The cuff is a herbaceous perennial plant that can be used in the garden to create a green relief cover in shrubs and in the flower garden. The cuff belongs to the Pink family. The plant is widely distributed in the temperate climate of both Americas, Eurasia, and is also found in Africa and New Zealand. In addition to decorative properties, the cuff is known as a healer for many diseases. The people call it "chest grass", "neopodzhnik", "bear paw", "ram", "God’s tear", "goose foot", "interdigital".
Plant description
Cuff - perennial grass with creeping surface rhizome. Branched bare or densely pubescent stems up to 50 cm long develop from growth points. They can rise above the ground or spread along it.
At the base of the shoot, larger carved leaves on dense petioles are collected. Smaller leaves grow from the internodes. Rounded palmate foliage has relief radial veins and segments with varying degrees of dissection. In total there are 7-11 blades. The dissection is hardly noticeable, then the leaf remains almost round, folded or strongly pronounced. The edges of the sheet are covered with small teeth. The surface is bright green or yellowish green. It is covered with very short villi, thanks to which the dew drops do not wet the leaf and do not drain, but gather in silver pearls.
In June-September, small umbrella inflorescences bloom from the internodes on long straight peduncles. Small yellow-green flowers do not attract much attention. However, during the flowering period, the garden is filled with a delicate honey aroma. After pollination, small oblong fruits ripen like nuts. Inside them are many small seeds.
Cuff Types
The genus of the cuff is very diverse, it includes almost 600 species of plants. They are often very similar to each other and only a specialist is able to distinguish between them. Gardeners are best known for several basic varieties.
The cuff is ordinary. The plant is most often used in medicine. It has rising, pubescent shoots of green color, on which there are rounded, folded leaflets with 7-10 radial veins. It blooms in late May is not very plentiful. Blossoms light yellow or greenish small flowers collected in false-umbrella inflorescences. The plant has a creeping rhizome, thanks to which it easily spreads over long distances. It is very tenacious and difficult to eradicate, so it is considered by many gardeners to be a weed.
The cuff is soft. Thanks to erect, branched stems with a height of 45-50 cm, spherical spreading bushes are formed. Rounded lobed leaflets of bright green color are densely pubescent with a short pile and divided into 9-11 concave sectors. In June-August, long numerous inflorescences bloom with green-yellow flowers with a diameter of up to 3 mm. Seeds ripen in early September.
Red-cuffed cuff. Perennial ground cover plants in height are no more than 15 cm. Petioles and the lower surface of the leaves have a reddish tint. The rounded leaf plate is painted in bluish-green color and is divided into 7-9 sectors. Paniculate inflorescences consist of light yellow flowers with a diameter of up to 10 mm. They bloom in June-July.
Cuff connected. The height of the plant with branched, rising shoots does not exceed 20 cm. The stems are covered with rounded leaves, which are deeply dissected into 7 shares. The smooth, shiny sheet plate is bright green. From below it is densely covered with a silvery pile. Greenish yellow flowers bloom in July.
Breeding
Grass cuff propagated by seeds and vegetatively. Seeds are pre-sown in containers for seedlings. Boxes are filled with well-drained, nutritious soil. At the bottom, it is desirable to pour a layer of pebbles or expanded clay. Seeds are buried by 7-10 mm. All procedures are carried out in November or March. During the autumn planting, containers with seeds, 2 weeks after sowing, are taken outside and left in a place protected from drafts and direct sunlight.
In the spring, the containers are brought into a warm, bright room and, having undergone natural stratification, the seeds quickly germinate. When the seedlings grow 2-4 true leaves, it is dived into separate peat pots. At the end of April, in stable warm weather, plants can be planted in open ground at a constant place. Already in the first year, seedlings bloom.
An overgrown cuff bush is easy to divide. Sometimes lodging stems root themselves. The processes with their own rhizomes are cut with a sharp blade from the main plant, dug up and transplanted to a new place. The distance between the bushes should be at least 30 cm. The best time for dividing is early spring.
Plant Care Rules
Cuffs prefer well-lit, open areas, but can also develop in partial shade. Growing under trees with a dense crown is undesirable, since the plant will often get sick and will not form beautiful thickets. Planting is performed on light, well-drained soils with a large amount of humus. Sandy or loamy soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction is desirable.
Caring for the cuff in the open field is quite simple. She needs frequent and plentiful watering. Water should not stagnate in the soil, as the roots are susceptible to fungal diseases. Occasionally, you can loosen the surface of the earth, but this is not necessary. Weeds near the plant do not grow well, so there is no need to burden with weeds. It is recommended to fertilize the earth 2-3 times per season. Organic compounds are preferred (Mullein solution, chicken droppings or fermented shredded grass).
Since the bushes grow rapidly and actively, they must be regularly trimmed and crawl limited in the area. Immediately after flowering, it is recommended to remove the inflorescences to prevent self-seeding. The cuff retains its decorative effect for a long time and can spend in one place without rejuvenation for several decades.
The plant is highly resistant to frost and normally tolerates temperate winters. To protect the thickets in severe frost, you can cover them with a layer of fallen leaves in the fall. In the spring they carry out sanitary pruning and brushing of bushes, remove all dried parts. Do not be afraid to cut too much, as the shoots grow very quickly.
With the right choice of place and care, the cuff very rarely suffers from plant diseases. On too heavy, wet soils, leaves are affected by powdery mildew. In deep shade, black rust infection is possible. The most common parasites for the cuff are snails and slugs, which eagerly eat its juicy leaves. From pests, the earth near the thickets is sprinkled with ash or crushed egg shells.
Cuff in the garden
The openwork foliage of the cuff liked the landscape designers. It allows you to diversify the green cover on the site and give it a natural outline. The cuff is often planted on the slopes, near stony masonry and along the side of the paths. Low-growing varieties are framed by flower beds. Bright greenery effectively sets off flowering plants.
Not so bad and greenish-yellow inflorescences. They have a subtle beauty and natural charm. The best cuff neighbors are thyme, delphinium, astilbe and daylilies.
Healing properties
The cuff is considered a cure for all diseases. It has been known since ancient times as a truly miraculous remedy. They use it not only in folk, but also in traditional medicine in many countries.
Harvesting of raw materials is carried out during the flowering period, immediately after the drying of the race. Cut off all the ground parts of the cuff. They are dried in the fresh air in a place protected from precipitation and sunlight. Store raw materials in glass or paper packaging for 12 months.
The cuff contains a large number of steroids, ascorbic acid, tannins, flavonoids, fatty and phenolcarboxylic acids, coumarins, lipids, resins, catechins and trace elements (nickel, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, boron, molybdenum).
Decoctions, compresses and infusions with a cuff have the following actions:
- hemostatic;
- lactogenic;
- wound healing;
- anti-inflammatory;
- vasoconstrictor
- antimicrobial;
- antitumor.
The cuff is widely used in gynecology. Phytohormones, which are part of it, help get rid of menstrual irregularities, cure female infertility and maintain pregnancy. However, it must be used exclusively under the supervision of a physician.
Cuff tea helps reduce symptoms of type 2 diabetes. It stimulates the pancreas and intestines, bringing blood sugar levels back to normal.
Reception of a cuff is very useful to people of any age and state of health. At least for preventive purposes, because the cuff saturates the body with microelements, vitamins and other useful substances. The plant is contraindicated only to people suffering from allergies, as well as those with impaired intestinal motility.
