Many people like to spend weekends in nature, walking in the woods, picking mushrooms, berries and herbs. However, if about mushrooms we are often warned and informed about dangerous species, then with berries everything is more complicated. At first glance, beautiful bright fruits seem harmless, and it is very difficult to understand which ones are poisonous. For example, in our forests, a common wolfberry, which can cause not only food poisoning, but also lead to death. Therefore, it will be useful to learn more about this. forest plant, its positive and negative qualities.
What is wolfberry - why is it called so
The popular name "wolfberry" is combined a large number of berry bushes and herbaceous plants with fruits of black, white, red, orange... These plants got their name not because they are food for wolves. It was just that earlier it was believed that the wolf personifies evil, treachery, meanness, death, so the wolfberry looks harmless, but in fact has a harmful toxic effect.
Description of poisonous shrubs and plants - fruit color, photo
Throughout the summer, many useful forest berries: strawberries, currants, blueberries, raspberries, lingonberries, bird cherry. Just do not forget that poisonous berries grow next to them, causing acute poisoning. Even if there are not so many of them, everyone needs to know how they look, especially if you take children into nature. The list of poisonous fruits is:
- belladonna;
- lily of the valley may;
- Boxthorn;
- bittersweet nightshade;
- honeysuckle;
- daphne;
- girlish grapes;
- raven eye;
- calla;
- buckthorn is brittle;
- snowberry.
Wolf bast or wolfberry - what it looks like
Daphne (wolfberry) - decorative evergreen shrub, maximum height which reaches 150 centimeters. The stems of the plant are straight, covered with gray bark, with few branches. Leaves are oblong, alternate, keep on short petioles, have a smooth and hard surface. In the spring, the plant is covered with beautiful tubular, four petals, flowers. The color of the buds ranges from light pink, white to hot pink. By autumn, the flowers ripen into oval, deep red (sometimes yellow) fruits, resembling barberry in appearance.
All parts of the shrub (bark, stem, flowers, berries, leaves) are toxic. For example, the moist bark of a plant leaning against the skin causes severe irritation and pain. If a few drops of wolfberry juice get in, a burn occurs, which is characterized by redness, blisters and sores. Berries are considered deadly, 5 pieces of fruit are enough to cause severe poisoning.
Signs of wolf bast poisoning are:
- profuse salivation and problematic swallowing;
- pain in the intestines, accompanied by vomiting with blood impurities;
- a burning sensation on the mucous membrane of the oropharynx and mouth;
- diarrhea;
- irritation of the conjunctiva of the eye;
- convulsions, weakness, fainting.
Raven eye
It's perennial small plant, no more than 40 cm high. The raven eye or cross-grass has a long branchy root shoot, a straight and smooth stem, topped with a rosette of four (rarely five) leaves. The shape of the leaves of the raven's eye is oval or ovoid, pointed at the ends. The arrangement of the leaves is cruciform. In the center of the peduncle, a greenish-yellow flower blooms in spring. In late July - early August, a round blue-black berry is formed from a flower, up to 1 centimeter in diameter, covered with a slimy bloom.
Crow berry plant is often found in conifers and broadleaf forests, where there is shady place and a lot of moisture. The plant and its berries contain a deadly poisonous substance - saponin paristifin. A lethal outcome is caused by a dose of 10 berries. In case of poisoning with the fruits of the raven's eye, the following symptoms are observed:
- sore throat;
- burning sensation in the mouth;
- nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain;
- dizziness, significant dilation of the pupils;
- Strong headache;
- diarrhea;
- interruptions in heart rate;
- heart failure;
- convulsions;
- cessation of breathing, paralysis of the respiratory center.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is a creeping, upright, climbing shrub that represents the genus of honeysuckle. The plant can have a height of 60 to 120 centimeters, and some varieties grow up to 5 meters. The length of the honeysuckle leaves is 2-3 centimeters, located on the office petioles, they are oblong, have a bright shade on top, and pale below. Honeysuckle flowers, like berries, can be varied - white, yellow, blue, pink. The plant blooms in the second half of May.
In the middle of summer, honeysuckle bears fruit. Berries have different shape, color and taste. There are varieties of fruits sweet, sour, sweet and sour, with bitterness, pineapple or strawberry aroma. Fruit color - dark blue, red, black, orange. The shape of the berry is spherical or oval. The plant is found in forests, it is grown in nurseries, used in summer cottages, vegetable gardens. Not all varieties of honeysuckle berries can be eaten, some of them are poisonous. The distinguishing feature of the edible fruit is its color. Only elongated blue and black berries are eaten.
Dereza vulgaris (goji) - Chinese berry for weight loss
Goji is a non-poisonous plant native to China, and its berries have beneficial properties and are widely used in medicine. The fruits of the common wolfberry are very similar to the barberry, they have the same shape and color. As part of the berry great amount useful substances such as:
- minerals (21 items);
- amino acids;
- fruits contain B vitamins and a lot of vitamin C;
- beta carotene;
- polysaccharides;
- iron;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- monosaccharides;
- selenium.
Chinese doctors recommend the use of goji berries as a multivitamin supplement to food. It is believed that the fruit of dereza slows down the aging process, can help in the fight against diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, crayfish. Chinese nutritionists add goji berries to the diet for weight loss, as they:
- Promote the production of growth hormone, due to which the body burns fat.
- The berry contains a small amount of carbohydrates and has a low calorie content, therefore it is allowed subject to the Ducan diet.
- Dereza fruits prevent the formation of harmful free radicals, thereby relieving stress that the body carries during the diet.
- Fatty acids in the berry help accelerate metabolism, remove toxins.
- Eating wolfberry fruit improves vision.
- Helps eliminate violations of the diuretic system.
It is impossible to guarantee one hundred percent weight loss when eating goji berries. The rate of weight loss depends not only on the fruits, but also on the chosen diet, diet, menu, individual characteristics organism. On average, when eating berries, 1-2 kilograms are lost per week. During the diet, in parallel with the berries, it is necessary to eat only healthy food, reduce or completely abandon flour products. Affect the rate of weight loss physical exercise and regular long walks on fresh air... Dereza fruits are brewed like tea, added to cereals.
Useful properties of wolfberry and its uses
Wolfberry is actively used in medicine to treat diseases:
- hearts;
- nervous system;
- kidney;
- liver;
- the immune system;
- eye;
- joints;
- intestinal tract.
From wolf berries to folk medicine decoctions and tinctures are prepared, which are then used to treat pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, sciatica, paralysis, sore throat, tinnitus, cardiovascular diseases. Medicinal property the whole plant (fruits, root, juice, leaves, stem), which is harvested only in dry weather, is completely toxic, as well as toxic. Due to the toxicity official medicine wolfberries are not used. The fruits are added to homeopathic medications for the treatment of skin diseases.
- For the treatment of constipation, not berries are actively used, but the bark of the Dereza plant. To do this, take dry bark (30 gr.), Finely chop. Pour the resulting mixture with 200 grams of 30% alcohol, let it brew for 10 days. Take 1 teaspoon of tincture once a day.
- With increased acidity of gastritis, dereza leaves are used. Take 10 grams each dried leaves oregano, plantain, nettle, wolfberry, add half a glass of water, boil for 10 minutes. Drink ready-made herbal tincture three times a day after meals, 70 ml.
What to do with symptoms of poisonous plant poisoning
If you do not help a person who has poisoned with wolf berries in time, a lethal outcome is inevitable. The poisonous properties of the plant and its fruits spread through the body very quickly. With symptoms of poisoning with berries of any poisonous plant, you need to urgently call an ambulance or take the victim to the nearest hospital. While you are waiting for a doctor, do the following:
- Try to free your stomach of poisonous berries. Induce vomiting. Make a gastric lavage from the fruits: give the victim to drink a lot of water (1-3 liters) with the addition of activated charcoal (4 tablespoons per liter) or potassium permanganate, induce vomiting again so that the remaining fruits come out. Repeat the procedure several times.
- If there are medicines, give the patient any heart and laxative remedy, because the toxic effect of the fruits of the plant causes cardiac arrest, desiccation of the body and shock.
- When a person has convulsions, after eating the fruits of a poisonous plant, use chloral hydrate or milk, starch solution.
- After emergency care from poisoning with berries or a plant, put the victim in bed, wrap him with a blanket, put warm heating pads and wait for a doctor.
Wolf berries are sometimes called forest honeysuckle. It is better to just admire poisonous wolf berries and not touch them with your hands. Wolf's bast "... All parts of the wolf's bast are poisonous!
In nature, wolf bast grows in forests, lowlands and mountainous areas. The flowers are white (in the alba form), cream or lilac-pink, the berries are red. Retusa (sometimes called plants, Daphne retusa).
Wolfberry - benefits and harms
It just so happened that under the term "wolf berries" are different concepts. Firstly, wolf berries are one of the popular names for a shrub called wolf bast (other names are wolfberry, wolf, daphne).
Despite the fact that they look very appetizing, in no case should you eat them, as they are highly poisonous! However, in the wolfberry, all parts of the plant are poisonous. You can distinguish it from a wolf by two signs: its berries on short pedicels depart from the nodes (that is, from where the leaves come from), and not from internodes. Bite through a berry - and at the first moment you feel a sweetish taste, but almost immediately you feel a strong bitterness in your mouth, which then does not go away for a long time.
Its blue, with a bluish bloom, the berries have a delicate aroma and a bitter-sour taste, reminiscent of blueberries, contain many useful substances and are valued as medicinal. And, finally, "wolf berries" is the collective popular name for all berries with black or red berry-like fruits that are inedible or poisonous.
Wolfberry poisonous: description, application
Its fruits are not berries, but drupes; They are slightly edible, have a laxative, and fresh ones also have an emetic effect. I liked very much that this article made a distinction between their real properties. And in general, the article turned out to be very useful for me. Are given nice photos that allow you to see and understand which berries are unsafe.
It is because of this term that some people manage to find a simpler, cheaper berry with the same name. And they find - poisonous plant, with rather attractive currant-like berries. Wolf's bast is a small shrub with bright red fruits. Fashionable in recent times landscape design does not do without a plant up to 5 m high. In the spring, the wolfberry blooms almost like a lilac, and by autumn it "acquires" fruits.
Daphne (wolf bast) in garden design
Wolf "in the people called everything unkind, useless and even deadly. By the way, sometimes "Russian goji" is called a wolf's bast - a small shrub found in forests Middle lane... People use poisonous berries to prepare tincture against the Colorado potato beetle. True, in this respect, "organic" poison is no less "safe" than synthetic drugs.
Wolf's bast is used in folk medicine. In Nepal, wolf bast is used to make local paper... There is also information that the bast is part of some medical supplies to maintain immunity. True, there is no more specific information on it, and one should not forget that homemade recipes with poisonous plants are not at all what should be advised via the Internet. A small poisonous plant, widespread throughout Russia and Ukraine, differs in that the berries ripen on it singly, and not with a brush, like in other species discussed in the article.
First of all, do not believe that useful goji grows in our forests and you can collect it yourself. Fans of digging at their summer cottage manage to order cuttings from China and grow goji at home, so to speak, conditions. Poisonous wolfberry resembles currant in appearance, which is why it is easy to distinguish it from common wolfberry.
The berries contain the poison solanine. A significant dose of berries can kill a person. The wolf's bast is even more dangerous, as it outwardly resembles the notorious goji. True, for those who want to save money, it will not be so easy to find it. It is a wild-growing small shrub with red berries that vaguely resemble barberry. Symptoms of bast poisoning are almost the same as those of privet - a person starts to feel sick, salivation increases, in some cases paralysis occurs.
Wolfberry, or, if we take the popular name, privet, is a shrub widespread in the Caucasus, Moldova, and Ukraine. In many articles on the Internet, forest honeysuckle (common) is mistakenly equated with wolf berry (wolfberry endowing it with the same poisonous properties as wolfberry.
Botanical characteristic
Common wolfberry, in translation - Daphne mezereum, the plant also has a number of other names, for example, wolf bast, boron wolf pepper, wolf berries. Its height is no more than a meter, but sometimes it can reach 200 centimeters. This shrub is covered with yellow-gray bark, which is somewhat wrinkled.
The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, they are green above, and slightly bluish below, they are narrowed into a rather short petiole closer to the base, alternate, crowded at the ends of the branches. The flowers are pink in color, sessile, fragrant, their smell is a bit like hyacinth, a nail-shaped corolla.
Three flowers are located in the axils of the leaves that have remained from last year. Characteristic feature this shrub is considered to be the fact that it begins to bloom even before the first leaves appear.
As for the fruits, they are light red berries, which have an ovoid, somewhat elongated shape, which makes them recognizable, and this is important, since they are very poisonous, and in no case should you eat them!
Spreading
The wolf bast shrub is widespread in the European part of our country, in Siberia, in the Caucasus. He prefers to localize in a shady area, and the soil should be fertile, well fertilized. You can see him on the forest edges.
Part used
WITH therapeutic purpose in the common wolfberry, flowering branches are used, as well as bark. These parts of the plant contain coumarins, moserein, glycosides, daphnin, gum, resins, dyes, and wax.
Collection and procurement
It is customary to harvest bark in early spring before the flowering of the wolf bast. Since the plant is extremely poisonous, it is necessary to collect raw materials only with rubber gloves, and after work, you should thoroughly wash your hands with soap, so as not to accidentally introduce toxic substances into the oral cavity.
The collected raw materials should be cut into smaller pieces and placed in an automated drying chamber in which the optimal temperature regime, in this case it should not exceed fifty degrees.
When the raw material is completely dry, it should be packaged in cloth bags, which should be sewn from natural materials... It is recommended to place them in a ventilated area. The shelf life should not exceed three years, since after this time the bark will exhaust its medicinal properties and become unusable.
Wolf berries - application:
Let me remind you once again, dear reader, that the plant is very poisonous! However, in the past, the poisonous berry of the wolf bast was used as a laxative, poultices were prepared from its bark, which were used to treat abscesses and boils.
In homeopathy, wolf bast berries have found their application, of course, these drugs must be used on the recommendation of a doctor, for example, there is such a remedy as Mezereum, it is produced from fresh wolfberry bark, and is prescribed for dermatological diseases, for example, with eczema, dermatitis, with trophic ulcers, with itchy rashes and herpes zoster.
Warning
If the juice of a plant in a concentrated form gets on the skin, then this can lead to severe burns, which can even cause tissue necrosis. Therefore, if by chance it happened similar situation, it is worth immediately rinsing the causal area with a 2% manganese solution.
The first signs of poisoning with berries will be expressed by the following symptoms, unbearable burning sensation in the mouth, pain in the epigastric region, dyspeptic symptoms, which will manifest itself with nausea and subsequent vomiting, as well as possible disturbances from the nervous system in the form of seizures.
In this case, you should immediately call an ambulance, and while she is traveling, you need to repeatedly flush the stomach, and drink about twenty tablets of activated carbon, and wait for the arrival medical staff... Remember, it is enough for a person to consume literally a couple of wolf bast berries, and this can be fatal from cardiac arrest, so be very careful!
Recipes
Preparation of the broth. You will need twenty grams of bark, which should be pre-crushed and covered with boiling water. After that, the container should be placed on the stove and evaporated until exactly half of the liquid remains. It should be taken one drop three times a day, after dissolving it in a small amount of boiled water.
Preparation of the tincture. Take one gram of bark per sixty milliliters of alcohol or vodka, and place the container in a dark place for one week, shake the drug daily, and then filter, and take a drop, diluted in water, three times a day.
Preparation of the ointment. You will need five milliliters of tincture, which must be mixed with ten grams butter... The resulting mixture can treat joints with arthritis, as it will have a slight analgesic effect. Store the drug only in the refrigerator.
Conclusion
Remember, the poisonous wolfberry plant is quite dangerous, so be extremely careful when collecting and using it, while it is advisable to consult a doctor in order to clarify the dose of drugs taken.
Summer is a time of rest in the country, in the forest. Some plants growing in your area are not dangerous, while others can be deadly poisonous. Today we would like to consider the wolfberry: study it beneficial features as well as dispel some myths.
Since childhood, our grandmother told us about poisonous properties wolfberry. However, few people know that there are several varieties of such berries. For example, Belladonna is a venomous species, while Dereza vulgaris is not. Thus, wolfberry is a collective popular name that includes many varieties of the plant. Also poisonous are Wolfberry and Crow's Eye. or dizziness may be Buckthorn Brittle and Snowberry. The plant is not poisonous. Real honeysuckle.
In addition to what was previously written, other inedible plants that have a specific color, for example, bright red, are often referred to as wolfberry. Thus, the red elderberry and some types of black are also in some way a wolfberry.
A short shrub with small red berries that look a lot like goji, it is a standard wolfberry. It is this plant that is most often presented during the stories of parents or grandmothers.
Beneficial features
As already noted, only two species of wolfberry are not poisonous - Dereza and Real Honeysuckle. However, only the fruits of the first bush are suitable for consumption. Decoctions and teas are made from these berries, about them it comes just below.
It is very difficult to get a wolfberry in Russia. Its habitat is Ukraine, the Caucasus and Moldova. But, if you manage to buy Dereza somewhere, you will forever forget what a cold, a runny nose, etc. is, because this plant strengthens the immune system, making the body more resistant to disease.
Other types of wolf berries cannot boast of such properties, but they can be useful in the household. From poisonous fruits, some gardeners make poison for pests. It is worth noting that such are quite effective, but they do not differ much from purchased substances: store-bought poisons and those made on their own harm the garden. It is categorically impossible to touch the wolfberry remedy: once it gets into the smallest wound, it causes poisoning, moreover, it is quite serious.
Plants that look attractive are used for decoration suburban area and garden. For example, privet will perfectly complement the landscape design, forming a hedge.
Some types of wolfberry are used medicinally for manufacturing. And in Nepal, local firms from wolf bast produce paper.
Thus, although poisonous fruits are unusable, they have become an integral part of industry and decoration.
Wolfberry fruit
Wolfberry is relatively easy to recognize among other plants. The poisonous plant grows in a forest area, very similar to currants. However, where the wolfberry grows, the currant cannot exist. The color of the wolf's bast is peculiar: the berries are dark, they can have a purple hue. Same distinctive feature- the surface of the fruit is glossy. In this regard, it is impossible to confuse a plant with a dereza.
The berries contain solanine, a very strong poison. If you eat a dozen fruits, then a person will experience dizziness, indigestion, weakness, vomiting, and impaired coordination of movements. But a large dosage can kill, moreover, in a short time.
There is also a wolfberry with red fruits. They strongly resemble goji, but are identical in properties to black fruits. Very often, citizens who want to lose weight go in search of locals. As a result, they end up in a hospital in serious condition. Remember, although the berries are similar to the famous weight loss product, they have nothing in common except appearance, Dont Have.
Wolfberry leaves
Each shrub has its own leaf shape. In this regard, it is difficult to remember certain types of wolfberry from the foliage. It is worth noting that the leaves are also poisonous, just like the root, trunk and, of course, the berries themselves.
Dereza leaves, small, oblong, have a clear oval shape, the tip is slightly pointed. The color is deep green.
The foliage is of no value. It is not used for making medicinal tea or decoction.
The use of wolfberry
As already noted, wolfberry is used in medicines, as it has a number of beneficial properties:
- normalizes the work of the heart;
- nervous system;
- kidney and liver;
- supports immunity;
- treats diseases of the eyes, joints and intestines.
Dereza is very similar to barberry. It turns out to be very tasty, and also healthy drink... Below is a tea recipe.
Prepare a spoonful of barberry and 250 ml of water. Grind the wolfberry by passing it through a meat grinder or using a blender. Put the berry mass in a thermos. Fill it up hot water, but not boiling water, because Dereza will lose all its properties. Wait half an hour for the tea to brew. You can use this drink instead of regular tea.
Is wolfberry dangerous
Dereza is rich in minerals, amino acids, vitamins B and C, iron, polysaccharides, etc. If you consume even a small amount of harmful fruits, you will find yourself in a hospital bed. And if you eat berries in large quantities, then a lethal outcome is possible. Rarely do doctors manage to save a person.
This shrub is no higher than one meter. However, if the plant is grown, creating it favorable conditions, then it can grow up to 2.5 meters in height (for example, a wolf bast bush in a garden or park). IN spring the stems of the plant are bare, and pink blossoms on the branches fragrant flowers located in the axils of leaves that fell last year. Each bosom contains three flowers.
The trunk, along with the branches, has a gray-brown color. Leaves are ovoid. The fruit of the plant is light red, its shape is also ovoid.
From February to the end of March, this plant blooms beautifully, and on the territory of Russia, the period of its flowering is April-May. Wolf's bast grows in poorly lit places, on soil with big amount nutrients. You can meet this shrub in the floodplain forest or on the edges of the forest.
The healing properties of wolf bast
The plant contains poisonous substances in all its parts: meserine resin (which causes indigestion and blisters and redness on the skin) and daphrin glycoside (leads to rapid bleeding). The bark of the plant was found to contain resins, dyes and wax. Wolf bast fruit is a source of bitter and coloring substances, fat, cocognin and essential oil.
Given the fact that this is a poisonous plant, it can only be taken after the permission of a doctor. Preparations of wolf bast have antiepileptic, analgesic, laxative and hypnotic effects on the human body.
The use of wolf bast
Let us remind once again that preparations of wolf bast should be used in homeopathic doses and only when your doctor gives permission for this. You need to take the preparations of this plant carefully and slowly. An infusion of this plant is used externally for radiculitis, neuralgia, tumors, sciatica. This remedy has irritating and blistering properties. In some cases, a tincture or decoction is used for angina, dysentery, jaundice and even colds.
In the presence of a toothache, the wolf's bast has an analgesic effect.
A decoction of wolf bast. You need to take 2 grams of plant flowers and pour 20 ml of boiling water over them. We put the composition on fire for 20 minutes. Having removed the broth from the heat, it must be immediately filtered, and the raw material must be squeezed out. The resulting volume must be brought to 250 ml with boiling water. It is recommended to take such a decoction 5 drops three times a day.
Wolf bast powder. This medicine relieves a person from toothache. It is very easy to make it yourself, because for this you only need to collect the flowers of the plant and grind them into powder. Next, take this powder and rub it on the sore spot. After that, you need to rinse your mouth with warm boiled water.
Broth-sleeping pill from wolf bast. 4 grams of plant roots filled with a glass of boiling water should be put in a water bath for 30 minutes. After the broth is infused for a quarter of an hour, it must be filtered. It is necessary to take such a medicine before meals, 1 teaspoon twice a day.
Tincture of wolf bast fruit. Take half a glass of 70% alcohol and fill it with 1 gram of the plant's fruit (you can bark). Leave the composition for 7 days to infuse. Strain ready-made product with gauze. It is recommended to take such a drug before meals three times a day. Before taking this tincture, it must be diluted. For example, drop 2 drops of the tincture into a spoonful of water.
Wolf bast poisoning
All parts of the wolf bast contain poison, so it is enough for a person to eat 3-5 berries of the plant - and he will die.
Signs of poisoning are as follows:
- vomit;
- abdominal pain;
- urine with blood;
- diarrhea;
- increased salivation.
Death can occur if the heart stops.
Poisoning measures. The first step is to rinse the stomach, and then enter Vaseline oil... In no case should a laxative be used for poisoning with this plant. The main goal is to eliminate irritation of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, for which you need to let the victim hold pieces of ice in his mouth, lubricate the mucous membranes with dicain, and inside the poisoned person must take anesthesin.
Be careful, do not stop near the wolf's bast, pass by!
Wolf's bast tincture
To prepare it, take 10 grams of plant bark (crushed) and pour half a glass of alcohol (70%). Leave the composition for 2 weeks in a dark room. You need to take the tincture three times a day, 1 drop, but every day the dose should be increased by 1 drop. When a single dose is 30 drops, start counting in the reverse position, that is, reduce the dose by 1 drop. Dilute the tincture with 100 ml of water before taking. The course of such treatment is 60 days. After taking a break for 14 days, you can resume the course, or take another poison.