2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
White pine / Pinus sylvestris / is an evergreen coniferous tree of the Rosaceae family, up to 40 m high. Its bark is dark gray at the base and strongly cracked. The young twigs of the pine are greenish. The leaves are acicular, two in membranous vaginas, on short branches. The colors are unisexual and white. The males are composed of many stamens gathered in false clusters. The females have reddish scales at the base with two seed buds, gathered in ovoid cones, after pollination they are curved downwards, growing and hardening, up to 6-7 cm long.
The white pine lives up to 600 years. The highest and the thickest white pine tree in Bulgaria it grows in the area of Staro Selo, Smolyan region. The circumference of his trunk at chest height is 5 m and is 38 m high. Old pines they have a thick and cracked dark brown bark, and the young pines have a thin, reddish-brown bark. At the top of the tree, the bark is lighter and looks peeled. After that white pine stands out from black and other conifers.
In case of injury, resin leaks from the pine trunk. Some call it balm. It flows into the injured area, hardens and protects the wood from rot and more serious disease. The pine is blooming in April and May. Then the pollination takes place. The cones ripen in the second year. So on to the same thing pine tree both dry and green cones can be seen.
We have white pine is naturally distributed mainly in the Rila-Rhodope mountain massif, more limited in other mountains between 1000 and 2000 m above sea level (in isolated places and below 1000 m). Only single trees are preserved in the Balkan Mountains. Apart from its natural distribution, white pine is our most widely cultivated coniferous species. Around the world the tree can be seen in Europe, Russia, Japan, India, China and others.
Composition of white pine
The spring buds of white pine contain about 0.4% essential oil of boron, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin K, carotene (provitamin A), tannins, mineral salts, resinous substances, pnicicrin and others.
The leaves (needles) contain up to 1% essential oil, which consists of up to 46% a - pinene, up to 3% camphene, up to 28% 3-pinene and myrcene, up to 8% lemon, up to 3% ocime, and also borneol and bornyl acetate.
From pine leaves p-D-glucoside was also isolated, and a fragrance with the characteristic and refreshing aroma of forest pine air was obtained from the needles and their bearing branches. The protein content of the wood has been established. Pine bark contains a significant amount of tannins, 3-hydroxy-1- (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) -1-propanol.
The seeds of the tree contain up to 26% fatty oil. Rosin (the residue after distillation of the essential oil) is a mixture of resin acids, mainly abietic acid.
The essential oil obtained from the pine leaves (needles) has the pleasant smell of bornyl acetate (up to 11%), pine (up to 40%), lemon (up to 40%) and other terpenes.
Growing white pine
When maintaining gardens, pines do not need special care, except for strong strengthening after planting. Another thing to keep in mind is their light-loving nature, so we need to carefully consider their place of planting. Only ripe cones are collected in advance, but before the seeds have taken off - in August and September. The seeds are treated with a minimum and sown directly into the soil, covered with a 0.5 cm layer of sand.
Moist, loose and rich soil is recommended. The addition of 10% peat, 20% coarse sand and 10% charcoal makes any soil great for sowing pine seeds. The ponies appear in 4-6 weeks. It is good to protect the seeds from direct sunlight by covering them with twigs until the actual leaves are formed, but then abundant light is mandatory. The germination of pine seeds, depending on the origin of the species, is between 60 and 95%. The seeds retain germination for 3 to 5 years.
Collection and storage of white pine
For medical purposes are used spring buds / Turiones Pini /, leaves / Folia Pini /, bark / Cortex Pini / and others of white pine, almost the whole tree. The appropriate time for picking spring buds is February - April, for the leaves - all year round, and for the bark - during the sap flow in the herb, and at other times.
Spring buds are cut with a very small part of the stem (not more than 3 mm), but without the needles. Harvesting is organized in early spring, when the buds have already begun to develop, but before they have burst.
Cracked buds should not be picked, as they are of little value and can reduce the quality of the whole batch. The other plant parts are harvested according to the felling of the trees in the designated areas.
After thorough cleaning of the collected spring buds, the material is dried indoors in well-ventilated rooms. Drying lasts 3-4 weeks. Do not dry in the sun, because the essential oil of the resin, for which the herb is most valued, will be reduced or completely lost and the herb will be completely devalued. The herb is considered dried when its inner contents have become brittle when the bud is cut.
From 4 kg of fresh spring buds 1 kg of dry ones is obtained. Dried spring buds consist of several elongated buds connected by a thin remnant of the stem. On the outside they are reddish-brown, covered with dry scales, with pine resin between them. The smell is pleasant, balsamic, and the taste - balsamic, bitter. The processed herb is stored in dry and ventilated rooms, without any access to sunlight. Store if possible for a short time.
Benefits of white pine
Almost all parts and products from white pine (and other species of the genus Pitius) are used to prepare medicines, but mostly spring buds, leaves, essential oil, resin, tar and charcoal.
Spring buds are very famous in Bulgarian folk medicine and are used as an emollient for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, to facilitate the secretion of sputum, as a warming agent for colds, sore throats, coughs and more.
The leaves (needles) are used as an antiscorbutic agent in the form of putty or syrup, as well as for the preparation of essential oil, which is used as an antiseptic in emulsified state for spraying in rooms where seriously ill lay, to freshen the air theater and cinema halls, etc.
Pine balm, which flows from specially made holes in the stems of the herb white pine (as well as other conifers of the genus Pinus), consists of about 60-80% resinous substances, 15-20% essential turpentine oil, up to 10% moisture and others. and is used to make turpentine (turpentine oil).
It is used for medical purposes, treated with lime milk and redistilled / Oleum Terebinthinae rectificatum /. It is used mainly externally in ointments and liniments as an irritant for rubbing in rheumatism, neuralgia, etc., as an antiseptic externally for inhalations in bronchitis and others. The best appreciated are those oils that contain a larger amount of foam.
Tar / Pix liquida Pini /, obtained by dry distillation of the wood part, is used in medicine externally as an antiseptic, especially in ointments against scabies in veterinary practice, wounds, and in very large quantities - in technology.
Coal, which is obtained as a residue after dry distillation, is used as a raw material for the production of medically activated carbon / Carbo activatus /, which are widely used in pharmacy and medicine as an absorbent in poisoning, food infections, intoxications and others. The essential oil extracted from the leaves and white pine twigs, is widely used in the perfume and cosmetics industries.
In the processing of white pine wood in the pulp mills the preparation p-sitosterol is obtained, which is used as a raw material for the synthesis of steroid sex hormones.
From white pine, as well as from other species of the genus Pinus, marine resin, pine wool, paper are also extracted, and from the needles - textile fibers. The fatty oil obtained from the seeds is used in the lacquer industry for the production of bezir and others. White pine wood is especially valuable. It provides good quality building material and serves for a variety of developments as well as fuel.
Photo: Cemile Cheshlieva
Folk medicine with white pine
Our folk medicine offers the following recipe for white pine tea: Put a tablespoon of pine needles in 600 ml of water. Boil for 10 minutes. Drink 100 ml before meals 4 times a day, sweetened with honey.
You can prepare your own white pine syrup as follows: 50 g of spring buds are chopped and covered with 500 ml of boiling water, the infusion is stirred and allowed to cool, then filtered and the resulting liquid (collatera) is mixed with 500 g of celery sugar or with ordinary sugar, then on low heat with frequent stirring boil the syrup. Diaper honey (500 g) is added to the cooled syrup. Mix thoroughly until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times daily before meals. This dose is suitable for both adults and children.
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