Effect:
mildly laxative, anti-inflammatory, blood purifying
Areas of application:
Respiratory diseases, coughs, runny noses, colds, metabolic disorders, mucus, blood purification, insect bites, eczema, sunburn
Parts of the plant used:
Leaves, flowers
Collection time:
June to October
Can be found:
Salt plant meadows on the seashore, rarely inland on saline sites, cliffs on river banks, sea coasts and on sandy and pebble beaches.
Ingredients:
Saponins, oxalic acid, minerals, vitamins
Other:
The Grass-Leaved Orache is an annual plant that has prostrate to upright stems. It is branched with upright to ascending branches and can grow to 25 to 100 cm long. The green branches are initially dusted with a mealy dusting of blister hairs, but later they become bare. The leaves, which are arranged alternately (the lowest ones are also opposite) on the stem, have a short petiole. Their thin leaf blade, green on both sides, is linear or narrowly lanceolate with entire or sinuously toothed leaf margins. The inflorescences consist of dense or interrupted spikes of flower clusters up to 20 cm long. Male flowers contain four to five tepals and four to five stamens. Female flowers, which consist only of the ovary, are surrounded by two bracts that are only fused at the base. These are triangular and have an elongated tip. They are often toothed at the edge, less often entire. Their surface, which is heavily dusted in the lower part, has distinct hump-like appendages. The inside of the bracts is often shiny white. The flowering period is from July to September. When the fruiting season is, the green bracts often turn brown or black. There are two types of seeds (heterocarpy): reddish-black, flat seeds and reddish-brown, flat or slightly concave seeds. (partly Wikipedia)
In the kitchen, the leaves and young shoots, raw or cooked, enrich salads, soups, sauces and, like spinach, various vegetable dishes. The flowers and buds can also be used in salads and quark dishes. The seeds can be baked. In Eastern Europe, the herb is fermented in a similar way to "sauerkraut".