Borshevik - plant is aggressive and contradictory

Borshevik is a poisonous plant belonging to the umbellate family, the genus Heracleum. It refers to respiratory allergens, a specific odor (reminiscent of kerosene), it can be felt from a distance of about 5 m. A total of about 70 species are known, but only 15 can be found on the territory of Russia.

The name "borshchevik" the plant received for the fact that before its foliage was used to prepare borscht instead of cabbage. Other names also took root: "Heracles grass" - for huge growth, "bear's paw" - for the size and similarity of the shape of the leaves with the limb of a club-footed.

Borshevik - a plant biennial or perennial, depending on the species. Its height can vary from 20 cm to 4 m. The stems are hollow with a slight pubescence. Leaves are triple or double, collected in a basal rosette, can reach a length of 2 m (in some species up to 3.5 m). Flowers plain-greenish-white, collected in umbellate inflorescences 40 cm in diameter (in some species - more than 1.2 m). The fetus is a two-seeded (hamsters). Seeds ripen until September, easily crumbling. A fine honey plant is a cow-grass plant. Photo shows it well.

Many people know that touching this plant causes skin lesions that are similar to burns. However, this applies only to one species, namely, the cow breamer Sosnovsky, who is a malicious weed, an aggressor. Defeats Skin is caused by the ingress of plant juice and sunlight, because it contains furocoumarins. Especially dangerous are such contacts for children, even cases with a fatal outcome are known.

Another species - Siberian cow-breamer - is a useful plant used in cooking and folk medicine. Kumarinov it contains very little, and furokumarinov, which have a sensitizing effect, do not exist. From its roots make broths, used for skin diseases, removing itching and irritation. And poultices from the leaves help with rheumatic pain.

In the last century in the USSR tried to use cow-grass for feeding cattle. The plant was even cultivated, that is, they brought out new varieties with a reduced content of coumarins. Attracted a huge green mass containing proteins, sugars, vitamins and trace elements, which grew almost without care, multiplied by self-seeding. But with the collapse of the country all work was stopped.

However, cow-grass is an aggressive plant, seeds on it are formed of different quality, that is, some of them germinate in the first year, others - ripen in the ground for several years. Moreover, they contain essential oil substances. Remaining on the surface of the earth, the seed coat rotates, and these substances remain on the surface of the soil and inhibit the development of the seeds of other plants, that is, they provide their "fellow" with better conditions for germination, eliminating competitors. Considering that up to 20,000 seeds easily sown by the wind can ripen on one plant (and under favorable conditions - all 70,000), the cow grouse began to occupy more and more places and turned into a scourge of fields, gardens and parks.

It is possible to get rid of this aggressor only by destroying the seeds, since the plant does not form the root shoot. Given that the seeds can rise to 15 years, the struggle will have to lead a long one. On a small plot in the spring it is necessary to dig out all the sprouts. If this moment is missed, then during the budding period it is necessary to remove all the inflorescences. Before this, it is necessary to thoroughly protect the skin from ingestion of juice, otherwise dermatoses can not be avoided. It is important not to allow the seeds to ripen.