Heath Speedwell

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Veronica Officinalis, Heath Speedwell, Common Gypsyweed, Common Speedwell, Paul’s Betony

It is widespread in the European part, Crimea, and the Caucasus. Prefers deciduous and coniferous forests, ravines, clearings and meadows.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Plantaginaceae family. The stem is creeping, branched, and up to 50 cm long. The leaves are opposite, oblong, toothed, and gently fluffy, with short petioles. Blooms from June to August.

The flowers grow in the axils of the leaves and form a brush. They have a four-part calyx, a four-toothed blue, sometimes purple and even a white corolla and only 2 stamens. Medicinal raw materials are leafy tops of the plant.

Collect them at the beginning of flowering, cutting with a knife at the very ground. Dry quickly and carefully to avoid shedding flowers and loss of natural color. Raw materials contain tannins, bitterness, glycosides, essential oil, vitamins, saponins, carotene, organic acids, tannins, and fatty oils.

German doctors call this plant European tea and consider it the best remedy in the treatment of bronchial and pulmonary diseases. Veronica’s preparations has hemostatic, soothing, antiseptic, antipruritic, fungicidal, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, broncholytic, antitussive, and appetite-stimulating properties.

They are taken orally for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gastric atony, colic in the intestines, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, dry cough, bronchial asthma, gout, gallstones and kidney stones, headache, increased nervous excitability and insomnia, especially during menopause, kidney diseases, externally in the treatment of purulent wounds, fungal skin lesions, sunburn, boils and itching of the genitals due to diabetes and gynecological diseases.

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