Hemlock spotted - medicinal properties, applications, recipes

Other names for this plant include: speckled hemlock, omega, omega spotted, mace, head, tar, stink, poison umbrella.

Spotted hemlock is a biennial plant, from the Umbelliferae family, up to 2 meters high with branched, tubular stems. The stem is furrowed, has a bluish coating and reddish-brown spots. The leaves are large, bare, triple pinnate. The fruits are similar to dill seeds - grayish-green, ovoid.

The flowers are small, grouped in white umbels, and there are a large number of them on the plant. One of the characteristic features of hemlock is its smell; if you rub it in your hands, an unpleasant odor appears, similar to that of a mouse. Spotted hemlock blooms in June - August.

The plant is very poisonous. The name, hemlock, was given to this plant as a result of its effect on people, poisoning, one of the characteristic symptoms of which is severe headache and dizziness.

Due to the similarity of hemlock to other plants, it can be poisoned accidentally. In the first year, the leaves and roots of hemlock look like carrots or parsley, and once in the garden, they may well be used as a seasoning. It doesn't taste good. In the second year, hemlock looks like dill, which is also dangerous, or angelica, hogweed, and carrot.

Poisoning, sometimes fatal, also occurs when animals consume hemlock. For example, for a duck the lethal dose is 50-70 g of grass, for a horse - 2-3 kg, for a cow 4-5 kg.

As for people, this plant went down in history not only as a medicine, but also as a poison, which was used in Ancient Greece, Italy and other countries during public executions. In particular, the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, sentenced to death by an ancient court, was killed with such poison (cocaine).

You can find hemlock grass in different places; it grows as a weed in vacant lots, along roads, in vegetable gardens, on pastures, forest slopes, etc.

For medicinal purposes, the upper part of the herb is used, i.e. flowers, leaves, stems, fruits. It is better to harvest hemlocks during flowering, in Ukraine this is June-July-August.

Hemlock tincture with vodka. The most effective medicine from hemlock is considered to be an alcohol tincture of fresh herbs (leaves, umbels (seeds), young stems). The raw materials must be poured with vodka immediately after being picked, since cut hemlock grass has the ability to self-heat and in this case some of the medicinal properties are lost. Therefore, when harvesting hemlock, in a 3 liter jar, always with a lid, you must immediately pour a little vodka, 1-2 glasses, and as the jar is filled, shake the contents so that the herb is moistened. Fill the jar 1/3 full with fresh hemlock grass.

The only exception is hemlock inflorescences; if only these are harvested, the jar is filled to the top with them, and then filled with vodka, also to the top. Then close the jar tightly and put it in the refrigerator for 14-18 days.

If it is not possible to pour vodka into fresh hemlock grass immediately, then you can do this later, but no more than half an hour later.

Hemlock tincture with alcohol. If the hemlock has faded, then you can use green seeds and young leaves near the roots; these are also good raw materials. We take by volume (1:2), 1 part of leaves and green seeds and 2 parts of 90-97 degree alcohol (use drinking alcohol). Screw the jar tightly and put it in the refrigerator to infuse for 18 days.

People drink hemlock tincture in different ways; there are several methods for taking the tincture.

Method No. 1 According to one of the methods of Tishchenko V.V., the so-called “royal” method or method 1-40-1, in the morning, 1 hour before meals, drink 1 drop, diluting it in 1/2 glass of water. The next day, at the same time - 2 drops, and so, increase the dosage daily to 40 drops. Afterwards, the countdown begins, reducing 1 drop daily to zero, i.e. according to the 1-40-1 scheme. This is the most gentle method. For oncological diseases, 2-3 such courses are given in a row, possibly with a break of several days (1-7). Subsequently, for prevention, take 1-2 courses every 6-8 months, and so on for up to 2 years, i.e. until complete recovery.

Method No. 2 On the first day, take 1 drop (morning, afternoon and evening), on the second day - 2 drops (morning, afternoon and evening) and so increase the dosage to 40 drops. Afterwards, we do a countdown, decreasing according to the same pattern. For oncological diseases, you need to take 2-3 such courses, the tinctures you will need using this method are approximately 100 ml.

Method No. 3 According to this method, the dosage is increased even more sharply: first, on the 1st day, drink 1 drop in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, 3 in the evening. The next day in the morning - 4 drops, in the afternoon - 5, in the evening - 6 and so on up to 40 drops. Then do the countdown. If at some level it becomes bad, you need to stop and take the tincture in such an amount until the dizziness and other symptoms go away, and then continue according to the same scheme. For cancer, take 2-3 such courses. This course will consume approximately 250 ml of tincture.