Crassula: medicinal properties and contraindications

Money tree - the overwhelming majority of people are known by that name. Each plant owner believes that sooner or later this succulent will bring prosperity and prosperity to his house.

Chemical composition

Despite the fact that people have been using the fat girl as a remedy for a long time, scientists did not conduct its thorough chemical analysis, since arsenides were discovered almost immediately in the plant - arsenic salts, which tend to accumulate in bone tissues. Their presence cast doubt on the appropriateness of using the fatty. That is why official medicine has not adopted this plant, although it does not deny that the amount of arsenic is so small that its external use will not do any harm.

Scientists confirm the presence in the plant of volatile compounds with bright antibacterial abilities - volatile, as well as flavonoids. Their most important property is that they are excellent antioxidants that suppress oxidative processes in the body and stimulate it to fight infection more actively, as well as having a rejuvenating and wound healing effect.

What does the money tree look like?

Crassula (scientific scholar) not to be confused with any other plant. It is juicy, solid: on a thick and massive stalk, which is more like a trunk, strong branches with shiny fleshy leaves sitting in pairs opposite each other are located. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the name: it came from “crassus”, which in Latin means “fat”.

Most people call this plant a money tree, which is also no accident: its leaves are similar in shape to coins.

Representatives of different types of fatty women grow in height from a few centimeters to three to four meters.

An ordinary, ordinary flower grower rarely sees the bloom of a fat woman: although it is unpretentious, it rarely blooms. A young plant will never show flowers. It must be grown to a minimum of 7–10 years to give the owner a white or creamy-yellowish panicle, consisting of a considerable number of small fragrant flowers with five petals. Their aroma is sweet and so strong that it can cause a headache.

Views

The fat woman has more than 300 species, almost all of them come from the southern hemisphere of the planet - southern and southwestern Africa, tropical regions, and the island of Madagascar. In the Northern Hemisphere, Krassula grows on the Arabian Peninsula.

As a houseplant, flower growers cultivate many varieties of Crassula. Sometimes in appearance you won’t think that they are relatives, they are so different in their general appearance, shape and color of leaves, size.

All the fat women botanists were divided into groups: tree-like, creeping (or ampelous) and columnar. Standing apart is a group fat girl (or assembled).

The tree-like name speaks for itself - they are very similar to trees in miniature. The money tree belongs to them. At home, these plants can grow up to 2 m in height. But among them there are those whose height does not exceed 50 cm.On the windowsills in apartments and offices, you can often see such varieties of crassula as oval (the most common and more common than others, its second name is ovate), ovata, purslane, silver and gollum.

Creeping (or ampelous) fat woman is absolutely not like a tree-like one. This grass is with long and thin shoots, its leaves are small. In natural conditions, they occupy vast areas of soil, as if covering it with carpet. As an indoor plant, ampelous shrubbery is grown in hanging pots, from where it falls, forming beautiful compositions. Usually these are representatives of the plaudiform and pseudoplaciform, as well as perforated crassules.

The most unusual and attractive are columnar-shaped fat women. They do not grow large, as a rule, their height does not exceed 15 cm. But their leaves have a very beautiful, bizarre shape, and they grow so densely and close to each other that they create the shape of a column from 1 to 5 cm wide. Those who very fond of fat women, trying to collect a collection of plants of this species. Particularly spectacular resembling the Chinese pagoda are the Buddha Temple, as well as hemispherical and rocky varieties.

For a group (or collected) fatty, a small size is characteristic. In height, it does not grow more than 10 cm. This, like the ampelous, is also a ground cover variety, however, its shoots are short, but very branched. Twigs grow so fast that they cover the territory like sod. If you plant it in a wide and shallow pot at home, then very picturesque thickets will form in it.

Collection and storage

Before using the fat girl for medicinal purposes, care must be taken to ensure that the nutrients in it are in abundance. So, you can’t “fry” it strongly in the sun. If the plant will be exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, it will overheat, the leaves will turn red, then become brown. This means that the medicinal ability is lost.

For the preparation of medicinal formulations with Crassula, only fresh, juicy green and shiny leaves are used. They cannot be stored for a long time: they retain their value for no more than two days. Therefore, they do not need to be harvested a lot, they are usually torn down and immediately put into business.

Ready-made infusions and decoctions can be kept in the refrigerator for no longer than a day. Juice can be preserved for long storage, having prepared alcohol tincture on its basis.

The healing properties of the money tree

In folk medicine, an oval (or ovoid) crash is used. It has a beneficial effect on the human body, even if it simply stands on the windowsill. By the very presence in the room, it improves the composition of the air due to the fact that the volatile contained in it destroy all dangerous bacteria. As a result, people are in a better mood and performance, sleep is normal, and those with acute respiratory infections can easily tolerate the disease and recover faster.

Crassula is widely used for external use. For a long time, traditional healers know about its antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, regenerative and antipruritic abilities. It is recommended for the treatment of cuts, wounds, suppurations, burns. When using juice or gruel from a plant, the wounds are disinfected and heal faster. If the head itches due to eczema or psoriasis, the fat woman will relieve irritation. A leaf attached to the site of an insect bite eliminates itching, swelling and even herpes on the lip.

A fat woman can significantly reduce pain during arthritis, arthrosis or gout - a healing green gruel in this case acts as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller. For colds, plant-based formulations are dripped into the nose, gargled.

Another name for the fat girl - cornelian - came from his ability to soften old dry corns, corns, for which folk healers prescribe a compress. The same tool will help overcome nail fungus and eliminate nail ingrowth.

The plant is also used to alleviate the condition with hemorrhoids and varicose veins, since it can strengthen the walls of blood vessels.In the first case, compositions based on fat and vaseline (or olive oil) are used, in the second - alcohol tincture.

Fat girl in folk medicine

There are a number of ailments in which the fatty woman is irreplaceable and is often used, because in such forms it does not harm the body.

From a cold

If the nose is stuffed up, you can make drops of the fat. It is necessary to squeeze the juice from the leaves, dilute it with water, and take one part of the juice in two parts of water. Drip just one drop into each nostril, but often - every hour. If the runny nose is long and there are fears that it will be chronic, you can begin to rinse your nose. The washing solution should be made from juice squeezed from 5-6 leaves, mixed with 3 tablespoons of boiled water. If there is no special teapot called neti-pot, you can use a rubber bulb or a syringe without a needle. Rinse your nose 3 times a day.

With sore throat and toothache

Fat girl juice is suitable not only to save them from a sore throat, but also to eliminate problems in the mouth - to relieve toothache, heal ulcers with stomatitis. To prepare a healing composition, you need to squeeze the juice from 10 leaves and mix it with a glass of warm boiled water. Gargle or mouth 3 to 4 times a day.

From varicose veins

Alcohol tincture for the fight against varicose veins is prepared from 6-7 leaflets of a fatty soup, filled with 200 g of vodka. Leaflets can be slightly torn into several pieces or filled in whole. Insist this product in a glass bowl in a dark place for 2 weeks. Ready tincture should be carefully lubricated legs - starting from the ankles and moving up - to the knees and hips.

With hemorrhoids

To alleviate pain and heal cracks in the anus or remove hemorrhoidal nodes, you can prepare a home remedy based on petroleum jelly and sap of the fat. They need to be mixed in equal proportions, put on a cotton-gauze swab and carefully inserted inside. To make the tool act faster, repeat the procedure 2 times a day.

For joint treatment

To relieve pain with arthritis, rheumatism, as well as with sprains and bruises, you need to make a compress. Grind the green leaves to make slurry (you can use a blender or chop the plant very finely with a knife). Put the resulting mass on a sore spot, cover with a clean cloth and fasten with a bandage. Keep the compress from 2 to 3 hours, it is better - all night. If the pain is intense, you can repeat the procedure in the morning.

From nail fungus

Fighting the fungus is difficult, long and expensive. A healing product prepared at home from a fat woman will improve the therapeutic effect of a pharmacy drug, reduce the healing time and reduce costs.

To begin treatment, you first need to prepare a bath for steaming your feet: add a little soda or soap to hot water. After steaming the legs with scissors, a knife or a blade, carefully scrape off the upper dead layers of the nail. Remove the peel from the leaf of the Crassula, apply the pulp to the nail and wrap it with a band-aid or bandage. Do this procedure in the evening, keep a compress all night. In the morning, remove it, steam out the legs again and apply the pharmacy ointment from the fungus to the affected nails.

Treatment of burns, wounds, abscesses, ulcers and bruises

Burns and wounds are treated by gruel from the leaves of the Crassula. It must be laid out on a gauze napkin or cotton pad, applied to the affected area and fixed with a bandage or adhesive. After 4 hours, change the bandage.

With herpes and an insect bite

When herpes (or a cold, as the people call it) appeared on the lips, juice squeezed from the leaves of the Crassula will help to quickly get rid of it. It is necessary to chop a couple of leaves very finely (or break them in a blender), squeeze the juice out of the resulting slurry with a rag and apply it on the blister. The inflammation will pass soon.

The same juice can be applied to redness caused by mosquito bites. You can apply juice up to 6 times a day, this will eliminate itching and relieve swelling.

Toothache

The ability of arsenic to kill a tooth nerve can be used to calm a toothache.It is necessary to break the leaf and attach the broken side to the diseased tooth. Spitting saliva on the spit without swallowing so that arsenic does not enter the stomach.

With cystitis and pyelonephritis

The use of the Crassula for the treatment of cystitis and pyelonephritis is based on its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial actions. But before you apply this method, you should think carefully and consult a doctor.

Infusion for treatment should be done from 5-6 leaves, drenched in a cup of boiling water. Keep the composition under the lid for an hour, drink 2 times a day an hour before meals in a tablespoon.

Types of healing compounds

It is very convenient when there is a medicinal plant on the windowsill, which does not need to be harvested in advance. As soon as the need arose, you can tear off a leaf and immediately prepare medicinal formulations from it.

Infusion

In a cup, put 5-6 leaflets of Crassula and pour them with boiling water. Use the composition after an hour, when it is infused, drink 2 times a day an hour before meals in a tablespoon. This remedy can treat inflammation of the bladder and kidneys and make a bath to alleviate the suffering of hemorrhoids.

Tincture

To prepare tincture of vodka, in a half-liter jar, you need to pour about half the leaves of the Crassula. Top up vodka, close tightly and send to a dark place for about a month. When the composition is infused, use it for compresses that treat joints, sprains, inflammation of nerves in the face, and also wipe their legs with varicose veins.

Alcohol tincture can be prepared for future use, since its useful properties are stored for at least a year.

Decoction

Grind the leaves of the Crassula and throw into boiling water (5-7 leaves are enough for 200 ml of water). Boil for half a minute and remove from heat. You can use this composition for baths with hemorrhoids.

Butter

Stir in equal volume the juice obtained from the leaves of the money tree and olive oil. You can apply the resulting healing oil for fungal skin lesions. It will reduce swelling and, if there is an itch, will remove it. To combat nail fungus, oil can be added not to juice, but to pulp from the leaves of the plant.

It is better to apply the oil overnight, for which purpose compresses on a gauze napkin or cotton pad, put in a problem place, cover with cling film, which should be strengthened with a band-aid or bandage. Treat every day and do not interrupt until the manifestation of the fungus disappears.

Ointment

To prepare a healing ointment, you must take petroleum jelly and lanolin (5 tablespoons each). This volume will require 3 tablespoons of juice from the leaves of the Crassula. Mix all the ingredients and put in a water bath for 15-20 minutes. For this period, you should get a composition of a homogeneous consistency. After removing the container from the bath, transfer the healing mass to a glass, tightly closed dish and put it in the refrigerator.

You can use the ointment to relieve pain with rheumatism - it needs to lubricate diseased joints, preferably before bedtime. Alternative medicine also recommends a composition to alleviate the suffering of hemorrhoids.

Juice

To get healing juice, you need to pick up the leaves of the Crassula, iterate over them, rinse and dry with a paper towel. Break the leaves into slurry with a blender or using a meat grinder, and then squeeze the juice from the resulting mass with a clean cotton cloth.

For medicinal purposes, freshly prepared juice is used. If you want to leave it for longer storage, you need to preserve it - that is, pour alcohol or vodka.

Juice treat hemorrhoids, wounds, herpes, purulent inflammations, dental infections, tonsillitis, fight against fungus of the skin and nails. This tool has the ability to relieve itching and skin irritation, reduce swelling and various kinds of rashes.

The cake remaining after squeezing the juice can be used for a compress or application.

Application in cosmetology

Even our grandmothers, who wanted to become beautiful, used this plant to prepare face masks, as well as improve the condition of their hair. In addition, lotions for washing are made with a fat woman. Money tree helps facial skin to become clean and more youthful.Compositions based on it soothe the skin and neutralize the negative effect of the environment.

To strengthen hair

You need to grind a handful of leaves, pour them with 2 liters of boiling water and send to the stove. Boil quite a bit - no more than 30 seconds. Remove from heat, wrap in a towel and keep under it until cool. Strain the broth and set aside. Mix the remaining mass from the leaves with kefir - 2 tablespoons will be enough. This mass is applied to the skin of the scalp and rub. Wrap hair with a bag and towel and keep the mask on your head for 40-50 minutes, then rinse with plain water, then with broth. The beneficial substances contained in the Crassula stimulate rapid hair growth and strengthen them. If you repeat these procedures for a couple of weeks, then the hair will not only get stronger, but also gain a healthy shine.

Acne mask

This simple mask will help with acne, acne, and skin inflammation.

It is necessary to tear off a large, juicy, resilient and shiny green leaf, break it so that the juice splashes, and wipe with the place where the fluid is released, every eel and inflammation. Do not wipe your face, wait until the juice is absorbed. You can repeat rubbing the face several times a day, and after two days the skin will not be recognized - it will become clean.

Mask for excessive oily skin

Such a mask is useful because it dries the skin and removes excess sebum.

Take a few leaves, wash them and pat dry with a paper towel. Break the leaves into a slurry with a blender. Beat the egg white, mix with the pulp from the fat, add a teaspoon of ground Hercules. Mix gently until smooth and apply to skin. Wash off the mask after 15 minutes with warm water. The skin will dry out, the oily sheen will disappear, the pores will narrow, but you need to repeat this procedure every 7-10 days.

Rejuvenating mask

Take a teaspoon of slurry from fat, honey and warm milk, mix thoroughly with half a teaspoon of yeast (not dry, but fresh) and drip 8 drops of vitamin E. Mix everything again and apply on face. With a mask on his face, lie down calmly for 15–20 minutes, then wash with warm water. If you do this procedure for a week, the face will noticeably freshen.

Skin lotion

Lotions on a fat woman are prepared in order to get rid of acne. They help cleanse the skin and lead to a normal level of fat content. To prepare the lotion at home, you need to take 10 leaves of the plant, wash them, grind, pour the pulp with a glass of boiled water at room temperature and insist under the lid for about 5 hours. Then strain the composition, squeeze the gruel and use the resulting liquid to wipe the face - in the mornings and evenings, after washing.

You can pour a tablespoon of lemon juice into the lotion. And for the healing composition to work even more efficiently, it would be nice to freeze it by pouring it in portions into ice molds. The resulting cubes should be used in the same way as the lotion itself.

For the treatment of nail fungus

Turn 2-3 leaflets into gruel and add 5 drops of sesame oil. Put the resulting mixture on a cotton pad and then fix it on a sore nail with a band-aid. Leave this product on the nail all night.

With an ingrown nail

Money tree can eliminate such a cosmetic defect as an ingrown nail. To do this, you need to make a compress from the pulp of the fat. Steam the leg and put the pulp on the nail, then wrap the finger with cling film. After 4 hours, the skin will become so soft that the ingrown nail can be removed.

Contraindications

The main danger of the money tree is the arsenic compounds contained in it. They should beware of pregnant women: do not take risks and use a composition based on this plant - you can harm an unborn baby. For the same reason, nursing mothers should not be treated with a fat woman - it is possible that non-useful substances can get into milk. Potions from this plant are prohibited for children under 16 years of age.

In addition, in the course of treatment, an allergy to the money tree or individual intolerance of its individual components is possible.If this is detected, other drugs should be selected for treatment.

But even a person who is not included in these risk groups does not need to consume Crassula formulations for too many days in a row and in no case do not exceed the recommended dosage, otherwise you can get poisoning, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea and fever.

You can be treated with money-tree based preparations prepared at home for no longer than 2 weeks, otherwise the accumulation of arsenic salts in the body will begin.

How to care for a fat woman

The first condition for growing a healthy beautiful tree is the right choice of window sill. The sun should have enough for the plant, so windows looking south, southeast or southwest are suitable for it. In this case, you must ensure that the sun does not scorch their green leaves, otherwise they will become reddish. To do this, in the middle of the day you need to shade the fat girl with a curtain or use blinds for this. If the windows of the apartment overlook only to the north, without a phytolamp it will not be possible to grow a healthy grassroot.

In order for the crown to grow evenly, the flower needs to be turned from time to time to the glass on one side or the other.

In summer, the fat woman will feel great on the balcony or porch. A comfortable air temperature is 22–28 degrees. At the same time, a large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures is useful to the plant.

In winter, the money tree likes to relax, so it needs to create a temperature of 14 to 16 degrees. On a heated loggia, it will calmly survive the lower temperature - from 8 to 10 degrees. At the same time, you need to remember - the drafts of Crassul can not stand. If in the winter the room where the fat woman is standing is hotter than she should be, she may well lose the leaves.

A very important point for growing a fat woman is watering. She reacts sharply to excessive soil moisture. Like all succulents, the roots of the money tree can rot, and the leaves begin to fall off intensively.

In summer heat, an adult money tree requires abundant watering only once every 2 weeks, a young plant - once a week. In autumn and winter, watering should be done every 3-4 weeks. Water that drains into the drip tray must be poured. If it is humid in the room where the crassula is located, it should be watered even less frequently.

Water for irrigation can not be taken from the tap, it must be defended for a couple of days. It is not worth spraying or organizing a shower for a plant: leaves can lose their decorative effect. It is better to wipe them with a damp cloth.

Soil for a fat woman should not be very nutritious, but loose and breathable. You can buy ready-made soil mixture for succulents or cook it yourself, for which you need to mix one part of humus, leaf soil, river sand, fine gravel and add three parts of turf land and 2 tablespoons of ash. Drainage in the pot is required, you can use expanded clay, pebbles or small pebbles. On top of the drainage, put a couple of tablets of activated carbon to prevent fungal diseases.

Since the root system is shallow, it is better to choose a pot that is shallow, but wide enough and heavy so that the plant cannot overturn it.

March is most suitable for transplantation. Young plants require an annual transplant, adults only once every 3 years. An important condition is that the root neck cannot be buried during transplantation.

After transplanting, the flower should be put in partial shade for 7 days, so that it adapts to new conditions, and the roots are strengthened in the soil. If the plant has grown to such a size that it is already difficult to transplant, you can do without replacing the topsoil in the pot.

So that the tree branches do not grow randomly and do not break off under their own weight, it is necessary to start its formation at a young age: until the tree reaches the desired height, it is necessary to remove the side branches so that the stem remains bare from the bottom about 15 cm high. When the desired growth, you can pinch the crown and strongly growing side branches. Then they will not stretch, and new side shoots will appear on them. As a result, the tree will become thick and beautiful.

Is a fat cat dangerous for cats

A money tree, so useful to people and smaller brothers, will not bring any good, rather, on the contrary: the habit of biting leaves of indoor plants will result in poisoning. If the juice of the plant gets into the digestive system of the animal even in small quantities, vomiting, impaired coordination of movements, slowing of the heart rate (bradycardia), and even depression can begin.

To discourage a cat or cat from a fat girl, you need to spread the lemon or orange peels on the windowsill. You can also drip a drop of citrus essential oil onto a plant pot.

Can I give a money tree

According to popular beliefs, giving a fat girl to another person is the same as giving them your money, so you can fall into poverty. The only case when donating a money tree will be beneficial is to make a present from a pure heart to someone at the wedding so that it becomes a symbol of the well-being of a young family.

They decorate a tree for a wedding: the trunk is wrapped with scarlet ribbon, coins and bills, rolled up with tubes, are hung on branches. At the same time, it would be nice for both parties to receive a gift paid a couple of coins.

Interesting facts about the fat girl

1. For the house to have money, you don’t have to buy a big tree. According to signs, it is better to grow it yourself from a small twig stolen in a wealthy family. The smaller the sprout and the sooner it takes root, the faster the owner will find luck.
2. In order for the money tree to fall in love with the house and its owners and rather contribute to the growth of well-being, one needs to communicate with him: wipe the leaves with a damp cloth, count them as if they were real coins, tell the plant about their plans, you can pronounce some kind of slander for wealth. It is better to devote the conversation to the fat girl Wednesday, as this is the most active and energetically busy day of the week.
3. In order for Crassula to attract money, an expensive red ceramic pot is selected for her. If this could not be found, you can bandage the usual red ribbon or draw red stripes on it, which should symbolize an endless financial flow.
4. It is believed that electrical appliances - televisions, computers, heaters - do not allow monetary energy to circulate freely, so there is no need to put a plant next to them. As soon as profit is made, a stack of several coins is placed near the pot with a fat woman. According to legend, they will play the role of a money magnet.
5. Also, banknotes twisted in a tube and tied on twigs on red satin ribbons have a strong magnetic effect for money. From time to time, bills need to be replaced with new ones to avoid inhibition of financial energy. On New Year's Eve, the tree can be decorated with good chocolates in shiny foil - they are also tied up with red threads or ribbons.
6. Money tree blooms extremely rarely. But, as grandmothers say, if it is nevertheless covered with tassels of small flowers, you need to make a wish for the material plan, and it will certainly come true.
7. The very fact of flowering predicts that money will soon fall on the owner of the flower - immodest, huge amounts. Perhaps this will be a major win in the lottery or an unexpected legacy.

Money tree photo