Coniferous trees are a storehouse of useful elements. From ancient times to the present day, all the components of such trees are used: bark, shoots, needles and even cones. A larch woody plant has the same beneficial properties as other conifers. In folk medicine, larch fruits are used to make healthy syrup, and jam is made from them.

Botanical description and composition of larch cones

The Latin name for larch is Larix. It was introduced into the relevant literature in 1754. The exact etymology of the word is not known. According to some reports, the word “lar” is translated from the Gallic language as a qualitative characteristic and means “rich” or “plentiful”. Other scholars are inclined to think that the Latin term “laridum” is encrypted in the name, and it means “fat”, which is associated with a high resin content in the bark and larch wood. And although these trees are classified as pine, they still represent a separate category.

Important! It is advisable to collect medicinal raw materials in ecologically safe regions: in the mountains, near rivers or lakes, in wild forests. So the quality of the final drug product will be high.

The composition of larch cones includes:

• vitamin C;
• essential oils;
• gum (a medicinal substance containing anthocyanins and catechins);
• bornyl acetate;
• pinene;
• barneol;
• rosin (a resinous substance whose main component is abietic acid);
• tannins;
• organic acids.

Raw materials are harvested from October to April. The most important thing in the process is not to wait for the full maturity of the seeds. A green crop with proper storage preserves larch seeds for up to 4 years, and even after the indicated time they can be planted and they will germinate. Some collectors recommend storing cones for one year, and then recycling or disposing of them after cleaning seeds.

Useful and healing properties

All parts of the tree have been useful and used in folk medicine for many centuries. Speaking specifically about cones, there are two ways to use them: young green raw materials and ripe larch fruits. The latter have a bright saturated red color and a high concentration of tannins.

• People’s healers claim that the fruits of the coniferous tree have a complex effect on the body, namely:
• soothe;
• relieve inflammation of the mucous membranes;
• have an anthelmintic effect;
• relieve stomach cramps;
• help in the treatment of bronchitis and cough;
• disinfected;
• have a preventive effect, increasing the activity of the immune system;
• facilitate the condition of a patient suffering from kidney stones.

Did you know? Larch wood is second only to oak in hardness. It has a pleasant and deep, rich red-orange hue and is considered noble.

• List of diseases treated with hardwood drugs:
• colds, all diseases of the bronchi and lungs;
• rheumatism;
• avitaminosis;
• scurvy;
• purulent wounds and abscesses on the body and in the oral cavity;
• prostatitis;
• indigestion, flatulence.

Cones Recipes

Next are a few of the most popular ways of making medicinal edible products from deciduous cones, as well as simple rules for the use of this medicinal raw material.

Syrup

Syrup is prepared at the rate of 70–80 cones per 1 liter of water. In the enameled pan put the main component and fill it with water. Bring to a boil and then boil for 60 minutes. When the product becomes soft, add 1 kg of sugar and a teaspoon of citric acid to the mass. Cook the mixture for another 40 minutes, and then decant the syrup. The fruits of larch can also be eaten.

Dosage of syrup: 1 tbsp. l 3 times a day before meals. It is advisable to drink a little syrup with water. The use of this tasty and healthy medicine will help get rid of vitamin deficiency, strengthen blood vessels and joints, and improve appetite.

Decoction

The broth is prepared according to the previous scheme: 70 cones are placed in a pan per 1 liter of water. Boil for an hour, and then drain the water, filtering the broth through a sieve. The finished product is stored in a dark bowl in the cellar or refrigerator, not freezing. The cooled liquid is taken for 1 hour on an empty stomach before breakfast in order to enhance the production of bile, remove the pathogenic flora from the gastrointestinal tract and cleanse the intestines of toxins.

Tincture

The raw materials are washed, placed in half-liter sterile jars, placed plant material inside and filled with vodka or 70% alcohol. Insist for 10-21 days in a dark warm place. Young fruits are cut, and mature leaves are left intact. After this period, the mass must be filtered. Store in a dark container in a cool place or refrigerator. Reception is carried out 1 hour 3 times a day. You can add tincture to tea. Contraindications for use: alcoholism, hepatitis, stomach ulcer.

Jam

For jam, take 280-300 cones, fill them with 3 liters of water and cook in an enameled pan for at least 60 minutes. Young larch fruits should become soft, after which you can add 3 kg of sugar to the broth and cook for another 60 minutes over low heat until the sugar is completely melted and the sweet water turns into a viscous syrup.

Important! In this way, both green and mature cones are cooked. The healing characteristics of the product do not change from this.

At the end of cooking, 10 minutes before turning off the fire, you must add 1 teaspoon of citric acid. Pour the hot jam into the jars and immediately close the lids, allow to cool, put in the refrigerator.

Video: how to cook jam from larch cones

How to store cones

PA regular storage method is very important, because the natural material dries quickly, loses water, and, therefore, beneficial substances. To store hardwood raw materials, special barn rooms are being built. It is desirable that the structure was wooden, from a log house. The height of the floor above the ground: 70 cm. Length — 10 m, width - 9 m, height - from 2.5 m to 3 m. It is important to ensure good ventilation, dryness and heat during storage. The cones are loaded in small carts, distributing them into special compartments. Unloading is made from the cesspools of bins.

Did you know? Larch is the most common tree in the world. Some representatives of the species of these conifers live up to 700 years.

To prevent damage to plant material, the barn must be regularly cleaned and disinfected. For this, a 1% solution of the drug "DDT" is used. Spraying is carried out from a spray gun, spraying liquid onto the exterior walls, floor and soil under the structure. 0.5 m² of liquid is consumed per 1 m².

To store cones at home, they are first qualitatively dried in a dehydrator (dryer for fruits and vegetables) at a temperature of +45 ... + 50 ° С, and then they are put into canvas bags and stored in a room where the humidity does not rise above 30%.

Contraindications

• Acceptance of any drugs from larch cones is contraindicated in such conditions:
• pathological conditions of the central nervous system;
• lactation, pregnancy;
• a recent stroke or heart attack (less than a year);
• hepatitis, cirrhosis;
• stomach ulcer;
• renal failure.

With an allergic reaction to a decoction, tincture, syrup or jam, the patient may develop a rash, itching of the skin, nausea and vomiting. Do not self-medicate, and all folk remedies can be used only after consultation with your doctor.

If the tolerance of healing products is good, and all the raw materials are of high quality, and the medicine from the larch is prepared correctly, the beneficial effect will not take long. The forces of nature are always ready to come to the rescue of man and return him vitality and well-being.