Cowberry

National names: cowberry shrub, pine-forest berry, borovinka. Cowberry ordinary – an undersized long-term, evergreen bush from family cowberry. The stalk at a straight line plant, branchy in height reaches the 20-50th.

At cowberry the long horizontal creeping rhizome which up to 5 years expands underground and only for the 6th year comes to a surface and gives life to a young bush.

Dark green leathery brilliant leaves from below lighter and opaque, have the form of an ellipsis or an oval, with edges, slightly wrapped up down. If to look narrowly, then easily on them it is possible to see numerous points of a piece of iron.

Fragrant kolokolchaty small flowers of white or light pink color seem wax. They are collected in the 3-15-flowered short dense hanging brushes on the ends of last year's escapes. Cowberry blossoms in May-June long enough – 1 month or slightly longer. One flower keeps week.

Spherical berries at first white, and ripening, become dark red, have sweet-sour taste. They are small, their diameter no more than 1 cm and weight to 0.4 gr. Berries in August — September ripen.

Cowberry grows on the European part of Russia, in Siberia, in the Far East and in the Caucasus in the mixed and coniferous forests, bushes, the tundra, on the dried-up peat bogs, in pine forests, on old cuttings, in mountains and on swamps. One bush of cowberry lives up to hundred years.

In old times cowberry was prepared in large quantities. In the medicinal and cosmetic purposes use not only berries, but also cowberry leaves. Berries are picked when they completely kept up, and leaves during blossoming. Later leaves grow brown and lose the useful properties.

Leaves of cowberry contain: vitamin C, glucose, gallovy, cinchonic, vinnokamenny acids, tannins. Berries of cowberry contain: vitamin C, carotene, apple, lemon, oxalic, acetic, benzoic acids, pectin, potassium, manganese, tannins. Berries of cowberry are well stored.

Traditional medicine recommends

- Berries for a raising of immunity and prevention of colds.
- During cold the cowberry juice having antiseptic properties well satisfies thirst, reduces heat.
- It is also used at mouth diseases.
- Cowberry improves sight, increases quantity of red balls in blood, helps to cope with depressions and neurosises.
- Cowberry juice is drunk at the increased blood pressure.
- Cowberry is wetted, from it cook jams, jam.
- Broths from leaves apply at rheumatism, gout, diabetes, disorders of a digestive tract, diarrhea as diuretic at stones in kidneys, a gall bladder and also at liver diseases.
- Leaves are made as tea is drunk at fatigue.

- Infusion from cowberry leaves
To make 1 tablespoon of the crushed raw materials 1 glass of boiled water, to insist in a thermos 2 hours. To filter, accept ¼ glasses 3 times a day.

- At cold and flu
To pour ¼ glasses of juice of cowberry, to add a glass cool boiled water. To add 1-2 teaspoons of honey. To accept ¼ glasses of 4-5 times a day after a meal.

Cowberry has no contraindications!

Cowberry from antiquity is used in the cosmetic purposes

- The mask rejuvenating
Cowberry to wash out, crush, take 1 tablespoon of pulp, to add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of the soft wiped cottage cheese, it is good to mix. To put on a face for 15 minutes, to wash away at first warm water, then to wash cool.

- A face pack for the growing old skin
To mix cowberry juice with honey 1:1 and to put a brush on a face in 2-3 layers. In 15-20 minutes to wash away water of room temperature.

- The mask moistening
To mix 2 tablespoons of pulp of cowberry with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, to mix. To put on a face a thick layer for 15 minutes. To wash away warmish tea leaves of green tea. In five minutes to wash water of room temperature.

- In equal proportions to mix honey and juice of grapes. In the turned-out mix to moisten a gauze and to put on a face. To hold 20 minutes.

- Skin considerably will freshen up and will become elastic if regularly to wash cowberry water – 1 teaspoon of juice on 1 glass of the boiled cooled water.