Treatment for the first symptoms of a cold When the first signs of the disease appear, in order to prevent further development of the cold, you can use alternative medicine recipes. Onion infusion Chop one onion and pour a glass of boiling water. Cover with a lid and leave for 5-10 minutes. Drink the entire glass in one gulp. Phytoncides (bioactive substances that can suppress pathogenic bacteria), which onions contain in large quantities, will quickly help cope with the disease at an early stage. Bath with essential oils and sea salt Essential oils for taking a bath You can take a warm bath only in the absence of high temperature. Prepare a bath (t no higher than 38 °C). Add 200-250 grams of special salt and 15 drops of eucalyptus oil, peppermint, sage or rosemary to the water. The duration of the procedure is no more than 15 minutes. Afterwards, the patient needs to wipe himself dry, lie down and warm up under the blanket. Additionally, you can drink warm tea with raspberries, lemon, ginger or honey. At the first symptoms of a cold, gargling and rinsing the nasal cavity are helpful. These procedures cleanse the mucous membranes of viruses and moisturize them. You need to rinse your nose with warm saline solution 2-3 times during the day. The rinsing solution is easy to prepare yourself. In a liter of clean water, stir 1 teaspoon of ordinary salt and 2-3 drops of iodine. It is recommended to gargle with diluted furatsilin or a soda solution (1 teaspoon per 200 ml of warm water). In the initial stages, colds respond well to treatment. Treatment of colds and runny nose with folk remedies One of the unpleasant symptoms of a cold is a runny nose. It is manifested by copious mucus discharge from the nose. You can overcome it with folk remedies: Nasal rinsing. It can be made not only with saline solutions, but also with decoctions of medicinal herbs (field chamomile, calendula). To prepare a decoction, add a pinch of herb to a glass of water and cook in a steam bath until it boils. Allow to cool and strain; Nasal drops. A couple of times a day, drop 3-4 drops of Kalanchoe juice or freshly squeezed beet juice into each nasal passage. You can prepare a medicine from onion juice and vegetable oil by mixing them in a 1:1 ratio; Inhalations. They provide a mild and long-lasting effect of the drug on the nasal mucosa. Inhalations are carried out with a special inhaler or in the traditional way (inhaling steam over a container). For inhalation, you can use any alkaline mineral water (without gas), decoctions of medicinal plants (pine needles, eucalyptus, chamomile). You can do inhalations by adding 2-3 drops of essential oil; Dry heating. Pour heated salt or peas into a small fabric bag. Apply a warm bag to the nasal sinuses. Hold until it retains heat. Repeat warming up in the morning and evening. Folk remedies for colds and sore throats Often a cold is accompanied by pain and a sore throat. You can get rid of them using alternative medicine recipes: Gargling. The procedure is repeated 3-4 times a day. You can rinse with garlic water (chop 2 medium cloves, add hot water, after an hour the medicine is ready), diluted tincture of calendula or eucalyptus (dilute 1 teaspoon in a glass of warm water), infusion of sage or chamomile (brew a tablespoon of dry herb with 200 ml of boiling water , leave for about an hour), clove tincture (steam 10 pieces in a glass of boiling water, leave for 40 minutes); Lubricating the mucous membrane and tonsils with sea buckthorn oil 3 times a day; Onion juice (not used for treating children). Adults take 1 tablespoon twice a day. After squeezing, the pulp is used as a compress on the neck. How to treat a cough due to a cold at home Radish with honey. Wash the black radish fruit and cut off the tail. Make a hole inside and put 2-3 teaspoons of honey into it. The radish should be infused for at least 4 hours. After which, the resulting juice is drunk 3 times a day. For small children, 1-2 teaspoons are enough, children over 6 years old and adults take 1-2 tablespoons. Radish juice thins mucus well and promotes its removal; Inhalations based on essential oils, alkaline solutions or steam from boiled potatoes. Medicinal substances in a vapor state enter the respiratory tract and instantly affect the inflamed mucous membranes. Inhalations are used to treat both non-productive (without sputum) and productive (with sputum) cough; Rubbing with fat. Fat of animal origin is used: badger, goat, bear. First you need to melt it in a steam bath, and then rub it on the patient’s chest. If the cough is accompanied by wheezing, you can add a pinch of dry mustard to the fat. The result of treatment is noticeable after 3 days; Plantain decoction. Has a good expectorant effect. Pour a small pinch of dry leaves with a glass of boiling water and let it brew for 4 hours. Take the strained drink 30 minutes before meals, 2-3 sips three times a day. Additional measures for colds All unpleasant symptoms of a cold - runny nose, headache, sore throat, fever - indicate that the patient's body is fighting the disease. To help him, it is necessary to provide favorable conditions and good care: at high temperatures - keep to bed; drink a lot. Warm, plenty of fluids help remove toxins from the body; food should be light, but complete; eat more foods containing vitamins. It can be juices, vegetables, fresh fruits; maintain the microclimate in the room: the air should be humid and slightly cool (about 20 ° C), this prevents the spread of pathogenic microbes.
Zvezdovik (geastrum)
Seeing a star on which something round sits, even experienced mushroom pickers are amazed, beginning to wonder whether such a miracle has flown into the Russian forest from another planet. Star mushrooms are rare mushrooms, and people don’t always notice them - simply because they focus on the classic image of a mushroom as a cap on a stem. The round ball on the star does not fit into the usual concept, and the gaze of the miners slips past. Meanwhile, starbursts are one of the most unusual mushrooms in the world. There is no need to collect them, but it is interesting to stop and admire this quirk of nature.
The Latin name for stars - Geastrum (geastrum) - connects two roots: "earth" and "star". Starworts settle on dense leaf lining or vegetation debris. Being a saprotroph, starweeds close the cycle of substances by processing plant organic matter and returning inorganic compounds to the soil, which can be used by living trees as nutrients.
The young mushroom has a peculiar shell. As it grows, it ruptures, forming a stellate structure that raises the sac with spores. It turns out to be an exotic mushroom, which is difficult to recognize as such.
Starfish settle all over the world and almost everywhere. Some species prefer open and high places under deciduous trees, others choose dark coniferous thickets, there are. Fungal colonies can exist in one place for many years, since the spores are well preserved in a dense round pouch on top. Often, in place of one mushroom, another germinates. And if you find one starfish, you can find several more within a radius of several meters.
Some species of starfish are edible at a young age; the fruiting body with the shell can be eaten even raw. But the advisability of such eating is, generally speaking, questionable. And determining the species is a difficult task even for specialists. It’s easier not to take risks, leaving the stars in their place.
The starfish shown in the photographs in this article were not found in the forest or even in the park. They were discovered almost by accident in the city, during a leisurely walk along a sparsely populated path along an industrial area. Based on pictures on the Internet, I identified the mushroom I found as the striped starfish. Its distinctive feature is the characteristic cracked stripes on the star. But it is possible that this is a fringed starweed or some other representative of the family.
The star mushroom is a typical representative of the mushroom kingdom, belonging to a fairly large family of star mushrooms. Note that this species belongs to the group of conditionally edible eukaryotes, which are widely used both in cooking and in folk medicine.
Appearance Features
A mushroom like starburst, in addition to its main name, is also known as geastrum or earthen star. The fruiting body grows under the surface of the earth, forming a kind of bag. During the process of growth, the mushroom cap comes out, pushing its way out, while its surface bursts, which is why curled ends are formed. That is, a ripe mushroom, with its external characteristics, strongly resembles a star with several spongy rays framing the central part.
The inner part of the star-shaped geastrum hides a spore-bearing body, which has a characteristic geometric shape (often oval or spherical). The top of the part of the mushroom in which the spores ripen has a thin protective coating and is bordered by protrusions covered with small cilia. In this form, the fruit part remains until ripening. Over time, the rays darken. They often disappear.
Features of the appearance of earth stars directly depend on the subspecies. On average, the size of the cap does not exceed 40 mm in diameter, the size of the open star-shaped part ranges from 30 to 150 mm, the spherical body of the spore-bearing part reaches 13-15 mm in height, and no more than 10-12 mm in width.
At the beginning of development, eukaryte, as a rule, has a light color in all its parts (the color varies from fine white to rich red or brownish). As the mushroom matures, the color of the fruiting body darkens. Starwort spores are brown or fawn in color.
Inedible species
The star family is mainly an inedible species of mushrooms, but at the same time they are not poisonous. Often representatives of this family are used in folk medicine.
- Triple earth star is a mushroom that is somewhat different from related species, characterized by a double layer of outer shell. When ripe, the surface bursts into pieces, forming an unequal number of rays, and the inner one turns into a kind of border framing the spore-bearing body, thus forming a cup. The color of the mushroom body is from light beige to brownish.
- Striped starfish - just like the species described above, has characteristic differences. The mycelium of this type of mushroom is located not like most representatives of this family - under the surface of the earth, but above it. As the specimens mature, the fruiting body forms long rays that are creamy in color, giving the mushroom a star shape. Over time, these rays crack and darken significantly. The elongated spore-bearing body of small size is located on a small and fairly powerful stalk. It is distinguished by a characteristic gray color with a light coating. The central part is divided by stripes.
- The fringed star is a mushroom whose fruiting body is partially hidden underground. The outer shell is brownish in color, as a rule, bursts into 6-7 parts curved towards the bottom. The ball with spores is gray, there is a poorly defined bowl (courtyard) bordering it.
- The crowned star is a mushroom with gray rays that have a matte tint. The spore-bearing part is located on a thin and rather short stalk. The immediate central part is darker than the star-like part.
- Small starwort is the smallest geastrum in size. The lobes of the outer shell, as a rule, are divided into a fairly large number of parts (up to 12). The color of the rays is light beige, and over time they crack, exposing the lighter inner part. The spore-bearing body is gray, darkens with maturity, and has an elongated proboscis at the top.
- Black-headed geastrum is a subspecies of the family with significant differences. At the beginning of growth, the body of the mushroom resembles a puffball, which has a characteristic light color of the fruiting body; as it grows, the shell is divided into parts (up to 8), revealing the body of the spore-bearing ball. Note that the inner part of the rays is covered with dark mature spores, which are carried by the wind in bad weather.
- Four-rayed earth star - this species, like many of its relatives, raises the fruiting body above the ground surface during the ripening period. The color of the fruiting body is gray-white, the spore-bearing body is gray.
Edible species
As a rule, edible species of representatives of the star family are used for culinary purposes exclusively in the form of an exotic additive (only young specimens are used for cooking), this is mainly explained by their small number and, accordingly, little popularity among lovers of quiet hunting.
- The vaulted star is a mushroom that has a flattened spherical fruiting body located under the surface of the soil. The color of the mushroom is more brown, the spore-bearing body is flattened, matte with a characteristic fawn tint.
- Schmiedel's star - a feature of the species is that the fruiting part of this type of edible mushroom is quite modest in size. During the period of maturation, as in most related species, it rises. The spore-bearing ball is supported on a low stalk with a ciliated border at the apex. The color of the mushroom is brown and darkens significantly as it grows.
Where do starflowers grow?
On the territory of our country, such a wild mushroom as starburst is an extremely rare representative of the mushroom kingdom. Most often it grows in regions with a mild, warm climate (the Caucasus, many European countries).
Mixed and coniferous forests are the most attractive for starbursts. These mushrooms are often found growing on the banks of water bodies. Star-shaped mushrooms grow in fairly large groups, forming characteristic “witch” rings. The fruiting season is from mid-August to early October.
Video: starfish (Geastrum)
Kira Stoletova
The star mushroom is a typical representative of the Zvezdovik family and the Zvezdovik genus. It belongs to the conditionally edible eukaryotes, which have found their use in folk medicine and partly in cooking.
Appearance
The star mushroom has another name - “earth star”, or “geastrum” (from the Latin “geo” - earth and “aster” - star).
The main body of the eukaryote is located underground, where a kind of pouch is initially formed. During the ripening process, it comes to the surface, where its upper outer part bursts and the ends curl up. In this form, the geastrum becomes like a star with 5-10 soft spongy rays.
Inside the outer shell there is a spore-bearing part, shaped like a ball or oval. After the destruction of the outer layer, the central part of the starburst rises, thereby protruding the inner part of the fruiting body. Eyelash-like protrusions are formed in the center, covering the hole - the entrance to the spore-bearing part of the fungus, covered with a thin shell. In this position, the fruiting body fully ripens, and the rays of the outer layer of the mushroom age over time, darken, and sometimes disappear.
The external characteristics of the star, regarding size, depend on its type. On average, the unopened upper part of the geastrum has a diameter of 1-4 cm, the opened star-like part - 3-15 cm. The spore-bearing part in the shape of a ball usually reaches 1.2 cm in width and 1.3 cm in height.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Starworts belong to the group of gasteromycetes - fungi that are characterized by the complete closure of their fruiting bodies until the basidiospores fully mature. These are the so-called angiocarpous fruiting bodies. Basidiospores not only form inside the completely closed fruiting body, but are also separated from the basidia inside it. Therefore, this group of mushrooms is also called nutreviks. The release of basidiospores into the environment occurs when the membrane of the fruiting body is ruptured or destroyed.
Gasteromycetes are divided into groups according to their feeding method:
The mycelium of starworts is multicellular, highly branched; it is well developed and permeates the substrate in which it is immersed.
All parts of eucaryte when young are light shades of gray, white, brown or red, again depending on the species. With aging, the color of the fruiting body darkens. The spores are brown or gray-olive in color.
Types of mushroom
Types of starfish are divided into 2 main groups. Some mushrooms are eaten at a young age, while others are not suitable for cooking. Old eukaryotes of any kind do not eat: they lose their attractiveness, become hard and tasteless, but they acquire other useful properties.
Inedible starfish species
Geastrums are for the most part not edible, although they have interesting external features. They are not poisonous mushrooms either. Inedible starfish are used in folk medicine. They have several types with their own characteristics:
- Triple star: in his appearance he has features that somewhat distinguish him from his fellows. It has a double layer of outer shell (peridium), the upper part of which bursts into several unequal parts, and the inner part forms a cup around the spore-bearing body. A kind of belt is formed along the upper part of the spherical sac with spores, called a courtyard. The color of the mushroom body can take on beige or light brown shades.
- Striped starwort: the young fruiting body is located underground and resembles a bulb in shape. As the mushroom matures, the body of the mushroom spreads long, creamy, star-shaped lobes that crack and darken over time. The spore-bearing body has a small diameter, an elongated shape, and sits on a small thick stalk. It is gray in color, covered with a whitish coating, the tip at the apex is characterized by clearly defined stripes, hence the name of the species. The main difference between the species is the location of the mycelium - on the surface of the soil, and, as is “accepted”, in the soil.
- Star crowned: has gray matte lobes of the outer shell of the mushroom body. The spore-bearing part rises on an elongated neck. But the leg is missing. The color of the ball is much darker than the star-like part of the geastrum, more reminiscent of a brown tint.
- Star flower fringed: partially showing its fruiting body from the ground. The outer shell (pridium) has a yellowish-brown tint, breaks into 5-7 lobes, which are strongly curved downwards. The spore-bearing ball is gray in color and has a faintly outlined yard. When looking at the fungal body from above, you can clearly see along the edges of the lobes a kind of denser fringe formed from the upper layer of the peridium.
- Small star: this species is called the smallest representative of the Geaster family. The lobes of the upper layer of the mushroom body crack into 8-12 equal parts in a horizontal plane, then the mushroom body rises slightly upward. The color scheme of the star's petals is closer to beige-gray; over time, cracks appear with lighter internal contents. The gray spore-bearing ball becomes brown closer to ripening, and the proboscis lengthens at the top. It is interesting that the endoperidium (the inner layer of the shell) is characterized by the presence of a peculiar crystalline coating.
- Black-headed starwort: is a special type. His appearance in youth and maturity can be said to be strikingly different. When the mushroom body is still young, it resembles an ordinary raincoat of light or slightly brownish color. As it ripens, the outer shell bursts into 5-8 parts, exposing the spore-bearing ball. The inner part of the rays of the star and the top itself are covered with a fairly thick layer of dark, often black, mature spores, which are immediately carried away by wind and rain.
- Four-bladed star: during the ripening and blooming of the “petals”, it also raises the body above the ground. The color of the outer layer is gray-white, and the spore-bearing ball is dark gray. A special feature of eukaryotes is the pronounced flattened rim around the hole at the top of the ball - the courtyard.
Conditionally edible mushrooms
Young mushrooms from the Geasteraceae family are eaten as an exotic additive. These species are rare. In a state of physiological maturity, mushrooms are no longer suitable for consumption.
- Vaulted star: is one of the rarest species, characterized by a flattened or spherical underground body. When the top layer is separated, ingrown fragments of litter remain on the visible side of the blades, which create the appearance of cascades and canopies. The color of the outer part is brown, the spore-bearing ball is flattened, fawn-colored, matte.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
The vaulted starwort is characterized by the presence in its chemical composition of a number of biologically active substances that are beneficial to the human body. For its development, this type of starweed prefers carbonate soils, i.e. soils that contain carbonates - salts of carbonic acid H 2 CO 3.
Starberry is eaten (without prior boiling or frying) only at very early stages of development - when its fruiting body resembles a ball in appearance. But since at this time it is almost completely immersed in the soil, finding it is very problematic.
- Schmiedel's star: the second edible representative of the genus. The fruiting body of this eukaryote is small in size; during ripening it cracks and rises upward. The ball is located on a short stalk and has large cilia around the spore opening. The entire “star” is brown and darkens as it ages.
Habitat
Zvezdovik is a rare phenomenon in most of Russia. It is found both in warmer regions, for example, in the Caucasus, and in the temperate forests of the European part, Eastern Siberia, as well as in European countries and in the southern states of North America. These are wild-growing eukaryotes - no one is breeding them.
The habitat of earth stars is coniferous and mixed forests with a predominance of spruce, pine, oak, birch, aspen, and small shrubs. Mushrooms love to settle on the banks of reservoirs in secluded places. They grow up into whole families, or “witch” circles.
According to their feeding method, these mushrooms are saprotrophs.
Light and loose sandy loam soil with an admixture of forest humus is suitable for feeding chickweed. Good drainage in the form of pine deposits has a positive effect on the mycelium of mushrooms.
The ripening period for spores begins in late August and early October. In some species, in good weather, it continues until the end of autumn.
Application of the mushroom
The benefits of earthen stars are closely related to their use. They do not contain toxic substances and are similar to raincoats. They are rarely used as food: they do not have a pronounced taste or smell. These mushrooms are not boiled first.
In folk medicine, the star and its spores are more popular. They found practical applications:
- the body of a young starfish, cut into plates, replaces the plaster and dressing material, because it successfully stops bleeding and can help speed up wound regeneration;
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