, grow grapes, specific taste, easy to quench your thirst. From the collected fruit is cooked jam, cook juices, wine. Pickled fruit a bit like olives. The bark and leaves of laurel are used for tanning, and wood of valuable plants produced beautiful and expensive furniture.

The most common laurel planted as a hedge for ornamental cultivation of garden and parkland in the form of borders and to strengthen the slopes. The plant can tolerate a haircut, and is used for a variety of topiary.

It is interesting

Blossoming cherry laurel highlights the sweet nectar, for a honey plant. However, hydrocyanic acid gets in the honey The benefits of honey: tasty recovery Because the use of such a food product is unsafe for humans because it causes poisoning. Laurel smell the flowers should not be afraid: the plant releases hydrogen cyanide when it is injured. The most dangerous laurel aged one to two years. In conjunction with potassium formed the strongest poison - cyanide, because after the leaves of the plant were in his hands, you must wash your hands thoroughly. Under laboratory conditions in a closed container with multiple leaves micronized plant adult rats die within an hour, while the air in the bank it would be enough for six hours. By increasing the portion of laurel leaves rat dies within five minutes. Laurel - a poisonous plant, all parts except the fruit, are dangerous to human health. The beauty of the wood can only admire.

Jeanne Pyatirikova

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