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Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
is a plant, 40-150 cm tall, strongly branched with a filamentous root. The roots spread widely, thus obtaining sufficient nutrients from the bog soil.
The stem is hollow and fragile, slightly grooved. The stem is usually not larger than 30 mm in diameter. The plant tends to have both underwater and above-water leaves.
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
can be a biennial or perennial plant. It is relatively easy to recognize it from similar plants. The lower part of the plant is under water. The plant blooms from the beginning of summer until autumn. It starts producing seeds in August, September.
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
has white flowers, small, arranged in clusters. Chemuri 10mm in diameter with 8-15 rays. Padils of other species tend to have pink flowers as well, not just white.
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
can also be recognized by its fruits. You should know that the plant is poisonous, its fruits are elliptically elongated, 5 mm long, twin cotyledons. The fruits of
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
, which are harvested in autumn, until they ripen, are of special value in medicine. Only trained people should collect the seeds of this plant due to toxicity.
When encountering this plant in nature, it is better not to touch it. Sometimes this plant grows in gardens, but it is relatively difficult to distinguish it from parsley or dill.
The plant contains enanthotoxin, a resinous poisonous substance. The seeds of the plant contain an essential oil that includes the terpene phelandrene, also a poisonous component. The amount of oil in the plant varies from 1.5-2.5%. The fruit contains up to 4% resin and no more than 20% vegetable fat, phenols, coumarins, polyacetylenic compounds. The flowers and the surface part of the plant contain flavonoids (kaempferol, isorhamnetin, quercetin).
Medicinal significance
Although
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
is not among the medicinal plants that are confirmed by science, it also has its own medicinal value. Thanks to the essential oils, resins, waxes and gummy substances, the fruits of
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
are used in various preparations that have pain-relieving, expectorant, sedative, diuretic and diaphoretic effects.
In folk medicine,
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
is used to get rid of inflammation, flatulence, bronchitis and other ailments. Crushed fruit extract is used during lactation to treat inflammation in the mammary glands, reduce asthma, prevent pain in the digestive tract and flatulence. Water extract can also be used as a diuretic. Fruit powder is also useful for treating these diseases. A fruit decoction is used to treat coughing up blood, it is good to add honey to the decoction.
An alcohol extract is also prepared from the fruits of
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
, which helps to get rid of sputum, in case of upper respiratory tract diseases, improves digestion and removes flatulence, and headaches.
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
is a poisonous plant that can cause weakness and nausea, dizziness and other side effects. The poison of the
Fine-leaved Water-dropwort
plant is neuroparalytic, its entry into the body causes convulsions, loss of consciousness, vomiting.