Yagel is ... What is this plant?

For some reason, it seems to many of us that we, modern people, can define any concept without unnecessary effort. And here not. It turns out that all this is no more than delusion and unsubstantiated self-confidence. Will we check?

Let's try to make a description of the plant, which is known even to the youngest student. For example, the yagel is ... Agree, except for a photograph of deer from the textbook on geography, little is left in the memory. And in vain, because this representative of the world of the flora has been the object of close attention of scientists all over the world for several years.

It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the assertion that the plant world of the tundra, while rather scanty, but still can not but cause increased interest in any curious person. Here, literally at every step there are practically unique specimens.

This article is aimed at acquainting the reader with such an unusual representative of the flora as lichen jag. We will talk about its properties, features and methods of application.

general information

Yagel is a plant that is also called reindeer moss. It belongs to the group of lichens of the genus Cladonia. This representative of the plant world grows both in cold and warm climate, in an open, well drained and ventilated environment. Most often it can be found in the alpine tundra. It should be noted that in addition to other features, it has an incredibly high frost resistance. This is due to branched thalli.

Yagel is a unique plant that grows incredibly slowly, for a year it rises only 3-5 mm. By the way, this is why it may take even several decades to restore pasture after grazing. This is the main reason for the constant migration of deer.

Chemical composition of yagel

Not everyone knows that deer moss contains a strong antibiotic, namely, usnicovoy acid. It is capable of killing almost all putrefactive bacteria. Local residents widely used such a rather important property. For them, the yagel is a kind of refrigerator, and not just a useful deer feed. So lichen on all sides obkladyvali meat, and it could lie for a long time and not spoil. Incidentally, this is why modern people use the yagel widely enough to produce various antibacterial drugs.

Yagel in the nature

The plant world of the tundra harbors a lot of mysteries and mysteries that have not yet been studied. For example, it should be noted that the aforementioned yagel is not only suitable for eating a large number of animals, but is often the basis of their nutrition. Its main lover is, as everyone knows, a deer that eats about 10 kg per day of valuable moss. In principle, the yagel is a plant that makes up 90% of the ration of these animals. Deer can get this lichen from under the snow, even if it is at a depth of 100 cm.

Of course, if the snow cover in some places is much deeper, the deer are looking for a yagel that grows on rocks or trees. Due to its high nutritional value, this moss is claimed as a fodder plant for many farm animals: pigs, cattle, etc.

Application of yagel in medicine

Information on the medicinal properties of yagel is still not so much, as we would like. For example, it is known that this plant is useful for cleansing and circulating blood, improving the performance of the heart and lungs. It is also used in the treatment of thrombophlebitis, varicose veins, atherosclerosis. In folk medicine of northern peoples, this moss is used as an enveloping agent in the treatment of cough, as well as gastric ulcer. Yagel helps the liver, improves the normal process of metabolism, improves the functions of the genitourinary system. Among other things, it is an excellent remedy for the thyroid gland: it, like nothing else on the planet, is effective for resorbing the nodes in it.

To date, modern chemists have already learned to isolate from the yagel usnicovuyu acid, from which produce drugs on alcohol or on an oil basis. They are not yet very widely used for the treatment of wounds and burns of varying severity.

Recipes

Why not prepare a decoction of deer moss? To do this, take 2 tbsp. L. Dried yagel, pour them 2 cups of cool water and bring to a boil, then cool and gradually use throughout the day.

Still from it it is possible to prepare curative and very dense jelly. To do this, 20-50 grams of yagel pour 750 grams of hot water, and then boil for half an hour. When cooled, the broth will turn into a dense and sufficiently slimy jelly. It can be filtered if necessary. Take should be half a glass for half an hour before meals 3-4 times a day or after 1 hour after eating. Depending on the severity of the ulcerous disease, this treatment can last from 15 days to six months. But, according to experts, herbalists, in the treatment must necessarily take breaks: every month for about 2 weeks.