The Flower of the Year 2015 was recently chosen by the Hamburg Nature Conservation Foundation: Dem Ordinary devil bite will receive this honor this year. Perhaps one of the reasons was that many endangered butterfly species love its nectar very much, or their caterpillars use it as a source of food. As a bud, resembling the structure of a blackberry, the inflorescence then shines lush and voluminous in all its beauty.
Occurrence & cultivation of the common devil bite
The common devil bite is a so-called herbaceous plant, up to 80 flowers are in a spherical inflorescence, which has many other small heads in it. The color of the flowers is reminiscent of cornflowers and shines in purple and blue. The outer calyxes lie under the single flowers, they run out into pointed tips. The flower in the inflorescence looks like it has "exploded". The common devil bite belongs to the wind and animal shakers. When the fruit ripens, which is reached from August, wind movements and animals can spread the fruit.
Ants also have their share in this form of spread. The plant is a gynodiac flower, so it partly shows purely female and partly hermaphrodite flowers. This is to promote cross-pollination, which is taken over by bees, butterflies and some other two-winged birds.
The common devil bite is a real cosmopolitan: it can be found almost everywhere in the world. He prefers moorland and poor meadows, which have humid and humid soils. It is on the red list in some federal states and is therefore one of the endangered species
Effect & application
With moderate bronchitis, hoarseness, cough and even lung diseases, a tea with the usual devil's bite should be the remedy of choice. For this purpose, the brewed tea with a high-quality honey is slowly drunk in single sips several times throughout the day. For the preparation you need the cleaned and dried herb and simply pour hot water over it. Then let it steep for at least ten minutes and carefully strain it off.
The tea can be consumed immediately. A little more patience is required for an infusion or a tincture. You need a sealable jar in which the cleaned herbs are placed. After pouring high-percentage schnapps over the medicinal plant, it should be well covered. Place the closed jar in a warm, sunny place and let it steep for at least ten days.
An infusion with fruit vinegar is also possible: This has an additional calming effect on the stomach and intestines and can be very effective in treating diarrhea and constipation. Both infusions are suitable for both internal and external use.
Importance for health, treatment & prevention
As its name suggests, the common devil bite has an occult, superstitious side. The devil is said to have bitten off the rhizome in anger (hence its shape) when the Virgin Mary took his power away. This superstition dates back to the 14th century and to this day ensures that people wear the root around their necks to protect themselves from evil. Even cattle sheds in southern climes are sometimes protected from "bad influences" by the roots.
A century later, the first serious records of the effectiveness of the common devil's bite such as protection against the plague and chills were found. However, an effective remedy against the plague could never be found, so that almost all medicinal plants were used and tried out for this clinical picture. The common devil's bite was used in particular for blood washing, i.e. for kidney problems and kidney weaknesses of all kinds. In earlier times they were also called stone diseases.
In particular, the tannins and bitter substances, glycosides and saponins of the plant should help to cleanse and stabilize the blood circulation. It has already proven itself in bronchitis and other diseases of the airways. Since none of these indications could ever be proven, it is not even used in phytotherapy. In homeopathy, the common devil's bite is mainly used for external application on wounds and ulcers and is used for chronic skin diseases, it is also used in some medicines.
There is a beautiful fairy tale about the usual devil bite. It reads "How the devil's bite lost its healing power" and is about a girl who enters into a pact with the devil to save her father from illness. She promises the devil her soul and after he has betrayed her the medicinal herbs for the father and he heals, she passes on her knowledge to many other needy people. The devil is angry about it and takes away her eyesight. From now on nobody could be cured with the common devil's bite.
