What kind of grass is Ivan and Marya. Ivan da Marya is a flower surrounded by folk legends. Useful properties and contraindications

It just so happens that many have heard about the Ivan da Marya flower, but few have any idea about it. But the contrasting beauty of this plant can become a highlight in any garden. And besides, the flower will be at hand if the need arises to take advantage of its medicinal properties. The article will help you understand the features of the medicinal plant, and the attached photos will allow you to enjoy the beauty of the flower.

Ivan da Marya: legends and traditions

Knowledge about the Ivan da Marya flower goes back centuries. In pagan times, the Slavic ancestors called the flower Kupala da Mavka. Only with the advent of Christianity did it acquire a new name, which has survived to this day.

According to East Slavic myths, a brother and sister lived in this world - Kupala and Kostroma, separated by chance and parental disobedience in childhood. Many years later, an unfortunate incident brought them together again, but they did not know about their relationship and fell in love with each other. And only after the wedding they learned that their hearts were connected by forbidden love. The bitter truth forced the brother and sister to choose between death and shame. They chose death - Kostroma drowned herself in the depths of a forest lake, and became the first Mavka mermaid, and Kupala threw herself into the heat of the fire.

The gods, looking at such a tragedy, took pity and turned the brother and sister into beautiful flower- partly blue, like water, partly yellow, like fire. With the advent of Christianity, Kupala was renamed Ivan (in honor of John the Baptist), and Mavka, his unfortunate sister, was named Maria, in honor of the Mother of God.

Medicinal plant in natural conditions

Rumor imparts magic to a two-faced flower, picked on the day of the summer solstice (on the holiday of Kupala):

helps a person carrying it with him to escape persecution;
the owner of a marvelous plant will be able to move quickly, even if there is an old nag under him (in modern interpretation will provide assistance to the racer on any car);
freshly squeezed plant juice was given to drink to people who had lost their memory or reason;
keeping a mystical plant in the house helps protect the home from evil intentions and spirits;
acts as the keeper of peace between husband and wife.

Botanical features of the Ivan-da-Marya flower

An annual herbaceous plant from the extensive Norichinaceae family, preferring partial shade in forests and groves. From this family to middle lane There are two species that grow in Russia: oak grove Maryannik and meadow Maryannik.

It grows in height from 10 to 50 cm. Moreover, the height of the maryannik directly depends on which plant it is “joined” to.
The pointed lanceolate leaves of Ivan da Marya are located opposite each other on an erect stem. Inner side leaves are equipped with short hairs.
The two-lipped flowers are yellow, and the upper woolly-toothed stipules (they are not flowers) are colored blue.
Flowering lasts from June to September.
Ivan-da-Marya intensively produces nectar, being an excellent honey plant.
It propagates mainly by seed. The spread of the plant is facilitated by ants, who love to feast on juicy seeds and take them away.

Attention! Cows cannot be grazed in the areas where Ivan da Marya grows, because The plant is poisonous and is rich in glycosides. Milk from cows that have eaten maryannik will be bitter and unpleasant in taste.

Preparation and pharmacological properties

In official medicine, preparations containing the Ivan da Marya flower are not used. However, folk healers use maryannik in their medicinal potions, using recipes that have come down to this day from time immemorial.

For the preparation, all aboveground part Ivan da Marya, including its fruits. During the flowering period, the plant is either pulled out with the root or cut off. Then the medicinal raw materials are dried in the shade or in any room with access fresh air, expanding thin layer on a dry surface, or hanging in bunches. Dried flowers of Ivan da Marya are stored in a dry room with good ventilation for 2 years in cloth bags.

The Ivan da Marya flower is rich in flavonoids and organic acids.

Attention! Marianberry seeds contain the glycoside rhinanthin (aucuban), which is toxic.

The medicinal plant has the following effects:

sedative (acts like tranquilizers);
anticonvulsant;
hypotensive;
wound healing;
anti-inflammatory;
has a positive effect on the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Ivan-da-Marya: indications for use

IN folk medicine maryannik is widely used to treat scrofula (in the modern interpretation, a type of atopic dermatitis in children). The long-standing use of the plant for the treatment of this disease is evidenced by one of the popular names of the flower - Scrofulus. For this skin lesion, Ivan-da-Marya is used externally - the child is washed in a decoction or lotions are made.

Healers use dry, crushed marianberry grass as a wound-healing and antiseptic agent, preventing putrefactive processes. In the form of an infusion, Ivan-da-Marya is used internally for hypertension and heart disease. Herbal tea provides relief from neuralgia and epilepsy.

However, you should not begin treatment without consulting an experienced herbalist. In case of violation of the dosage and regimen of taking Ivan-da-Marya, the following manifestations are possible:

discomfort or pain in the stomach;
nausea, vomiting;
irritability;
drowsiness;
slow heart rate;
decreased heart rate;
weakness.

If one or more of the above symptoms appear, you must stop using Ivan da Marya, rinse your stomach and seek medical advice. medical care. It would not be amiss to recall that Ivan-da-Marya is a poisonous plant, and oral use by pregnant women and children is strictly contraindicated.

Often the name Ivan-da-Marya is used in relation to several different types plants. This is often the name given to meadow sage, tricolor violet, Geneva violet, and periwinkle, but a more well-known plant is oak grass. Its other names are Ivanets, two-colored or brother and sister.

This plant belongs to the broomrape family and is considered an annual. Flower Ivan da Marya - honey-bearing and ornamental plant, but at the same time poisonous. Despite this, it is widely used in folk medicine.

The inflorescence is apical, the raceme is spike-shaped with a sparse color. The bracts are cordate-ovate, opposite, pointed with teeth, slightly pubescent along the veins and at the base. The lower part of the inflorescence has bracts Green colour, at the base of the middle part - violet-blue, at the top - violet color.

The calyx is usually tubular with pointed teeth. Flowers on a plant irregular shape, the pedicels are small, facing one direction and pubescent. The corolla is yellow, two-lipped, with a lower lip and a reddish tube. Blooms from May to September. Prefers to grow in oak forests, on forest edges and fields, in swampy meadows and among bushes.

The grass Ivan da Marya is widely distributed in European territory. The main places of growth are forest and forest-steppe zones in the European part of Russia. But the plant can also be found in the Caucasus, Siberia, and Ukraine. Better conditions for plant growth - peat and damp meadows, chalk slopes and deciduous forests.

The genus Mariannik has 35 species. For Russia the most characteristic appearance is Ivan-da-Marya (oak grove), meadow, field and cut maryannik.

Gallery: Ivan da Marya flower (25 photos)

Legends about the flower

Nature has endowed the Ivan-da-Marya plant with a very bright and contrasting color, which is why there are so many different legends and tales around it.

Each nationality tells its own legend of the appearance of the flower, but in each story there were lovers who, in spite of everything, wanted to be together. So this one bright flower became a symbol of fidelity and love. Since ancient times, it was believed that blue is a masculine color and yellow is a feminine color. But it is also not surprising that the name uses the most common Russian names - Ivan and Marya. They could symbolize any couple in love. The two most common legends are:

These are so amazing and interesting stories people wrote about this herb. But the flower became famous not only for its unusual legends, it also became famous for its healing properties.

Use in folk medicine

In folk medicine for preparation medicines The above-ground parts of this herb are used:

flowers;
fruit;
leaves;
stems.

Beneficial features

Ivan da Marya grass - poisonous plant. Its entire above-ground part contains glycosides and alkaloids, including dulcite and aucubine. The seeds are considered very poisonous.

They can cause quite severe poisoning in both people and animals. Therefore, the plant should be used as a medicinal product with caution. Despite this property, the plant has a healing effect for many diseases:

Thus, its benefits are obvious for diseases of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, heart (hypertension), as well as for neuralgia and epilepsy.
It is especially effective to use externally for skin tuberculosis, diathesis, scabies, rheumatism, various rashes, and for washing wounds. Externally, you can use powder from a dried plant, but also juice from a fresh one.
An infusion of flowers has a calming, sedative, and anticonvulsant effect. Tea from the plant is drunk for scrofula.

Possible danger

But you need to use the plant only according to the instructions, otherwise it can cause harm to your health. Main symptoms of overdose and poisoning:

stomach pain;
weakness and drowsiness;
vomiting and nausea;
reduction in heart rate.

If a person is faced with the need to use this flower, then one should not forget about its toxic properties. Seeds are especially dangerous. They have a narcotic effect, causing drowsiness and irritability. If the above symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor.

Magical properties of the plant

People have long endowed the grass Ivan-da-Marya with magical properties. So, if you pick a plant on the day of the solstice, the flower will help the one who keeps it with him to escape from pursuit.

Also in Rus' it was believed that a person who keeps a flower with him can ride quickly even on a sick and old horse. Previously, many scouts and messengers carried Ivan-da-Marya in their pockets. It is known that fresh flower juice was given to drink to people who had lost their minds and hearing, reason and memory.

Ivan da Marya flowers, which were collected on Ivan Kupala, were kept in the hut. People believed that the flower protected their home from bad people and evil spirits, and also helps restore relationships between spouses. To protect against thieves, flowers were placed in the corners of the house.

Male and female names popularly refers to plants that bloom in multi-colored or differently shaped pairs of inflorescences. One of these representatives is begonia, numbering a large number of species and hybrid varieties. Tuberous begonia is very popular. Her attractiveness is created by her appearance and... Today we introduce the flower Ivan da Marya - indoor begonia: what it looks like, planting and care.

Flower Ivan da Marya indoor begonia what it looks like

The most developed leaves are determined, cut off, placed in a moist substrate (sand - 3, peat - 1 part) and placed in a shaded place.

Protecting plants from diseases and pests

Begonia is affected powdery mildew false.

Excess moisture causes the formation. In order to promptly detect an unpleasant problem, we recommend observing the appearance of the core of the bush and its lower leaves, on which rot or dew most often appears.
Affected leaves are immediately removed, and the amount of watering is sharply reduced. These measures will prevent the proliferation of fungal pests.
Begonia is most often attacked by aphids and. They must be combated by spraying, for which special preparations are used.

Counts a wonderful plant. At proper care she, balcony or loggia. Special attention does not require it.

Ivan da Marya is a name that is used in relation to several completely different types of plants. This name can be given to tricolor violet, meadow sage, periwinkle, and Geneva violet, but most often this name is used to understand oak grass.

Flower Ivan da Marya: description

The inflorescence is an apical, sparsely colored spike-shaped raceme. The bracts are opposite, ovate-cordate, pointed with denticles, pubescent at the base and along the veins. The bracts of the lower part of the inflorescence are green, the middle part is blue-violet at the base, the upper part is completely purple.

The calyx is tubular with long-pointed teeth (approximately half the length of the calyx). The flowers are irregular, the pedicels are small, pubescent, facing one direction. The corolla is two-lipped, yellow, with a reddish tube and lower lip.

Flowering period is from May to September. It grows in clearings and forest edges, in oak forests, among bushes, and in swampy meadows.

The flower got its due popular name due to the sharp contrast of the yellow corolla and purple bracts. There are many types of legends that explain this phenomenon, and they are all united by the plot of the tragic love of the young man Ivan and the beautiful Marya (in earlier versions - Kupala and Kostroma).

The yellow color of the flower was attributed to the boy, and the purple color to the girl. The reasons why young people’s destinies did not work out, different stories are different, but since then these interesting bright flowers.

It is not a pharmacopoeial plant, although it is considered promising for pharmacological research. Popular use of the Ivan and Marya flower as an insecticidal, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing agent is known. On the farm, a decoction of the seeds was previously used to dye fabrics yellow, as well as to fight insects.

Benefits and harms to human health

The plant is poisonous. Its terrestrial part contains alkaloids and glycosides, including aucubine and dulcite. Especially poisonous seeds. It can also cause severe poisoning in animals that eat it. Take orally with caution.

The benefits of the Ivan and Marya flower for the body are known for diseases of the heart, gastrointestinal tract and stomach, hypertension, epilepsy, and neuralgia. Externally it is recommended to use it for scabies, diathesis, skin tuberculosis, rashes, rheumatism, and for washing wounds. Marjannik tea is drunk for scrofula.

It must be used exactly according to the instructions. Failure to comply with the dosage may cause harm to a person. The main manifestations of overdose and poisoning:

weakness;
pain in the stomach, behind the sternum;
nausea and vomiting;
drowsiness;
weakened cardiac activity.

Treatment in this case: gastric lavage, sorbents, if necessary - symptomatic therapy (caffeine, validol, nitroglycerin, etc.).

It has been scientifically proven that the infusion of the Ivan da Marya flower is characterized by a calming effect, similar to that of tranquilizers. It will be useful for treating the initial stage of epilepsy.

Contraindications

It has no precisely defined contraindications, but as a poisonous plant it is not recommended for use internally by pregnant women, children and those with individual intolerance.

Application of the herb Ivan da Marya

Extracts of the Ivan and Marya flower have antipsychotic properties. They have sedative, hypotensive cardiac, and anticonvulsant effects. Externally used for skin diseases, powder from a dried plant, as well as juice from a fresh one - for healing wounds.

For skin diseases

The plant Ivan and Marya has long been used for skin diseases: rashes of various etiologies, eczema, skin tuberculosis, demodicosis, scabies, scrofula. For baths and local washings, an infusion is used.

Tincture recipe: 3 tablespoons of the herb must be poured into 1 liter of boiling water and left for 2 hours, then strained.

Children are also bathed in it for diathesis.
Also, poultices are made from the grass to areas affected by scabies mites and hard tumors. The juice or dried powder of the plant was used to speed up the healing of wounds.

Tincture for heart disease

Ivan da marya is used as a tincture for pain in the heart caused by vasospasm. It also has a general strengthening effect on the cardiovascular system and stimulates the nervous system.

Mariannik tincture recipe: 1.5 tablespoons of raw material must be poured into 0.5 liters of vodka, left to brew, shaking occasionally for 2 weeks.

You need to drink 1 tablespoon 3 times a day for 2-3 weeks, then you should take a 1 week break, and then continue treatment.

Decoction recipe for blood pressure

A decoction or infusion of the herb Ivan and Marya is drunk for hypertension. You can also use Ivan da Marya tincture prepared according to the recipe above for high blood pressure.

1 tablespoon of herb is poured into 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, strain thoroughly and drink 1 tablespoon 3 times a day;
10-20 g of raw materials must be poured with 200 g of water, left in a water bath for 30 minutes, strain the broth and add boiled water to the original volume. Drink 1 tablespoon 2-3 times a day.

Tinctures for neuralgia and epilepsy

Preparations from the plant are effective for epilepsy. On initial stage diseases, the infusion of the flower is used for treatment, and in later cases - as an additional means to relieve seizures, which allows you to reduce the dose of anticonvulsant drugs consumed. The flower decoction should be drunk half a glass 2 times a day.
For neuralgia, baths are made from infusions and decoctions of the Ivan and Marya plant.

Use during pregnancy

For stress

The action of the active substances of maryannik is aimed mainly at the nervous and cardiovascular systems. It is recommended to drink infusions and tinctures for stress and depression, which are the main cause of many female diseases. Also, the flower as part of a complex collection is used in the treatment of female benign tumors.

For diseases of the intestines and stomach

Drink an infusion of the herb Ivan and Marya for the stomach twice a day, half a glass. It helps with inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Collection and preparation of plants

The above-ground part of the plant, which is used as a raw material, should be harvested during active flowering (May - September). It can be cut or pulled out directly with a poorly developed root. Dry in a closed place sun rays a place that should also be well ventilated. You can store up to 10 months, preferably in paper bags or glass containers. The fruits (pods) can be collected as they ripen from July to September.

The tradition of collecting healing and magical herbs for the Kupala holiday has existed for a very long time. A certain abbot of the Pskov Eleazar Monastery, Panfil, wrote to Dmitry Vladimirovich of Rostov around 1505 that on the eve of John the Baptist (which coincides with Kupala or the summer solstice), men and women walk through meadows, fields, forests and swamps in search of “mortal flowers”, “on destruction by man and cattle,” “here and there they dig up divia rooting for the indulgence of their husbands: and all this they do with the action of the devil on the day of the Forerunners with the sentences of Sotanin.” That there is a description of the collection of medicinal herbs by herbalists and ordinary people.

Slavic traditions

Herbs that have magical properties include: thorn grass, fern, or kochedednik, tirlich-lichomannik, weeping grass, Adam's head dope, swamp cabbage roll, rhubarb, overpowering grass, strawberry, transfer, na-sleep, gap-grass, flight -grass, Ivan-da-Marya, rosewort, thistle, plantain, burdock, bathhouse, bear's ear, rich, Chernobyl, buttercup, archilin, ant oil, copperhead, or chicken blindness and Peter's cross. According to legends, medicinal herbs are grown by mermaids and Mavkas, who know them all medicinal properties. According to Belarusian belief, Kupala herbs are most healing if they are collected by “old and young”, that is, old people and children - as the most pure (not sexually active, not having monthly cleanses, etc.). Ukrainian girls always picked wormwood, because they believed that witches and mermaids were afraid of it. Wormwood was worn on a belt, woven into wreaths, and stuck into the walls of houses and gates to block the path of witches.

Greens were used as a universal amulet: it was believed that it protected against diseases and epidemics, the evil eye and damage; from sorcerers and witches, evil spirits, “walking” dead; from natural lightning, hurricane, fire; from snakes and predatory animals, insect pests, worms. Along with this, contact with fresh herbs was also interpreted as a magical remedy that ensures fertility and successful breeding of livestock, poultry, productivity of cereals and garden crops.

They tried to collect herbs early in the morning on Midsummer's Day before sunrise, since, according to legends, healing properties They preserve only those plants that the sun does not have time to illuminate (Bulgarian, Bel., Ukrainian). It is at this time that “every grass asks to be picked and reveals its own healing power" They collected not only healing herbs, but also amulets plants (nettle, wormwood, branches of thorny bushes), as well as herbs and flowers intended for fortune telling, for ritual wreaths and bouquets, plants for making brooms, brooms, baskets.

The “Discharge Books” contain records of a number of ancient legal cases involving such herbalists. It was enough to find an unknown root or a bunch of unknown grass on someone for it to be given the meaning of malicious intent. The “witches” caught on the eve of Midsummer were tortured and beaten with batogs, so that “it would not be common practice to carry and collect herbs and roots.”

General information about the plant Ivan da Marya

Dubravny maryannik (Melampyrum nemorosum L.) is an annual herbaceous plant with a pubescent stem. Leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate. The flowers are light yellow, two-lipped, collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. The fruit is an ovoid capsule. The seeds are large, oblong, brown or almost black. Plant height – 15-60 cm.

The plant stands out for its particularly striking contrast of blue bracts and bright yellow corollas. It is very decorative, which is why it often attracted the attention of painters and poets, but when picked into bouquets it quickly fades. The flowers of Ivan da Marya produce nectar abundantly and are rightfully considered a good honey plant.

Name Ivan da Marya in different areas can be given to several (different) herbaceous plants, the flowers of which (or the upper parts of the entire plant) are distinguished by the presence of two sharply distinguishable colors, most often yellow and blue or purple. Most often, the word Ivan-da-Marya is used to refer specifically to oak grove, and less often to tricolor violet. Even less commonly, this name is given to meadow sage and periwinkle - they also have two distinctly different colors.

Oakwood maryannik is found in the northern, middle and southwestern zones of the European part of Russia. It grows in forest clearings (sometimes in large areas), forest edges, hills, in thickets of bushes, swampy meadows and chalk slopes. The most common plant in our meadows, glades and edges of deciduous forests, where it blooms from late spring to early autumn (May-September).

Magic properties

Among the Eastern Slavs, the Ivan-da-Marya flower was a symbol of Kupala celebrations. In many places among Russians it is also known under the names “Kupala flower”, “kupavka”, “swimsuit”, “Ivankovsky flower”. Belarusians call it “brother and sister” and “crying flower,” and Ukrainians call it “brothers.”

The origin of this flower among the Eastern Slavs and some peoples neighboring them - Poles, Lithuanians - is associated with the folklore motive of punishing a brother and sister for incest - incestuous marriage. Thus, the Russians have a popular belief about the transformation of a brother and sister who entered into a forbidden relationship into a flower, which, according to their names - Ivan and Marya, became known as Ivan-da-Marya. Ukrainians and Poles have widespread legends with a similar plot: a brother and sister, separated in childhood, walked around the world for a long time, and when they met, they did not recognize each other, got married and only later learned that they were brother and sister. From shame and grief they turned into grass, the flowers of which are blue and yellow color. In the folklore of all Eastern Slavs there are ballads and songs that tell how a brother and sister almost got married or were already married, but before the wedding night they learned about their relationship:

And on Sunday they got married,

On Monday they went to bed.

He began to torture the kid,

What kind of girl is she?

“I’m Voitovna from Kyiv, Father Karpovna!”

The girl began to torture

What kind of kid is this:

“I’m from Kyiv, Voitovich, According to Father Karpovich!”

“Oh, where was that guy?

For a sister to marry her brother?

A sister will not marry her brother,

But brother doesn’t take sister!

We'll go to the field

We'll throw off the grass

What about brother and sister!”

These ballads were most often used as Kupala songs. The involuntary violation of the marriage ban, found in ritual songs on this subject, correlates with popular stories that on Kupala night in ancient times the bans on marriage were lifted. love relationship between all men and women. This custom also explains the fact that incestuous motifs are most common in Kupala songs. For example, the Kupala song plot about a brother who wants to kill his seductress sister was widespread. Another song emphasizes that the initiative in suggesting incest belongs to the sister:

Konik is walking

Voronenky.

On that horse<…>

Ivan is sitting

Marya is behind him<…>

He runs after:

"Wait, Ivan<…>

I'll say something!<…>

Love you<…>

I'll go with you!

I'll make a wish<…>

Three riddles.

And what grows<…>

Without root?

What's burning?<…>

Without a flame?

What's running?<…>

With no reason?"

This song contains an archaic motive for solving riddles of a cosmogonic nature (in this case, the solution is stone, soot, water), which in mythopoetic texts is related to the theme of testing for knowledge indicating readiness for marriage.

Having compared the folklore and ritual material of the Eastern Slavs with the mythologies of other peoples, the researchers came to the conclusion that the basis of legends, beliefs, Kupala songs about incest, including texts about the origin of the Ivan da Marya flower, is the archaic myth of twins, one of which - Ivan - is associated with life and fire, and the other - Marya - with death and water. Their relationship in ritual songs correlates with the ancient motif of the marriage duel of fire and water, that is, precisely those opposing natural elements that were of paramount importance in the Kupala ritual.

Songs about the origin of the Ivan da Marya flower, associated with the violation of the marriage ban between brother and sister, were sung on Kupala night until the wheel burned out and the ritual fire died out.

In Ukrainian beliefs, this flower is a symbol of salvation from the love of people close by blood. The Russians used ivan-da-marya, along with some other herbs, to make wreaths - maiden headdresses for the Kupala holiday. Throwing these wreaths into the water, the girls wondered about their fate: if the wreath washed back to the shore, it would mean they would remain girls this year; will sail to the other shore - to marriage; Well, if the wreath sinks, the fortuneteller will die. In the St. Petersburg province, girls, performing a ritual ablution on the day of Ivan Kupala, entered the water with Ivan da Marya flowers and released them: if the flower sank, it foreshadowed death.

Like other herbs, the Ivan-da-Marya flower on the day of the summer solstice, when nature reached its greatest flowering, had, according to popular beliefs, magical power, which the peasants tried to take advantage of. Everywhere on the day of Agrafena Bathing and Ivan Kupala, herbs and flowers were collected in forests and fields. As a rule, girls and young women who married in this year. In the Pskov province, they walked across the field in a “row” - holding hands, five or six people - and, collecting plants, they always sang:

Let's go, girls, to the meadow,

Let's stand around, girls,

Let's pick a flower,

Let's put on a wreath,

Where should we take them?

We'll dress the brides.

In some places, boys also went shopping for herbs with the girls. Plants, among which the Ivan-da-Marya flower was the most common, were brought to the village in large armfuls. They were scattered on the floor in churches, dwellings and on the ground in courtyards, placed near windows and near icons. These plants were considered the best remedy from various troubles. During a thunderstorm, the preserved grass was thrown into the oven to protect the house from lightning strikes, that is, from the elements of fire. The Ivan da Marya flower, picked on Kupala night, was placed in the corners of the hut: according to legend, this helps to avoid theft. A thief will not enter a house where there is Ivan da Marya, because “brother and sister will talk; the thief will imagine that the master is talking to the mistress.” In the Belarusian tradition, this flower - “brother-sister” - was used as a healing agent: on Kupala morning it was given to cows so that they would be prosperous. Here they believed that it helps with cough. In Polesie, until the second half of the 20th century, children were bathed with the same herb, called here “brothers”, so that they could sleep well.

Fern flower

Description

First the facts. Ferns are a department of very ancient plants, rich in their diversity (more than 10 thousand species). Ferns reproduce by spores and

by vegetative means (shoots). The controversy is on back side leaves and are quite inconspicuous. Some types of ferns produce an arrow with spores, which resembles an inflorescence, but not a single flower. Ferns are also poisonous. In hot summer weather, the air in the forest is saturated with vapors. Perhaps they cause various auditory and visual hallucinations.

Legends about the fern flower

Ferns have always attracted interest and even caused some fear among people. They were considered special, mysterious and hidden plants, unlike all the others. He was always hiding something, grew up in dim, damp, scary places and, apparently, kept some kind of secret knowledge within himself.

People were attracted by the mystery of these plants, the mystery of their reproduction in the absence of flowers. All plants bloom, but this one does not - that means it is special, marked with mystery. So legends about ferns, tales, and fairy tales begin to arise around. In them - a modest inhabitant of forests and endows with those properties that a person has not observed in reality - the fern blooms, but not simply, but magically.

The legend about the fern is well known, in which a magical flower blooms once a year on the night of Ivan Kupala. In the ancient Slavic tradition, the fern became known as magical plant. According to legend, it was at Kupala midnight that the fern bloomed briefly and the earth opened up, making visible the treasures and treasures hidden in it.

After midnight, those who were lucky enough to find a fern flower ran in their mother's clothes through the dewy grass and bathed in the river to receive fertility from the earth.

According to the legend about the fern, at midnight before Midsummer, the fern blooms for a few moments with a bright fiery flower with magical properties. Around midnight, a bud suddenly appears from the leaves of the fern, which, rising higher and higher, then sways, then stops - and suddenly staggers, turns over and jumps. Exactly at midnight, a ripened bud bursts with a bang, and a bright fiery flower is presented to the eyes, so bright that it is impossible to look at it; an invisible hand tears it off, and a person almost never manages to do this. Whoever finds a blossoming fern and manages to take possession of it acquires the power to command everyone.

In the story “Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” N.V. Gogol talked about an old folk legend, according to which once a year a fern flower blooms, and whoever picks it will get a treasure and get rich. N.V. Gogol in “Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” describes the flowering of fern as follows: “Look, a small flower bud turns red and, as if alive, moves. Really wonderful! It moves and gets bigger and bigger and turns red like a hot coal. A star flashed, something quietly crackled, and the flower unfolded before his eyes like a flame, illuminating others around it.” "Now it's time!" - Petro thought and extended his hand... Closing his eyes, he pulled the stem, and the flower remained in his hands. Everything has calmed down..."

He picked a fern flower and threw it up, adding special slander. The flower floated in the air and landed just above the place where the fabulous treasure was kept.

In Rus', fern was called gap-grass. It was believed that one touch of a fern flower was enough to open any lock. According to legend, picking a fern flower is very difficult and dangerous. It was believed that a fern flower, immediately after blooming, is plucked by the hand of an invisible spirit. And if someone dares to go pick a fern flower, the spirits will bring horrors and fears upon him, and may take him away with them.

In Russia there was such a legend about fern:“The shepherd was grazing bulls near the forest and fell asleep. Waking up at night and seeing that there were no bulls near him, he ran into the forest to look for them. While running through the forest, I accidentally ran into some growth that had just blossomed. The shepherd, not noticing this grass, ran straight across it. At this time, he accidentally knocked down a flower with his foot, which fell into his shoe. Then he became happy and immediately found the bulls. Not knowing what was in his shoe and without taking off his shoes for several days, the shepherd in this short time saved money and learned about the future. Meanwhile, earth was poured into the shoe during this time. The shepherd, taking off his shoes, began to shake the earth out of his shoe and, along with the earth, shook out the flower of the fern. From that time on, he lost his happiness, lost his money and did not recognize the future.”

Associated with this plant beautiful legends. According to one of them, in the place where a beautiful girl fell from a cliff, a clean spring arose, and her hair turned into fern. Other legends about the fern connect its origin with the goddess of love and beauty Venus: a wonderful plant grew from a hair she dropped. One of its types is called adiantum - Venus hair.

The widespread legend about the fiery flower of the fern, which had to be found on the night of Ivan Kupala, is associated with the male shield fern, but the female shield fern also received its share in this ancient ritual. Since tribal primitive times, female nomad was considered a “reliable” and powerful “witch’s root”.

The peasants of the Vologda region have long had a belief that if on the night of Ivan Kupala you find a large female fern, sit patiently near it, without moving and covered with a thick cloth, you can learn all the secrets of forest herbs and medicinal plants. Allegedly, after some time one will be able to see in the twilight of a not very dark northern night how all the medicinal herbs will run past the female fern one after another, each one will identify itself and say what disease it helps against.

When to look for a fern flower?

Everything looks simple here. It blooms on the night of Ivan Kupala. This means you should look for it on the night of July 6-7. Not so! Some argue that Kupala is celebrated on July 7, and you need to look for it on the night of the holiday, therefore, the right night is from July 7 to 8. In addition, according to the old style, this holiday fell on June 23-24, which corresponds to the legend about Perun’s color. Around this period, from June 20 to June 26, the summer solstice falls, and it is on these days that Ivan Kupala is celebrated in other countries. With the transition to a new style the holiday shifted by 2 weeks, and apparently they forgot to warn the sun, so

The summer solstice is considered to be June 22. Moreover, it must be taken into account that the holiday of Ivan Kupala arose as a result of the combination of the pagan holiday of Kupala and the Christian celebration of the birthday of John the Baptist (July 22). So you have to decide for yourself when to look.

Where to look?

It's clear. Where the fern grows. But it is unlikely that a fern in a flowerpot from your windowsill or from summer cottage. Need a wild fern. Appearance it has enough character that you are unlikely to confuse it with any other plant. Ferns are quite unpretentious; they just need to be warm and damp. That's why they grow in forests, swamps, and near rivers. But you still have to go into the forest, and into the most remote part of it.

How to look for a fern flower?

The answer suggests itself - carefully. Although some versions of the legend claim that you need to draw a magic circle near the fern with a knife, which will protect you from evil spirits, sit in it and patiently wait for the flower to appear. It will bloom exactly at midnight and will bloom... for some time. According to various sources - from one moment to the whole night. It is not clear what this flower looks like. Some say that it is a large red, “fiery” flower, others say it is silver, and others say it is a small white flower. Everyone agrees on only one thing - this flower glows. This is where its other names came from: luminous color, adonis, heat-color, color-light. This means that it will not be so difficult to see it at night. They just say it will be scary. The evil spirits will try in every possible way to scare you with visions, various sounds, and may even call you by name. The ideas of our ancestors about this are described by Gogol in “May Night”. They also claim that this flower has some kind of special guardian, whose purpose is to prevent you from picking the treasured flower.

What to do next?

The flower must be picked quickly. Suddenly it still blooms only for an instant. Then, by various sources, hide and run, or carefully carry in your palms. The main thing is not to look back. Or, according to other sources, sit in a outlined circle, waiting for the morning. It is unclear what to do with him next. Apparently, dry it and store it in a home herbarium. One of the legends says that you need to throw a flower into the river and make a wish.

Why is it even needed?

The owner of a fern flower gains a lot of superpowers. He will be able to do virtually everything: understand the language of animals, see treasures through the thickness of the earth, become invisible, instantly be transported from place to place (teleport), be invulnerable, command spirits, in addition, all his wishes will come true. All this will last as long as the fern flower is in your hands. And there will be enough people willing to take this flower from you, both among people and among representatives of evil spirits.