Medicinal plants: Libertadora and Llantén

Medicinal plants: Libertadora and Llantén

I start this publication telling you that in the community where I live we adopted a cute, but very naughty little dog called Coqueta. This one had a fight with another dog and bit her leaving two huge holes. Unfortunately, we realized a little late of this and already had worms, these began to make those holes bigger. Among all, we look for a way to heal it. Much concern we had, because, at least for me, it was the first time I took care of an animal. The truth of the case, is that each of their caregivers took part in their recovery. My neighbor worried, because although it was possible to extract all the worms and their larvae, their wounds did not heal, decided to put in the wound a poultice with two leaves: liberator and plantain. She put them on the wound with great faith and the results were, so to speak, miraculous. The wounds healed almost immediately and Coqueta recovered quite well from her ailments.

I saw the speed with which those wounds were healed, I began to wonder if those plants would have any other medicinal contribution for us and I decided to investigate. Resorting to popular knowledge, I asked the grandmothers of my community and they effectively told me that both plants had anti-inflammatory, analgesic and healing properties. However, I wanted to know more and I turned to other sources. During that search I found valuable information about these plants that I want to show you next and I hope it is a contribution for this community.

The liberator is a plant that belongs to the Kalanchoe genus. Its scientific name is Kalanchoe pinnata and it is native of Madagascar. Although I could not specify when it reached South American latitudes, it is a plant that is known in Venezuela as malamadre, siempreviva, colombiana. This plant has the peculiarity of watering their children for their leaves, that is, at the edge of their leaves flowers grow and hence the seed needed to germinate another plant.

These can reach from 30 cm to 1m in height. Its leaves tend to be fleshy, but not thick. Its flowers can be green, purple, white. I only saw them green. The liberator prefers warm or temperate climates.

Among its benefits we have that it is a diuretic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, digestive and antiviral, antihemorrhagic, astringent plant.

It can be used externally or internally. Externally, the leaf of this plant can be crushed and applied as a poultice to control inflammation, improve pain and promote healing. This poultice can be mixed with petrolatum or oil to enhance its effects. Internally, connoisseurs of this plant express that it is possible to eat it in salads, juices and decoctions of the leaves.

Although this plant can give us many benefits it is necessary to understand that everything will depend on our organism. In the case of the liberator, it is recommended not to exceed its consumption to more than 80 grams per day, avoid being consumed by pregnant women and not extend for a long time.

On the other hand, we have the plant called plantain. This plant belongs to the Plantaginaceae family. It is possible to find two species: Plantago major or Plantago minor. Both have the same properties. It is a plant considered weed. It grows at least 10 centimeters and flourishes when its time comes. From this flowering, its seeds are extracted.

When looking for information about its benefits for our body, I found that it is ideal to treat respiratory conditions such as colds, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia. In addition it is granted healing, depurative and diuretic, antibiotic, mucolytic and expectorant properties.

Its use can be external or internal. Externally, it is possible to collect their fresh leaves and crush to a paste and add to the affected area. This mixture can be used to heal burns, insect bites. Internally, an infusion can be made with the dried leaves (they can also be fresh) to treat diverse respiratory processes.

In short, it is incredible the power that nature gives us to treat different ills that afflict us. The Llantén and the Liberator are examples of that. It is not enough to try and continue researching to appropriate more of them and learn more about their benefits. It is also important to note that nothing in excess is good, so it is good to be aware of the possible adverse effects that could have and suspend their consumption immediately.

Llantén

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