The name "celandine" suggests that it cleanses the body of diseases. Previously, it was called in different ways: prytynnik, warthog, yellow milk keeper and chistuha. These names reveal other characteristics of this herb. Consider how celandine is useful and how to harvest it.
Medicinal properties of celandine
The celandine has a lot of useful properties, so it is used when treating many diseases:
- oncology: at an early stage, suspends the growth of tumors (even malignant) and prevents the formation of metastases, has an anesthetic effect in stomach cancer;
- skin diseases and injuries: sap from herpes on lips, pimples, warts, treat psoriasis, eczema, dry corns and papillomas, scabies and fungal diseases, lichen, tuberculosis and skin cancer, used to discolorate age spots;
- respiratory diseases: can cure not only bronchitis and pneumonia, but also tuberculosis;
- diseases of male and female genital organs: prostatitis, cervical erosion, fungal infections; normalizes the menstrual cycle and relieves pain in these days;
- gastrointestinal disorders: cures gastritis, colitis, eliminates kidney stones and gall bladder, hemorrhoids, polyps in the intestines, gastric and duodenal ulcers, has a laxative effect;
- nervous system disorders: acts as a sedative for insomnia, stress, and neurosis;
- Cardiovascular diseases: normalizes blood pressure and heart rate.
What parts are used for medicinal purposes
The most useful part of celandine is its juice. It can be obtained not only from the leaves and stems, but also from the root. Therefore, for harvesting for medicinal purposes, the entire plant will fit entirely, along with the root, although most often only its ground part is dried.
Did you know? One of the disciples of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the physician Teofrast, used celandine in his medical practice and called it "a hundred diseases", while the medieval physician Avicenna treated the plant with eye diseases and relieved toothache.
Where better to collect
Before you assemble the subliner, you need to find a place suitable for its collection. It should be away from objects that pollute the soil and air: factories, highways, landfills, cemeteries and densely populated areas. The grass that grows in the shade and not in the open sun retains the most beneficial properties. In the forests and plantings it can be found in shaded glades. And on the garden plot, the celandine likes to grow in the shade of raspberry, currant and blackberry bushes. 
When you need to do the workpiece
Celandine should be collected during its flowering, which lasts from April-May to July-August. It is also important to do this in dry and sunny weather. Experienced herbalists have noticed that it is best to go for grass in the morning hours and during the growth of the moon, because at this time the plant is full of healing powers.
Find out when you can collect thyme, raspberry leaves, blueberries, currants, hawthorn, wild rose, sea buckthorn.
Collection rules and precautions
Going for celandine, do not forget that this is a poisonous plant. Do not allow its juice or pollen to fall on your hands, eyes or nose. Therefore, you need to protect yourself in the form of gloves, goggles and gauze bandages. If the purpose of the blank is the green part of the grass, then it is better not to tear it off, but to cut it with a knife or sickle. Sections should be made at a distance of 5-10 cm from the ground. If you need to prepare and root, then the whole plant is pulled out or dug up with the root. 
Then, trying not to damage the bush, it must be cleaned of dry and damaged leaves, and the root is freed from the ground. For transportation, the collected raw materials are placed in a convenient container, for example, in a bucket or bag, but not tamped.
Important! Collecting celandine, you need to remember that this is the future medicine. Therefore, choosing bushes, you need to pay attention to the leaves: they must be bright green, not sluggish and not affected by the disease. There should be no worms in the roots.
How and where to dry
Bushes without roots are immediately distributed for drying. If it is necessary to dry the whole plant, first, its root is cleaned from the ground, thoroughly washed with water and allowed to dry. Then the roots are collected in bunches of several pieces and hung in a well-ventilated room or on the street under a canopy. Well dried roots have a dark brown or black color, and inside they are yellowish or light brown.
Read also about the medicinal properties of herbaceous plants: Hypericum, knotweed, wormwood (bitter, medicinal, common), motherwort, coltsfoot, elecampane, lovage, black root, flaxseed, chervil, leaves and burdock root, plantain, yarrow, calendula.
Shrubs without roots can be dried in three ways:
- It is best to tie the plants in bundles and hang. So faster drying is carried out, the stems do not spoil, and dry.
- You can evenly spread the grass on a table, floor or other horizontal surface. So that the leaves and stems do not rot, they should be turned over or tilted from time to time.
- The electric dryer will dry the plants well if the temperature is set to no higher than +60 ° C.
To determine whether the dry is dry or not, it is enough to bend the stalk: if it is properly dried, it will break and not bend. Dry grass should have a bitter taste, but no odor.
Important! If the drying place is a room, then it should be dark and well ventilated, for example, an attic or a shed..
Where, in what and how much medical raw materials can be stored
Dried stems are preferably folded into a canvas or paper bags and hang. You can also save them in wooden boxes or boxes, but not compacting. Storage should be dark and dry. At observance of technology of storage, medicinal properties of a celandine will remain within three years.
Roots are also best kept in a suspended state, having previously wrapped them in a canvas or thick paper. Their shelf life is five years. 
Several healing recipes
Drying is not the only way to harvest celandine. Fresh raw materials can be used to make juice, which is itself a medicine, as well as a healing ointment.
The juice
To make the juice you need to take the whole bush, along with the root. The stems should be cleaned from dry and damaged leaves, and the root should be well washed and dried.
Then the stalks, leaves, flowers and root need to be minced. The resulting green mass is put in a jar and put in a cool place, where in three days it will pour out juice, which can then be poured into a bottle. And you can immediately shredded herbs squeeze through cheesecloth.
Read also about the properties and use in traditional medicine of the juice of grapes, viburnum, sea buckthorn, birch, burdock.
The liquid should be drained into a plastic bottle or glass jar, close the lid and put in a dark cold place. After 3-5 days fermentation will begin, during which you will need to open the lid several times and release the gas. Juice will be ready in 2 weeks, when fermentation is over and it becomes transparent. Ready juice can be poured into bottles of dark glass. In a dark and cool place it will be stored for 3-5 years. As an excellent antiseptic, celandine juice can replace iodine.
Video: cooking celandine juice
Ointment
To prepare the ointment, you need to take ready juice or previously dried and powdered grass. Vaseline, lanolin, baby cream, pork or lamb fat can be used as a base. Juice and base should be mixed in a ratio of 1: 4, and the ratio of grass and fat should be 1: 2. To this ointment was a long time and not moldy, it can add carbolic acid. Ready ointment should be stored in the refrigerator, but not more than two years. This remedy treats corns, warts, eczema, psoriasis.
Healing baths
Therapeutic bath with celandine can be prepared from both dry grass and dried roots:
- In 3-5 liters of boiling water add 100 g of dry greens. Infusing for an hour and straining, the infusion is poured into a bath with 30-40 liters of warm water. Take a bath should be without soap, no longer than 15-20 minutes, rinsed after it is not necessary. This procedure can be daily, it is allowed even for children. The bath is useful for people with psoriasis, scabies and urticaria. It is taken for the prevention of fungi, as well as papillomas.
- Dry warthog roots are crushed and filled with cold water for two hours. Then they need to boil for 20 minutes and strain. The resulting broth is poured into a warm bath, which is taken before bedtime. It is recommended for people suffering from ulcers on the skin, from eczema and boils.
Healing baths can be prepared using a series of rosemary, marigold, linden, lofanta, heather, birch buds.
By preparing the right celandine, you can replenish your first-aid kit with medicines for various diseases. But, like other medicines, self-made preparations should be taken after consulting a doctor.
