The most valuable plants, typical for the steppes, are white and medicinal sweet clover, Siberian sainfoin, strawberry, Siberian snakehead, tuberous zopnik, steppe thyme and creeping thyme, steppe sage, fragrant schizonepeta, catnip, Siberian cornflower, Altai aster, common slime, common onion.
Less valuable are Danish astragalus, crescent alfalfa, Ural licorice, spikelet veronica, yellow scabiosa, steppe carnation. Weak honey plants - Siberian pomegranate, Morison's mountain garden, Baikal mountain garden, lumbago, starodubka.

Published: 18 Mar 2018

Siberian hogweed dissected-leaved, Bunch, Pican - Heracléum sibíricum. Herbaceous plant of the Umbrella family. Siberian hogweed, despite the name, is a predominantly European species, common to all of Central Russia. It is also distributed in Central Europe, Ciscaucasia and Western Siberia (in its southern part it reaches Altai). Found in Crimea, Kazakhstan (Dzhungarskiy Alatau). Grows on wet places- in meadows, between bushes. It grows in meadows (especially floodplains), along the banks of rivers and streams, forest edges, roadside meadows, and [...]

Published: 01 May 2016

Weed plant. The species infests all types of crops, occurs in fallows, in orchards and vegetable gardens, as well as along roads, along ditches, in fallow fields. Contains white milky juice. Strong honey plant and pollen. It releases nectar only in the morning, because after lunch, the flowers close. Intensive honey collection up to 380 kg per hectare. The honey crystallizes quickly and is dark amber in color. The pollen is dark yellow.

Published: 01 May 2016

Perennial herb 30 - 90 cm high of the Asteraceae family. It grows in various meadows, glades, glazed clearings, along roads in many regions of Russia. It is well visited by bees, which, under favorable weather conditions, collect a lot of nectar and pollen from it. Honey productivity in terms of solid massifs is over 100 kg / ha. The pollen is yellow.

Published: 28 Apr 2016

Perennial melliferous herb. Sandy cmin grows mainly on sandy soils, on dry copses, forest glades, hills, fallow lands, rocky and sandy slopes everywhere. The hard scales of the inflorescence wrapper do not fade and do not lose color even when the inflorescences are cut off - hence the name of the plant immortelle.

Published: 27 Nov 2015

Mediocre honey plant. Blossoms in June - September; fruits ripen in August - September. Perennial herb from the Asteraceae family. It grows on sandy loam and loamy fresh and moist soils, in meadows, forest glades, forest edges, in bushes, less often as a weed in crops. Prefers soils of average fertility and drainage.

Published: 27 Nov 2015

Perennial herb from the Asteraceae family. Grows in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, in Western Siberia. It grows in damp places, along the banks of rivers and mountain streams, in tall-grass meadows, forest glades and forest edges, in thickets of bushes. Bad honey plant. There is no marketable honey from elecampane.

Published: 03 May 2015

Perennial herb. It grows on the slopes of hills, in dry meadows, forest edges and clearings, on border areas, in drier places. Distributed throughout forest areas. Honey plant, but gives bees a negligible collection of nectar. According to our personal observations, bees visit this honey plant in dry hot weather. The honey is amber in color, very fragrant, has the aroma of a flowering plant. Crystallizes quickly [...]

Published: 15 Jan 2013

Herbaceous perennial plant from the jersey family. Grows on dry grassy slopes. In dry shrub thickets, in dry meadows, among stony placers. Good honey plant and pollen plant. It is actively visited by bees and bumblebees. According to the observations we carried out in the vicinity of the agro-biological station of the Wesueda Pedagogical Institute, the flowers of the sedum plant were visited from morning to evening by bees, who collected nectar and pollen. Nectar productivity of one flower [...]

Published: 09 Dec 2012

Biennial herb from the umbrella family. It grows near roads, in fields, in kitchen gardens, orchards. Secondary honey plant and pollen plant. Flowers are visited by bees reluctantly, but actively by flies. The nectar productivity of 100 flowers is 5.8-11.1 mg of sugar. Blooms in July-August.

Published: 08 Dec 2012

Perennial herb. It grows on roadsides like a weed among field, cultivated plants. Good honey plant and pollen plant. Flowers are willingly visited by bees, which collect pollen in the morning and nectar by noon. According to N.N.Kartoshova (1955), in the Tomsk region it produces from 1 hectare to 200-250 kg of nectar containing 35-40% sugar.

Published: 08 Dec 2012

Perennial herb from the Rosaceae family. Grows in forb meadows, on the edges of mixed forests, among shrub thickets. It is known that meadowsweet leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C (370 mg /%). Therefore, young shoots and leaves are used in writing for making salads, flowers are used as tea leaves.

Published: 08 Dec 2012

Pharmacy Burnet - Sanguisorba officinalis L. Perennial herb. It grows in oak forests, bushes and dry meadows. In the Far East, small-flowered and ferruginous burnet grows - weak honey plants, but good pollen plants. Appearance Up to 60 cm in height, from the Rosaceae family. Stems are erect, branched, strongly leafy, pubescent with hairs. Basal leaves are large, pinnate, glabrous above, [...]

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1. Steppe plants

The steppe is treeless, and its vast areas are occupied only by grassy vegetation and low shrubs. One of the reasons for treelessness is considered to be soil salinity, which has a detrimental effect on woody vegetation. Salinity, in turn, is associated with insufficient precipitation - with a dry climate. Strong winds - dry winds, often prevailing in the steppe, also negatively affect the development of the forest, as well as long summer droughts. In places it does not rain for a month or more, and under the scorching rays of the sun, the soil dries up, becomes hard like stone, and cracks, destroying tree seedlings. Nevertheless, artificial afforestation with careful agricultural technology is also possible in the steppe, as has been shown by the successes in planting forest shelter belts on vast areas in the steppe zone. The steppe climate is characterized by rather cold winters and hot dry summers with occasional rains. Annual precipitation is 300-400 mm. Steppe herbaceous plants are adapted to living in such conditions: many form bulbs, thick rhizomes and tubers, which allow them to quickly develop a flower arrow in spring and use the moisture available in the soil from melting snow and spring rains. Many steppe plants are fragrant, as the evaporation of essential oils prevents them from overheating in too hot sun. Many species are protected from drought by narrow folded leaves that evaporate little moisture, others, with large leaves, are covered with thick felt, which also reduces evaporation. The adaptations to drought tolerance in plants are very diverse. Due to drought, the steppe vegetation dries up by the end of summer, and the steppe becomes brown and burnt out. Dry plants, torn up by the wind and carried across the steppe, scatter their seeds. Accumulating together, they form a special life form - tumbleweed. Although the steppes are mostly plowed up, many medicinal plants are harvested there. Such as for example: marshmallow, licorice, thyme, sage, elecampane.

2 . Characteristics of plants and raw materials

Althea officinalis-AlthaeaofficinalisL

Family mallow - Malvaceae

Other names: marshmallow, mallow.

Plant. Perennial herb 60-150 cm high. The whole plant is grayish-green. The rhizome is thick, short, with branched, fleshy, whitish roots. Stems are solitary, slightly branched, erect. Leaves are whole, alternate, long-petiolate, velvety pubescent; the lower leaves are cordate-ovate, 3-5 lobed, the upper leaves are intact, oblong-ovate, three-lobed. Flowers are located in the axils of the upper leaves at the tops of the stems, forming spike-shaped inflorescences; double calyx - inner five-lobed, outer subassembly 9-12 - separate; the corolla is pale pink, five-part; stamens purple, numerous, growing together in filaments into a tube, pistil with an upper ovary. The fruit is a disc-shaped polysperm with kidney-shaped, smooth brown seeds. Blooms from June to September; bears fruit from July. Allowed for use is Armenian marshmallow. The flowers are pale pink. Grows in the Caucasus, in the foothills of Central Asia.

Table 1 - The main differences between marshmallow officinalis and marshmallow armenian

Diagnostic signs	Alei medicinal Althaea officinalisL.	AltayArmenian Althaea armeniaca Tel.
	Usually numerous	Mostly single
Medium leaves	Rounded or ovate, slightly lobed or almost whole, slightly above, densely pubescent below	Rounded or broadly ovate from three, five-lobed to dissected; pubescent on both sides
Top leaves	Usually whole, oblong-lanceolate	Usually tripartite or tripartite
Flowers and inflorescences	The flowers are on short stalks and form an almost spike-shaped inflorescence. The common peduncle is equal to the leaves or somewhat shorter than them	The flowers are on long stalks and form an almost racemose inflorescence. The common peduncle is equal to or slightly longer than the leaves

Table 2 - Possible impurities. Distinctive features of marshmallow medicinal and related plants

Diagnostic signs	Altaydrug Althaea officinalis L.	KhatymaThuringianLavatera thuringiaca L.	Mallowforest Malva sylvestris L.
Habitat	Meadows, banks of reservoirs	Dry slopes, edges	Wastes, yards, gardens
Pubescence	Velvety	Woolly	Tough, sometimes the plants are bare
	Ovate, 3-5-lobed	Broadly ovate, 5-lobed with stipules	Rounded, 5-7-lobed, membranous stipules
Cup, whisk	8-12 blades, pale pink	3-lobed, hot pink	3-lobed, pink with dark stripes

Spreading. In the wild, marshmallow is found in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of the country, in the Ukraine, in the southern regions of Belarus, in the North Caucasus, in the Volga region, and less in Eastern and Western Siberia. A commercial crop in the Ukraine and in the Krasnodar Territory, cultivated on worked-out and moist soils. Fertilized with humus, phosphate and potassium fertilizers. Propagated by seeds (sowing depth 1.5-2 cm), seedlings, dividing perennial rhizomes. The soil is thinned out to 8-10 plants per running meter, weeds are carefully weeded out.

In the Middle Volga region, marshmallows are rare, in small areas or single specimens. There is no base for harvesting, but due to the great demand it is cultivated.

Habitat. Along the banks of rivers, lakes, on saline meadows, among thickets of bushes and along the banks of irrigation ditches, along swamps

Blank. Marshmallow roots are harvested at the age of 2-3 years in the fruiting phase (September - October) or in the spring before the beginning of the growing season (March - May). The roots are dug, cleaned of soil, cut off the stems and lignified parts, quickly washed in cold water to prevent the roots from becoming mucous. The washed roots are cut into pieces 10-25 cm long, cleaned of cork, split longitudinally.

Drying. The roots should be dried immediately in order to maintain their natural color. The raw materials are laid out in a thin layer and protected from moisture, otherwise it darkens, molds. Temperature regime drying 45-60 ° C. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of the roots. The output of air-dry raw materials is 23-26%.

External signs (according to GF XI). Whole raw materials.

Peeled roots from the cork, almost cylindrical or split lengthwise into 2-4 parts, slightly tapering towards the end, 10-35 cm long and up to 2 cm thick.The root surface is longitudinally grooved with peeling long, soft bast fibers and dark dots - traces of fallen off or cut off thin roots. The fracture in the center is granular-rough, fibrous on the outside. In a fracture, the raw material is dusty (starch).

The color of the root outside and in the fracture is white, yellowish-white (marshmallow) or grayish (Armenian marshmallow). The smell is weak, peculiar. The taste is sweet with a slimy sensation.

Unpeeled roots from a cork, almost cylindrical in shape or split lengthwise into 2-4 parts, tapering towards the end, branched, of various lengths, up to 2 cm thick. The surface is oblong-wrinkled, the fracture is rough, fibrous on the outside. The color is light brown outside, yellowish-white or grayish-white at the fracture. The odor is weak, peculiar; the taste is sweetish, with a mucus sensation.

Shredded raw materials. Pieces of roots of various shapes, passing through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm. The color is yellowish white or grayish white. The smell is weak, peculiar. The taste is sweet with a slimy sensation. The powder is white, yellowish-white or grayish in color, passing through a sieve with holes of 0.310 mm. The smell is weak, peculiar. The taste is sweet with a slimy sensation.

Microscopy. The transverse section shows the predominance of thin-walled parenchymal tissue characteristic of the root. The bark contains numerous tangentially elongated groups of bast fibers located in discontinuous concentric belts. Smaller groups of fibers are scattered throughout the wood. Fibers 10-35 microns thick with slightly thickened, non-lignified or slightly lignified walls and a large lumen. Vessels and tracheids are located in small groups. The core rays are single, rarely double-row. In the parenchyma, numerous large cells with mucus are visible, both in the bark and in the wood. In water, the mucus dissolves, the cells become colorless filled with starch grains, in some places there are small druses of calcium oxalate.

Powder. Under the microscope, scraps of parenchyma with starch, separately round, oval or ovoid starch grains, 3-27 microns in size, druses of calcium oxalate, fragments of blood vessels, scraps of fibers are visible; quite often there are their fork-shaped branched endings. The mucus is found when examined in the carcass.

Qualitative reactions. When the cut or root powder is moistened with a solution of ammonia or sodium hydroxide, a yellow coloration (mucus) appears.

Numerical indicators. Whole raw materials. Peeled roots. Moisture content no more than 14%, total ash no more than 8%; ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, no more than 5%; woody roots no more than 3%; roots poorly cleared of cork, no more than 3%; organic impurity no more than 0.5%; mineral impurity no more than 0.5%.

Unpeeled roots. Moisture no more than 14%, total ash no more than 8%; woody roots no more than 3%; foreign impurities: organic no more than 0.5%; mineral impurity no more than 1%. Crushed raw materials. Moisture content no more than 14%, total ash no more than 8%; ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, no more than 0.5%; particles that do not pass through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm, no more than 15%; parts passing through a sieve with holes 1 mm in diameter, not

more than 3%; organic impurity no more than 0.5%; mineral - no more than 0.5%.

Powder. Moisture content no more than 14%, total ash no more than 8%; ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, no more than 0.5%; particles that do not pass through a sieve with holes of 0.310 mm, no more than 1%.

Storage. Only in a dry place, packed in bales or bags with a hygroscopicity mark. Shelf life is 3 years.

WITHNaked Yolodka - Glycyrrhiza dlaba L.

Legume family-Fabaceae

Licorice naked is a perennial herb of the legume family with a height of 50 to 150 cm. The underground organs of the plant, which are raw materials for harvesting, consist of the maternal root, as well as vertical and horizontal rhizomes, forming a multi-tiered network of weaves and fixed in the soil with the help of adventitious roots. Licorice roots penetrate to a depth of 8 m, usually reaching the water table. Aerial shoots extend both from the main root and from vertical and horizontal rhizomes, with the help of which individual individuals grow vegetatively over an area of ​​up to several dozen square meters... Sections of rhizomes take root well, due to which vegetative propagation is the main way of renewing licorice and expanding its thickets. Stems glabrous or sparsely and shortly pubescent, usually with sparsely scattered punctate glands or glandular spines. Leaves are odd-pinnate-compound, 5 to 20 cm long, with 3-10 pairs of glandulars sticky from the abundance, shiny, dense oblong-ovate or lanceolate leaflets. Inflorescences are rather loose axillary racemes 5 to 12 cm long, with a peduncle 3-7 cm long. Flowers 8-12 mm long, with a whitish-purple corolla and a sharp-toothed calyx. Fruit - oblong, straight or slightly curved 1-8 - seed pod up to 3.5 cm long, glabrous or covered with glandular spines. Blossoms in May - June; fruits ripen in August and September. In medicine, licorice root is used to obtain drugs glocyram, liquiditon and flacarbine.

Habitat. Distribution

Licorice naked is mainly distributed along the floodplains and river valleys of the steppe and semi-desert regions of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, the Caucasus and the south of the European part of the country. A feature of its habitat is a relatively high level of groundwater and temporary flooding with water in spring and summer. It also grows along the banks and in the beds of dried up rivers and oxbows, along the banks of low-water streams, ditches and ditches. Licorice naked lives both on flat areas of interfluves and on mountain slopes, usually preferring small depressions and depressions. As a malicious weed, it is often found in crops, plantings and fallow lands. In the mountains, where roots can reach groundwater, it rises to an altitude of 2000 m above sea level.

Procurement and quality of raw materials

The roots and rhizomes of licorice naked are harvested depending on the place of harvesting and weather conditions from March to November. Industrial harvesting of licorice root is carried out mechanically - plowing with a tractor-drawn plantation plow. Less often, the root is dug up by hand with shovels. When collecting raw materials, only 50-75% of the total stock of roots and rhizomes should be selected. 25-50% of the rhizomes should be left in the soil to allow the regeneration of the licorice thicket through vegetative propagation. Re-procurement of licorice raw materials in the same area is on average possible after 6-8 years, during which the thicket is usually completely restored. In the case of mechanized extraction of raw materials, following the collection of the root, additional agrotechnical measures should be applied to promote the restoration of licorice thickets. The area of ​​licorice is shrinking; it is included in the Red Book of some states. It is recommended to streamline the stock of licorice and introduce it into the culture. The restoration of the raw material base of licorice is possible in two ways: by cultivating wild thickets (removing trees and shrubs from them, turf of large-stemmed cereals and planting licorice) and thus increasing their productivity; expansion of industrial plantations. The collected licorice roots and rhizomes are first put into loose stacks to air dry. In areas where the possibilities of sun drying are limited by unfavorable weather conditions, the roots can be dried under a canopy with a good draft or in fire dryers at a temperature not exceeding 60 ° C. A root is considered dry when it breaks when bent, rather than bending. The dried root is sent to the plant for further processing.

In terms of chemical properties, licorice root must meet the requirements state standard, according to which the thickness of the segments of the roots and rhizomes is from 5 to 50 mm or more, the length is different; the root on the fracture is light yellow in color and without rot. Chemical characteristics include the following indicators: moisture not more than 14%; ash no more than 8%; extractives not less than 25%; glycyrrhizic acid not less than 6%.

Microscopy. Whole, crushed raw materials. On the transverse section of the root, the epidermis (rhizoderm) is visible, the cells of which are often extended into long hairs or papillae. The cells of the hypodermis are larger, often with drops of essential oil. The bark is wide, consists of uniform rounded parenchymal cells filled with starch grains, simple and 2-5-complex, 3-9 (less often up to 20) microns in size. The endoderm consists of cells with thickened radial walls. Young roots have a primary structure. Old roots in the basal part have a secondary structure with radiant wood (xylem) (Fig. 5.19). Powder. Under the microscope, scraps of parenchyma with simple and 2-5-complex starch grains, scraps of blood vessels, scraps of integumentary tissue, individual starch grains, and occasionally stony cells are visible.

The aerial part of licorice naked contains saponins, tannins, flavonoids, essential oils, sugars, pigments and other substances. This opens up prospects for the use in medicine of the aerial part of licorice as a possible raw material for the creation of anti-inflammatory, protistocidal, antispasmodic and antiviral drugs.

Storage. According to the rules for storing essential oil raw materials, packed in bags and bales, in a cool dry place. The shelf life of dried raw materials is 3 years. Freshly harvested raw materials must be processed within 3 days in pharmaceutical factories

Elecampane high - Inula helenium

WITHfamilies Astrovye- Asteraceae

Perennial, rarely annual plants with whole leaves and large yellow inflorescences.

Rhizome short thick; up to 15 cm, fleshy, multi-headed, with few thick adventitious roots. The color outside is grayish-brown, white at the break, a peculiar aromatic smell, spicy, bitter taste.

Stem erect, furrowed, slightly branched, shortly pubescent.

Leaves alternate, large, harsh-haired above and gray-greenish below. Basal leaves - petiolate, oblong-ovate, pointed; the leaf blade reaches 50 cm.

Inflorescences- large single baskets with a diameter of 6-7 cm, located on the tops of stems and branches, consist of a large number of bright yellow petals.

Fetus- an oblong achene with a brown crest.
Blooms in July - September; fruits ripen in August - October.

Parts used in medicinal purposes: roots.
Spreading:

Distributed in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the European part of the country, Western Siberia, Central Asia.

Procurement and quality of raw materials. The roots and rhizomes of elecampane are harvested in the second year of the growing season, in late August or early September.

The finished raw material of elecampane should consist of whole or split rhizomes and roots 2-20 cm long, 0.5-3 cm thick. The smell of raw materials is peculiar, aromatic, spicy, bitter taste.

Shredded raw materials. Pieces of roots and rhizomes of various shapes, passing through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm. The color is grayish-brown, yellowish-white, yellowish-gray. The smell is fragrant. The taste is spicy, bitter.

Microscopy. On the transverse section of the root, a multi-row grayish-brown cork, bark and wood are visible. The parenchyma of the cortex consists of large cells containing inulin in the form of shapeless, colorless, strongly refracting light “lumps” (watch the preparation without heating!). In the secondary cortex, areas of the bast are visible in the form of small cells located in small groups. The cambium line is distinct. Large vessels are visible in the wood, especially near the cambium, located in groups. In the bark and wood of the root there are large schizogenic containers with resin and essential oil. They are round or oval, with a clearly visible layer of excretory cells. After staining with Sudan III solution, drops of resinous contents in containers acquire a bright orange-red color.

Qualitative reactions. When 2-3 drops of iodine solution are applied to the cross section of the rhizome, no blue coloration (starch) should be observed. When 2-3 drops of a 20% alcohol solution of a-naphthol or thymol and 1 drop of concentrated sulfuric acid are applied to a cross section, a red-violet or orange-red color should be observed, respectively (inulin).

Numerical indicators. Whole raw materials. Humidity no more than 13%; total ash no more than 10%; flabby rhizomes and roots, stem bases and other parts of elecampane no more than 5%; rhizomes and roots, darkened in the fracture, no more than 5%; pieces of roots less than 2 cm long, no more than 5%; organic impurity no more than 0.5%; mineral impurity no more than 1%. Shredded raw materials. Humidity no more than 13%; total ash no more than 10%; ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, no more than 4%; pieces of rhizomes and roots, darkened at the fracture, no more than 5%; particles that do not pass through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm, no more than 10%; particles passing through a sieve with holes of 0.5 mm, no more than 10%; organic impurity no more than 0.5%; mineral impurity no more than 1%

Package. Whole raw materials are packed in fabric bales not exceeding 50 kg net or in fabric or linen-jute-kenaf bags not exceeding 30 kg net; chopped - in fabric or linen-jute-kenaf bags no more than 30 kg net. The crushed raw materials are packed in 75 g each in paper bags of type II with subsequent investment in cardboard packs 3-1-4 or 100 g in packs of type II with subsequent investment in packs 8-1-4.

Storage. In well-ventilated areas, on shelves, packed in bales or bags. Shelf life is 2 years.

Thymeordinary, bogorodskaya grass-Thymus serpyllum L.

Low-growing shrubs or semi-shrubs up to 35 cm tall with woody recumbent or ascending stems (trunks), erect or ascending herbaceous flowering branches and often with recumbent fruitless shoots.

Root- rod, woody.

Stems woody at the base, spread over the soil, branched, covered with bent down or erect hairs.

Leaves-different in size, venation and shape (from round or ovoid to linear-oblong), rigid, almost leathery, short-petiolate, less often sessile, whole-edged or sometimes serrated (a constant feature in some Far Eastern species).

Flowers- collected at the ends of branches in capitate or elongated inflorescences. The calyx is cylindrical or narrowly bell-shaped, hairy outside; the lower lip is bipartite to the base; the upper one is wide, three-lobed up to half. Corolla is two-lipped, lilac, pink or white. Stamens are erect, four in number. spherical nuts

Blossoming in June - August. The fruits ripen in August - September.

Spreading. Forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part of the country, Western Siberia,

Transbaikalia. In the steppes, there are large thickets of many hectares.

Procurement and quality of raw materials

For medicinal purposes, the herb creeping thyme (Herba Serpylli) is used, which is harvested in the flowering phase, cutting off the upper parts of leafy shoots with knives or secateurs, without coarse lignified stem bases, trying not to pull out the plants from the roots. Part of the turf should be left intact for vegetative propagation of plants.

Microscopy. When examining the leaf from the surface, epidermal cells of the upper and lower sides of the leaf with winding walls are visible; on the upper epidermis, folds of the cuticle and bead-like thickening of the walls are sometimes noticeable. The stomata are present on both leaf surfaces and are accompanied by two peri-stomatal cells located perpendicular to the stomatal fissure (diacytic type). Essential oil glands are large, consist of 8 excretory cells located radially; cells of the epidermis around the place of attachment of the gland sometimes form a rosette. Hair of three types: very large, multicellular,

warty hairs located at the base of the leaf (smaller hairs are found higher along the edge of the leaf); capitate hairs with an oval unicellular head on a short unicellular stalk; papillary outgrowths of the epidermis, smooth or slightly warty, are more common on the upper side of the leaf and along the edge.

Numerical indicators. Extractive substances extracted with 30% alcohol, not less than 18%; humidity no more than 13%; total ash no more than 12%; ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, no more than 5%; pieces of stems with a thickness of more than 0.5 mm, no more than 10%; organic impurity no more than 1%; mineral impurity no more than 1%

Shelf life 2 years.

Salvia officinalis-Salvia officinalis L.

Family Labiatae - Labiatae

Perennial shrub up to 1 m high. The plant has a strong aromatic smell.

Root powerful, woody

Stems branched, woody below, tetrahedral in the first year of life, at the base with short, densely leafy shoots.

Leaves oblong, opposite, petiolate, wrinkled, pubescent, especially on the underside, grayish-green, at the termination of the growing season change color to silver-gray.

Inflorescences simple or branched with 6-7 ten-flowered false whorls

Flowers blue-violet, two-lipped, sitting in the axils of the bracts. Sage officinalis is a cross-pollinator.

Fetus splits into 4 single-seeded nuts.

Seeds rounded ovoid, smooth, black or dark brown in color. Blooms in June - July; fruits ripen in September. Propagated by seeds.

Spreading

The homeland of medicinal sage is Asia Minor, from where it spread to the countries of the Balkan Peninsula and the Mediterranean. Sage is cultivated in small quantities throughout Europe, and the centers of its culture are the region of Dalmatia (Yugoslavia) and France. It does not occur in the wild on the territory of the countries of the former USSR. The plant is cultivated as a medicinal raw material in Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and the Caucasus.

Procurement and quality of raw materials

For medicinal purposes, the herb and leaves of medicinal sage are used. The first harvest begins in early June, when the largest amount of sage essential oil accumulates in the sage leaves, the second harvest is carried out no later than October. Dry the herb of medicinal sage outdoors in the shade or in the sun, spreading it in a layer of 40-50 cm. Drying should be carried out at a temperature not exceeding 35 ° C to prevent the loss of sage essential oil. The shelf life of raw materials is no more than 1.5 years. Dried raw materials have a bitter-spicy taste and aromatic odor.

Microscopy

When examining the leaf from the surface, the epidermal cells of the upper side are visible - polygonal with slightly sinuous walls, the lower - with more sinuous walls. The stomata are mainly on the underside, surrounded by two peri-stomatal cells located perpendicular to the stomatal fissure (diacytic type). Essential oil glands on both sides of the leaf, rounded, with a translucent stem and hardly distinguishable, radially diverging 6-8 excretory cells. The hairs are numerous, especially on the underside, simple and capitate. Simple hairs are multicellular, the lower cells (usually 2-4) are short, with significantly thickened walls, the upper cell is long, curved, with thin walls. The capitate hairs are small, consisting of a short one-three-celled stem and a spherical one-two-celled head, better visible along the edge and along the leaf vein.

Numerical indicators

Essential oil not less than 0.8%; humidity not more than 14%; total ash no more than 12%; blackened and brown leaves no more than 5%; other parts of the plant (flowers and pieces of stems) not more than 13%; particles passing through a sieve with holes of 0.5 mm, no more than 10%; organic impurities (parts of other non-poisonous plants) no more than 3%; mineral impurities (earth, sand, stones) no more than 0.5%.

plant steppe medicinal raw material

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9. Mashkovsky M.D. Medicines: in 2 volumes - 14th ed., Revised, revised. and add. - M .: LLC "New Wave Publishing House", 2002.

10. Muravyova D.A. Pharmacognosy: Textbook. - 3rd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Medicine, 1991.

11. Putyrskiy I.N., Prokhorov V.N. Universal encyclopedia of medicinal plants. - Minsk-Moscow: Makhaon, 2000

12. Sokolov S.Ya., Zamotaev I.P. Handbook of medicinal plants (herbal medicine). - M .: Medicine, 1990

13. Chikov P.S. Directory of medicinal plants. - 2nd ed. - M. 1989

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The Danish steppes are, first of all, the mysterious world of herbs. As you know, each blade of grass is a unique healing wizard, you just need to know the right spell. Surely you would also like to eat a magic leaf or drink a miraculous broth for all ailments and misfortunes, but only a real herbalist can figure out all the nuances of this ancient art. Traditional medicine has long been used by mankind from ancient times to the present day.

Healing with medicinal plants is perhaps one of the oldest methods of treatment. Even our great-grandmothers, long before the emergence and development of medicine, brewed decoctions and made infusions for all diseases, the first healers used the healing powers of herbs in their potions. It can be noted with sadness that in our age of cybernetic technologies and crazy inventions, we are less and less likely to turn to Mother Nature for help, relying on pills and potions created in laboratories.

(trample-grass, grass-murava, goose). Knotweed (knotweed) is a herbaceous annual plant, belongs to the buckwheat family, with a stem lying on the ground, in the nodes are,filmy, dissected, small, whitish stripes. The root is typically taproot. The leaves are alternate, small, oval. The flowers are small, light green or slightly pink, located in the axils of the leaves. Flowering time early summer - autumn. Knotweed can be found in wastelands, near roads, in river valleys. For medicinal purposes, flowering herb is used as a means to stop bleeding in the postpartum period or after an abortion, as well as for kidney disease.

Medicinal sweet clover(yellow) is a herbaceous biennial plant that belongs to the legume family. The flowers are small, yellow, moth-like, located in the brush. The plant usually blooms all summer long. It can be found in ravines, ravines, forest edges, among bushes and tall grass in the steppe, in meadows. Sweet clover is used for nervous diseases, cardiospasm, migraine, menopause, as an expectorant, laxative, insomnia, headache, melancholy, menstrual disorders, ascites, pain in the bladder, intestines, flatulence and for nursing mothers. Decoction, infusion of sweet clover and ointment from its flowers are recommended for treatment, purulent wounds, mastitis, furunculosis, otitis media. Do not use during pregnancy and kidney disease. Melilot is a poisonous plant. It is advisable to use it only in training camps.

Oregano- herbaceous perennial plant. The flowers are small, lilac-pink in color, forming a panicle. Flowering time July-September. Occurs on forest edges, meadows, in river valleys. Oregano has a high bactericidal effect, normalizes the activity of the body's nervous system, is effective against inflammatory processes, ensures the normal functioning of the intestinal tract, is a diuretic and choleretic agent. Oregano herb is recommended for use for angina, delayed menstruation, hypersexual excitability, colds, lung and heart diseases, diathesis, epilepsy, scrofula, bowel and stomach diseases, for problems with the gall bladder, liver. The infusion is used in the form of baths, lotions, wet compresses for skin diseases. They sniff dry flower tops, frayed leaves for headaches and a runny nose, wash their hair with a decoction to combat dandruff and hair loss.

St. John's wort- herbaceous perennial plant. The flowers of the plant are golden yellow with characteristic black dots. Flowering continues throughout the summer. St. John's wort is found in forest edges, in meadows, in rare pine and deciduous forests on fallow lands, clearings, and sandy slopes. St. John's wort is used for chronic disorders and diseases of the stomach, for periodontal disease, stomatitis, colitis, diarrhea, chronic inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, cholelithiasis, in gynecology, gingivitis, rheumatism, for bad breath, for nervous diseases, arthritis, radiculitis, for the treatment of diseases heart, for colds, liver disease, bladder disease, hemorrhoids, headaches, bedwetting.

Red clover is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the legume family. Erect stems of meadow clover are slightly pubescent. Leaves with wide stipules in the form of a triangle are long-petiolate. Clover flowers are dark red, small, head collected in an inflorescence. Blooms actively in the second half of summer (July - August). It grows in fields, on wet meadows, on the slopes of forest edges covered with grass, along roads and paths. The plant in folk medicine has long been used for diseases of mild diseases (as an expectorant), tinnitus, low hemoglobin levels, angina pectoris, appetite disorders, painful critical days and as a diuretic, dizziness. Decoction and infusion of clover inflorescences treat inflammation of the eyes. In the form of lotions used for tumors, wounds, burns, scrofula. The clover inflorescence is used for brewing tea, and delicious salads are prepared from the young leaves of the plant.

Horse sorrel- herbaceous perennial plant, belongs to the buckwheat family. It blooms in early to mid-summer. It is found along river banks, in meadows, on the slopes of hills, as well as in dense groves, in forest glades, or near roads. Possesses bactericidal properties, in small doses horse sorrel is distinguished by astringent properties, in large doses - a laxative effect, and the laxative effect occurs 10-12 hours after ingestion. Horse sorrel is used in the form of a decoction, infusion or extract in the treatment of diseases such as colitis and their varieties, hemorrhoids, in the event of cracks in the anus, it can be used as an anti-putrefactive, hemostatic agent. Horse sorrel is contraindicated in pregnancy, kidney disease.

Nettle- a herbaceous, perennial dioecious plant belonging to the nettle family. The flowers are greenish. Blooms from mid-June until autumn. Reduces blood clotting time, increases the amount of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood, improves metabolism, reduces blood sugar, normalizes the menstrual cycle, provides muscle tone in the uterus and intestines, is a strong anti-inflammatory and healing agent. It is used in the case of internal bleeding, anemia, subserous fibroids, menopause, in the early stages of the development of diabetes mellitus, constipation. Nettle can also be used for diseases of the biliary tract and liver, to eliminate nervous disorders, fever, obesity, as a milk-producing agent. A decoction, or perhaps an infusion of nettle roots, is advised to drink as a means to cleanse the blood for skin diseases, as well as for helminthic invasions, compresses are made from the decoction of the whole plant for tumors. Water infusion of flowers is used for pulmonary diseases. From a strong infusion of nettle leaves, lotions are made for wounds, ulcers and burns, it is an effective remedy for dandruff, hair loss. In case of bleeding, the juice of fresh leaves can be instilled into the nose. Brooms are built from pre-boiled nettles and steamed in baths for painful sensations in the lumbar region or rheumatism of the joints. Powder from dried leaves can be sprinkled with abscesses and ulcers. Among other things, nettle is also used for preparing tonic salads and even soups or borscht.

Burdock(burr) - a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, herbaceous, biennial has been widely used since the time of our great-grandmothers. The decoction and infusion of the roots are known for their strong diuretic and diaphoretic action. Burdock is used for diabetes, gout, kidney stones and rheumatism, ascites, hemorrhoids, skin diseases, constipation, in case of poisoning, for sexually transmitted diseases, pain in the joints, to get rid of purulent old wounds, tumors, is often used as a means that can improve metabolism substances for stone disease of the kidneys and bladder, for diseases of the stomach, to strengthen hair. Early burdock leaves are good for cooking delicious salads and soups, and the roots of one year of life can be eaten raw, boiled, baked, fried, and can also replace potatoes in soup.

Loch narrow-leaved- shrub with reddish-brown branches. The flowers are white, located in the axils of the leaves. In folk medicine, the funds obtained from the fruit of the loch are used as an astringent for colitis, diarrhea and respiratory diseases. From the infusion of flowers, heart remedies are made, in particular for hypertension.

Coltsfoot- a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, herbaceous, perennial. The leaves grow from the root, rather large in size, rounded in shape, green above, pubescent, naked below. Flowering begins in the spring in April - May, belongs to the ephemeral. The plant is distinguished by a strong anti-inflammatory and emollient character during expectoration, as well as an effective diaphoretic agent, coltsfoot is actively used for respiratory diseases, tonsillitis, painful sensations in the gastrointestinal tract, with appetite disorders and skin diseases, it is effective for inflammation of the veins of the legs, hoarseness. Compresses from a decoction or from crushed leaves can be used externally for abscesses, tumors, inflammation of the veins, burns, wounds, for sore throat, rinsing is recommended, for bowel diseases, enemas.

Peppermint- a herbaceous plant, perennial, belonging to the family Labiata. It blooms almost all summer, capturing autumn. For a long time, mint leaves have been recommended for use in cramps of the stomach and intestines, diarrhea, flatulence, nausea and vomiting, effective as a choleretic agent, for stones in the gallbladder, for jaundice, in the form of an anesthetic for hepatic colic, as well as a stimulant of cardiac activity and as remedy for headaches, in the case of nervous diseases and as a result of insomnia, with inflammatory processes in the periosteum of the middle ear, with kidney stones. In alcohol solution 1: 4 essential oil rubbed into the scalp for migraines, is very effective for skin inflammations and is indispensable for inhalation for respiratory diseases.

Dandelion medicinal- herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Flowering lasts from May to August. Dandelion root and herb are effective for diseases of the gallbladder, liver, jaundice, cholelithiasis, for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, namely for colitis and constipation, for hemorrhoids, improves the quality of digestion and stimulates the appetite, irreplaceable in the treatment of atherosclerosis, anemia, with skin diseases. Freshly plucked young dandelion leaves are used as an ingredient in a salad.

Shepherd's bag- a herbaceous annual plant belonging to the cruciferous family. Small flowers, white collected in an outstretched brush. Contraindicated in pregnant women. The herb is a hemostatic agent, helps to reduce the uterine muscles, reduces pressure, is used to stop internal bleeding, for injuries, for the treatment of fever, diarrhea; a decoction or juice of a fresh plant, diluted with water, is recommended for use in liver diseases, hepatic colic, kidney and bladder diseases, with impaired metabolism. Infusion of shepherd's purse is prescribed as a hemostatic agent for uterine cancer. Fresh leaves of the plant are used for food, making salads, soups from them; the seeds taste like mustard.

Common tansy(Wild mountain ash) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. The stem is high, erect, the leaves have a pinnate dissection, strong smelling when rubbed, yellow flowers, small in size, in the form of tubes, collected in a basket inflorescence. Blooms almost all summer. Tansy is used for helminth diseases such as ascariasis and pinworms, for liver diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, for nervous disorders, inflammatory processes in the bladder and kidneys, kidney stones, for gout, headaches, malaria, as a stimulant of menstruation, with fever, pulmonary tuberculosis, jaundice, rheumatism of the joints, jaundice, dislocations and wounds, as well as in the case of epilepsy.

Big plantain- a well-known herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the plantain family. The inflorescence is a long, dense spike in the form of a cylinder, of small brownish flowers. Blooming lasts all summer until autumn. Plantain has hemostatic, bactericidal, heals wounds well, is characterized by expectorant and pressure-lowering effects. Plantain leaf juice is used to treat patients with chronic gastrointestinal disorders, is actively used for acute and chronic enteritis, for dysentery and chronic nephritis, for pulmonary diseases, is effective in combating boils and other unpleasant skin diseases, has the ability to hemostatic and wound healing, is widely it is used as a diuretic, as well as for chronic pulmonary diseases, is effective for dyspepsia, diabetes mellitus, helps with male and female infertility, is recommended for eye diseases, cancer treatment, liver disease. Outwardly it is advised to use it for erysipelas, ulcers, carbuncles, wounds; freshly picked, washed in boiled water, crushed leaves are placed on the affected parts of the skin or washed with a tincture of leaves.

Wormwood- tincture, decoction and plant extract are most often used as a source of bitterness for the development of appetite and activation of the digestive system. Contraindicated in pregnancy. Wormwood is used for diseases of the biliary tract, pancreas, colitis, helminthiasis, in the presence of a bad, unpleasant odor from the mouth, for various pulmonary diseases, not excluding whooping cough, tuberculosis, acute respiratory diseases, with sexual indifference, problems with the menstrual cycle, with violations of sexual development, amenorrhea, infertility.

Wheatgrass- the rhizome contains sugar-containing elements, glycosides, alcohols, a large amount of vitamins, fatty and essential oils, useful organic acids. The use is recommended in the treatment of urinary and biliary tract, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in addition, they are treated with furunculosis, rickets, chronic constipation, hemorrhoids.

Chamomile officinalis- a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family herbaceous, annual. White flowers are collected in an inflorescence basket. Blooming lasts a long time from spring to late summer. Chamomile inflorescences, usually without stems, with a pedicel length not exceeding 3 cm, are harvested at the beginning of flowering, during a period when the ligulate marginal flowers in the baskets are horizontal. Chamomile essential oils are a strong disinfectant and diaphoretic, help to reduce gas formation, provide pain relief, prevent inflammatory processes, chamomile is recommended for normalizing the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, activates the functioning of the central nervous system, increases breathing, increasing the number of heart contractions, has a vasodilator action, especially for the brain. Large quantities essential oils can provoke headaches and a general state of weakness. Chamomile medicinal preparations affect the increase in the secretion of stomach and intestinal juices; increase bile secretion and increase appetite. Chamomile has a great effect in the treatment of bronchial asthma, rheumatism, skin diseases, burns, stomach diseases, colitis, colds, malaria, diseases associated with fever, scrofula, diseases of the nervous system, insomnia, in addition, with excessive excitability, neuralgic pains, painful critical days, uterine bleeding, overwork. Outwardly, this plant is recommended to be used for hemorrhoids, with increased sweating of the legs, chamomile has shown itself well in matters of hair care, it has a good therapeutic effect in gynecological diseases, Trichomonas colpitis. In case of a flu-like condition, it is recommended to inhale chamomile infusion with hot steam. For sluggish healing wounds, use externally, as well as for childhood colic. For gout, ulcers and boils, preferably in the form of a decoction mixed with salt.

Prickly tartar- a biennial herbaceous prickly plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Blooming lasts all summer. In folk medicine, the tartar is used as a decoction in the treatment of malignant tumors, purulent wounds, is effective in the treatment of tetanus, ulcers, with skin cancer, lupus and scrofula, with vascular rheumatism, is indispensable as a diuretic, for painful sensations in the bladder, for colds it is recommended for use in the form of a decoction or powder.

Timya? N crawling?(Chabre? Ts, or Chabre? Ts ordinary, or Bogor? Dskaya grass?) flowering stems are raised or even erect. Depending on the habitat, flowering continues from late spring all summer, but fruit ripening occurs in mid-summer to September. It is one of the best honey plants. Young leaves and shoots of thyme are great for salad and even pickling cucumbers. All kinds of infusions, decoctions and extract of thyme are recommended for diseases of acute and chronic respiratory tract, tuberculosis and bronchial asthma. Creeping thyme is characterized by antimicrobial, sedative, cramps effective, strong analgesic, wound healing and a wide range actions for helminthiasis. The aerial part of the plant is used for expectorant charges, astringent and choleretic charges, as well as baths for inflammatory processes in the joints, it is also recommended for nervous diseases, as a diuretic, diaphoretic and antihypertensive agent. When applied externally, it is used in the form of compresses, soothing baths and lotions for painful sensations in the muscles. It is advisable to use thyme ointments and lotions for rheumatism of the joints, heals well wounds in case of skin diseases.

Yarrow- herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Blooms all summer, capturing the fall months. Typically, the tops of the flowering plant are used for treatment and should be harvested during the flowering period. Yarrow has strong anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. Yarrow preparations increase the rate of blood coagulation, are characterized as the strongest means of combating inflammatory, allergic reactions of the body, as well as the rapid healing of wounds. In addition, yarrow increases the contractility of the uterine muscles, which explains its frequent use for uterine bleeding, the plant has a vasodilating effect and analgesic in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Yarrow is recommended for use in stopping internal bleeding - pulmonary, intestinal, uterine, hemorrhoidal, nasal, bleeding from the gums and wounds. In addition, preparations from yarrow are also effective as a sedative. In case of inflammation of the respiratory tract, yarrow is used in the form of an infusion, as well as to improve appetite and digestion in general, with problems with the menstrual cycle, to increase the amount of milk in nursing mothers.

Common hops - climbing plant, belonging to the mulberry family, dioecious, perennial, even poisonous with illiterate use, the length can be up to 3-6 m, the root is fleshy, simple. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, unisexual, the fruits are round in shape, in the form of single-seeded nuts, which are combined into yellowish-green seedlings in the form of cones. Flowering lasts almost all summer, fruiting occurs late summer, usually already in the fall. Common hop grows along the shores of lakes, rivers, in well-moistened deciduous forests, in clearings, forest edges, in forest and forest-steppe zones, most often among shrubs. Hop cones are used as a sedative, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and pain reliever. They are used for excessive nervous and sexual excitability, sleep disorders, nervous diseases, radiculitis, kidney diseases, painful critical days, nocturnal emissions, menopause. Hop "cones" are especially effective for cystitis and urethritis.

Chicory- a herb belonging to the Asteraceae family, perennial. The flowers are blue, although they are also pink or white, collected in a basket inflorescence. Flowering continues throughout the summer until September. Chicory is used as a gastric, choleretic, laxative and is used to treat diseases of the liver, spleen, kidneys, and skin diseases. The hypoglycemic effect of chicory in diabetes mellitus has been clarified. Decoctions of roots and inflorescences have a bactericidal, sedative and astringent effect, enhances the secretion of gastric and intestinal juice, gastrointestinal motility, increased appetite, choleretic and diuretic, immunomodulatory, anti-allergic agent.

Celandine- a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the poppy family. The straight stem of the plant is branched, with small hairs. Celandine, unlike many other plants, contains a yellow-orange milky juice. Flowering continues almost all summer. The herb is characterized by a bactericidal, pronounced antitumor effect, is effective in the fight against fungal diseases, tones up the smooth uterine muscles, has an effect on blood pressure, lowering it, and has a choleretic effect. In addition, celandine is often used for heart disease, liver and gallbladder diseases, stomach cancer, and colon polyposis. Fresh celandine herb juice is used to cauterize or remove warts, condylomas. It is recommended for use in the treatment of gout and rheumatism of the joints, cutaneous tuberculosis, dry calluses, skin diseases, and ascites.

Salvia officinalis- a perennial perennial semi-shrub belonging to the labiate family. Sage flowers give off a pleasant-smelling sweet nectar. Blooming lasts from June to July. The leaves of this shrub are characterized by anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, astringent, emollient and perspiration-limiting action, the ability to stop bleeding. It is used in the form of an infusion or decoction of leaves for stomatitis, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, in the form of therapeutic douching in the case of tonsillitis and gynecological diseases, effectively as a means of reducing sweating - the action of this plant occurs after 1-2 hours, and the inhibition of sweating processes can continue sometimes the whole day, it is also recommended during menopause for women, and even as a means of reducing lactation in nursing mothers.

Plants in the steppe are usually herbaceous. Their flora is distinguished by a luxurious variety of species. The steppe is a plain with herbaceous vegetation, where there are rare bushes. Trees are found only along artificially planted ponds and forest belts.

Plants in the steppe are usually narrow-leaved, with a rich root system that allows them to withstand temperature extremes and extreme weather conditions. Plant communities are formed from several ecologically related, life species, and the formation of a community is associated with weather conditions and the type of a particular site. The most typical for all is the presence of xerophytic grasses, adapted to the arid climate. The northern steppes are characterized by forbs, the southern ones are a community of grasses, and the semi-desert steppes are dominated by shrubs that can overcome strong desert winds.

Traditional steppe vegetation is made up of herbaceous plants, some of them are characteristic only for this area, and some of them can be found in meadows and wooded areas. The peculiarities of the color of the leaves and stem (grayish, or gray-green), is associated with their ability to easily tolerate moisture deficit, dry periods, the ability to roll up in a period when there is no precipitation. In the steppes of the temperate zone, you can find plants that are more characteristic of the meadow zone, which is easily explained by the climate in which the humidity is higher.

In addition to the usual steppe plants in the steppe can be represented by those that are of industrial importance. These include: corn, wheat, beets, barley, rye, forage crops that are used for pasture. The herbs that are used in folk medicine, are harvested for medicinal purposes, are used in pharmaceutical preparations, folk remedies for the treatment of diseases are also important to a person. More than 45 species of orchids, 50 species of legumes, 20 species of lily and asteraceae, which disappear due to human activity, are included in the Red Book of Russia. Among them are locust lily (royal curls), dolomite bell, yellow iris (water), yellow water lily.

The steppe, depending on the grasses, is divided into 5 main types of vegetation:

• mountain (cryoxerophilic);
• herb (mesoxeroyl);
• feather grass (xerophilic);
• desertified (haloxerophilic);
• desert (super xerophilic).

The main part of the steppes is located between forest-steppe and semi-desert, and the flora of these zones is represented mainly by cereals. Various types of feather grass are most widespread in the steppe.

Flowering steppe plants

Steppe plants with flowers are so good that many of them are cultivated for the garden, used in landscape design, for growing in flower beds. These plants include spring Adonis, Anafalis (three-veined, pearl), Goniolimon (beautiful, Tatar), Kachim (paniculate, Pacific, creeping, holly), Meadowsweet (elm, red, purple, Kamchatka), Hyacinth, Clematis (clematis) , Crocus and Narcissus.

The steppe looks most beautiful in spring. Melting snows fill the soil with water, and the sun is not yet very hot, so that in April and May, the spring steppe is a spectacle of indescribable beauty. In early spring, mustard, rapeseed, feather grass, tulips bloom in the steppe. In the northern steppes, due to certain climatic conditions, flowers characteristic of the meadow grow, such as meadow sage, the flowers of which are collected in paniculate inflorescences, visible from afar, due to the intense violet-blue color. Meadowsweet blooms with a beautiful scattering of white-pink flowers that stand out brightly against the background of green spring foliage.Thin-leaved peony growing in the northern steppes is almost more beautiful than its garden counterparts, in natural conditions it has dark crimson flowers. In the northern steppes, Esparcet grows, in which the inflorescence is pale pink, in shape resembling a brush directed upward. It is used as a valuable forage plant.

The vegetation in the southern steppes is not so rich. The ephemeral plants that bloom in the southern steppe in spring are low. The sickle horned head, Veronica spring, and some others have time not only to bloom in a short period, but also to form seeds before the coming dry summer period. The northern and southern steppes are 2 radically different types of steppe vegetation, and between them there are many different types, combining 2 or more modifications: feather grass steppes with forbs, northern steppes with feather grass, steppes interspersed with woodlands. A growing carpet of grass and cereals greatly changes the appearance of the steppe, depending on the season that has come.

Tiled Skewer and other healers

Tiled skewer or wild gladiolus usually grows in meadows, but it can also be found in forb steppes. A plant of incredible beauty, which creates in nature entire populations, the so-called gladiolus meadows, but, unfortunately, already belongs to rare species. In the Kursk region, thin skewer blooms with a density of up to 160 plants per 1 m², student expeditions of biologists go to admire its flowering. It is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the corms, with three xiphoid leaves. Spreading bell and grass carnation usually become its companions. Tiled skewer can be found even in the Murmansk region and the Komi Republic, where it survives thanks to its rhizome-tuber with reserves of nutrients for the period of drought and in winter. It has long been used as a medicinal plant.

Oak Krupka and Siberian Krupka grow in Central Asia, Siberia, and the Caucasus. it tall plant with a rosette of leaves, blooming with yellowish flowers, has invaluable medicinal properties, used in the treatment of bronchi, whooping cough, as a hemostatic agent, in the form of a decoction is used to treat various skin diseases and rashes.

The northern breakthrough is widespread in many climatic zones, including in the steppes. Its decoctions have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects, and official medicine uses extracts in the composition of contraceptives. Wild Poppy, Tulip, Mullein from the Norichnikov family grow in almost all steppes. The composition of biologically active substances contained in its flowers and stems is simply priceless, and, due to the absence of harmful components, is used as a valuable food additive. It is eaten fresh, drinks, salads are prepared from it, the infusion of the flower is useful for diseases of the spleen, liver, intestines, is part of the chest, expectorant preparations. The natural plant resources of the steppes are very great.

Wormwood herb

Wormwood carries its specific aroma from early spring to late autumn. After feather grass, this is the most characteristic steppe plant, the smell of which many people associate with the steppe. Essential oils, which are the main wealth of wormwood, make up up to 3% of the plant's weight. Scientific research useful properties wormwood began several decades ago, but it has been used from time immemorial as a medicinal plant.

For a long time this steppe herb has been eaten as a spice, used as a disinfectant, medicinal, tonic, aromatizing, and even anthelmintic. Wormwood has helped geologists find mineral deposits more than once, because it changes its color and shape of leaves if it grows in places where natural resources are found.

Plants are a storehouse of natural, useful, invaluable properties, a decorative spring carpet that can destroy human activities for their development. Such natural complexes must be protected.

Help -> Encyclopedias |

The steppes are the richest in species communities of drought-resistant plants - xerophytes. They are common where the climate is warm, but there is not enough rainfall for the forest to grow. Steppe is "a type of vegetation represented by a community of drought-resistant perennial herbaceous plants dominated by turf grasses, less often sedges and onions." If we analyze the geographical distribution of steppe landscapes on the globe, then it will find -

Xia, which is the most typical steppes are formed in the interior regions of the mainland. The steppe zones of the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres, characterized by a dry climate, treeless watersheds, the dominance of herbaceous, mainly cereal vegetation on chernozem, dark chestnut and chestnut soils.

The area is dominated by steppes, which are altered by pasture digression and represent low-grass communities of pastures dominated by fescue and wormwood. Haymaking variants of the steppe have been preserved in small fragments, among which there are southern, northern and central variants, which represent the transition between the northern and southern. In the steppes of the central variant, if they are not disturbed by grazing, feathergrass-feathery, Zelessky, narrow-leaved are common. In addition, fescue can be found and herbs are very abundant. The steppe also includes shrubs - caragana, spirea, gorse, broom.

In addition to the mountain steppes, small fragments of the plain have preserved solonetzic steppes, which include the common wormwood of Lerha, Kermek Gmelin, and pseudo-grass. The steppe on gravelly soils is characterized by

the participation of species - petrophytes, i.e., stone lovers - onosma of the simplest, thyme, mine grate, Siberian cornflower and others. Such steppes are especially easily destroyed by pasture digression. Productivity of steppe hayfields - up to 4-5 c / ha

Hay, productivity of steppe pastures as a result of overgrazing is low and does not exceed 15-20 c / ha of green mass

for the entire pasture period. According to the classification, according to the research of Professor B.M. Mirkin , all the steppes of the Republic of Bashkortostan can be divided into two main types - meadow and typical. Meadows are widespread in the forest-steppe zone, and in the steppe zone they tend to the slopes of the northern exposure.

Typical steppes occupy areas in the steppe zone of the republic.

Ball-headed mordovnik

Biennial or perennial herb from the Asteraceae family. Plant height reaches 1.5 m. The stem is single, straight, branchy at the top. It is covered with glandular hairs. Leaves are double pinnately dissected, large, 10 to 25 cm long and 4 to 10 cm wide. Rosette leaves with petiole, the rest are sessile, stalk-embracing. From above they are green, and from below they are covered with white felt, along the edges there are small thorns. The flowers are collected in globular inflorescences, they are bluish-white in color. The spherical heads have a diameter of 4-5cm. Seed fruits. It grows in river valleys, among bushes, on the edges of island forests, in wastelands.

The plant population on the Roman Gora hill is represented by single plants. Occasionally there are "islets" of 5-10 plants. In general, the plants are in good health condition.

Yarrow

Perennial herb from the Asteraceae family. A plant with an erect stem. In RB conditions, its height ranges from 48 to 72 cm. Several shoots of stems depart from a thin creeping rhizome. Basal leaves are lanceolate, doubly pinnate-dissected into narrow small lobules. Stem leaves are shorter, pinnately dissected.

Stem leaves are shorter, pinnately dissected, divided into a large number of lobules. Inflorescence - corymbose, consisting of many flower baskets. The flowers are small, white, mauve or reddish. Blooms in June-August for a very long time.

Grows on a hill everywhere, where there are areas of meadow steppe. It is especially often found on the southern side of the slope in gentle places, where cattle graze more often and closer to the Asly-Udryak river.

Asparagus medicinal

Perennial herb from the lily family. The stem of asparagus is erect, reaching a height of 150 cm, strongly branched. The branches on the stem branch off under acute angle... The leaves are reduced into scales, modified shoots resembling leaves are formed in the axils of the stem. The underground stem is straight, smooth. It is juicy, etiolated, forming shoots extending from the rhizome. These stems are used as a vegetable plant. The flowers are small, greenish yellow. Perianth of six petals with 6 stamens. The fruit is a red spherical berry. Blooms in June - July. Asparagus grows in meadows, among thickets of bushes, it is also found in the steppe, on the slopes of the mountains.

It is rather rare in the study area. Found in areas adjacent to the forest belt and located between the rows of trees within the forest belt. The population is represented by single plants.

Spring adonis

Perennial herb from the buttercup family. Adonis has a two-stroke development - at the beginning

Early flowering is distinguished, and then the formation of the stem and leaves. It blooms in early spring from late April to May. The bush, which contains up to 20-30 pieces of flowers, blooms from 40 to 50 days. The very first flowers, as a rule, are large, but they are pale yellow, golden, apical, solitary, abundantly visited by bees. At the beginning of flowering, Adonis has a bush height of 10 to 15 cm, and in the fruiting phase it reaches 30-70 cm. Each bush has from 2 to 15 generative and from 4 to 23 vegetative shoots.

It is found everywhere in the study area. The population is made up of more than 150 plants in good health condition.

Ivy budra

A perennial, herbaceous plant from the labiate family. Budra has a creeping and branched stem, it takes root, forming new stems. The leaves are petiolar, opposite, crenate-toothed, rounded reniform. They are covered with hairs. Flowers 3-4 pcs. located in the axils of the middle stem leaves, they are small, two-lipped, violet-blue or bluish-purple in color. Pedicels are 4-5 times shorter than the calyx, equipped with subulate bracts. The calyx is covered with hairs; its teeth are triangular, finely pointed. The height of the rising stems ranges from 10 to 40 cm blooms in May-June.

It grows along the ravine and on the southern side of the slope. A large population, studied at the beginning of flowering.

St. John's wort

Perennial herbaceous plant of the St. John's wort family. Stem is straight, from 45 to 80 cm high, glabrous, with two edges. Leaves are oblong-ovate, whole-edged, opposite, sessile. On the leaves are scattered translucent point containers that resemble holes - hence the name - perforated.

The flowers are numerous, golden-yellow in color, collected in a broad-panicle, almost corymbose inflorescence. Sepals are sharp with a solid edge. The petals are twice as long as the sepal, blooms in June-July. The fruit is a three-celled polyspermous basket, opens with 3 valves. The rhizome is thin, with several stems extending from it.

Found only in one place on the eastern gently sloping side of the hill. Presented by 8-15 plants.

Veronica Dubravnaya

Perennial herb. Retains green shoots all year round... The leaves are arranged oppositely, in the axils of the raceme of irregular flowers. The flower has 2 stamens and 1 pistil. Veronica's fruit is a flattened box.

Grows in meadow areas of the steppe of the study area. Plants are evenly distributed among other species. Often found on the outskirts of the forest belt.

Awnless bonfire

Belongs to the family of cereals. It has smooth stems reaching one meter in height. The leaves are flat and wide. Spikelets are collected in an inflorescence - a spreading panicle. The fire is a good forage grass, blooms from the end of May to June. Many tall erect shoots of peduncles depart from the creeping rhizome.

In the plant communities of the hill, it is a species forming the environment, since occurs evenly often almost everywhere.

Knotweed

An annual, herbaceous plant from the buckwheat family. A small plant with a height of 10 to 40 cm. It has straight, outstretched, branchy stems. Leaves are elliptical or lanceolate, small, with a short root. The flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, distributed evenly throughout the plant. The corolla of the flower is pale pink. The fruit is a triangular nut. It blooms from May to October. It grows on roads, streets, courtyards, pastures. On pastures, where there is a heavy load of livestock, all types of plants suffer, only knotweed remains.

This species is well expressed at the foot of the hill from the side of the river and animal stalls. Almost never found in the main system.

Common rape

A herbaceous plant from the cruciferous family. Bright green rosettes of the whimsical lyre. Large numbers of pinnately dissected leaves are seen in the fields plowed last fall. Blooms in May-June. With an abundance of sun and moisture, a flowering shoot with a cluster of yellow flowers quickly stretches out from the melted snow. The fruit is polyspermous, opening with two valves. Good honey plant.

It grows irregularly in the vegetation cover of the hill and is found in large quantities from the side of the field located closer to the eastern slope.

Goat purple

Achenes at the base with a hollow, swollen stem, 12 mm long, ribbed, light gray. Stems are straight and ascending, grooved, simple and branching. Basal leaves on long petioles, pinnate and dissected, with narrow linear lateral segments. The baskets are cylindrical, the wrapper is slightly arachnoid, then naked, its leaves are lanceolate, sometimes with a horn-shaped appendage. Flowers are yellow, marginal from the outside are reddish.

Grows on a hill on the lawns between the trees of the forest belt. It occurs moderately often, the population consists of single plants, which are located at a relatively small distance from each other - from 40 to 60 cm.

Karagana

Belongs to the legume family. Shrub with gray, straight, thin branches, with four contiguous obovate leaves with a wedge-shaped base and spines at the apex; flowers are golden yellow with a wide obovate sail, blunt boat, 2-3 on single peduncles, which are twice as long as the calyx, beans up to 3 cm long, naked, cylindrical, 1-4 seeds.

It grows mainly on the western slope of the mountain, in a ravine and an adjacent gully on the north side.

Nonya dark

Belongs to the borage family. The whole plant is covered with protruding stiff hairs and sparse glandular hairs. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, the lower ones are narrowed at the petioles, the rest are sessile, semi-stemming. Bracts lanceolate, longer than flowers, dark red-brown in color. The calyx is bell-shaped, incised to one part. The lobes of the calyx are lanceolate. Nuts are reticulate and wrinkled.

It grows everywhere on the hill, it has been studied and determined at the beginning of flowering.

Bell

Belongs to the bellflower family. The flowers are numerous, in a large, branched inflorescence. The corolla is funnel-shaped, bell-shaped, blue or white. Stem with dense foliage. Leaves are coarsely serrate, glabrous or pubescent.

It grows in the communities of the studied plants between gramineous plants. It is rare, only about 30 plants are counted in the population.

Veronica long-leaved

Belongs to the Norichnik family. Leaves are unequally serrate to the very top with finely pointed,

Simple or base b.h. double serrated, oblong or linear-lanceolate, acute at the base, cordate or rounded, often whorled. Inflorescence is a terminal dense raceme, extending up to 25 cm, sometimes with several lateral racemes; flowers on pedicels, almost equal to the calyx. Corolla blue, about 6 mm. Long, with a hairy tube inside. The whole plant is glabrous or with short grayish pubescence.

The distribution of this plant in the studied ecosystem is moderately rare. Grows in separate plants or 2-3 individuals.

Violet amazing

Belongs to the violet family. Stem up to 30 cm tall. Petioles of large wide-heart-shaped stem leaves are grooved, pubescent only on convex, downward-facing hairs. Stipules of stem leaves are large, whole-edged, pericly large, rusty-red.

On a hill, it grows in places with low grasses or among low grassy cover, loves stony areas of the surface.

Forest anemone

Family of buttercup-Ranunculaceae. Perennial. Stem leaves are not accrete, similar to basal, short-haired. Flowers are yellow-white.

It grows in small "families" between pine rows of trees and separately on open slopes on the eastern and northern sides of the Roman Gora hill.

Field bindweed

Belongs to the bindweed family. Naked or absent-mindedly drooping plant with recumbent, creeping or climbing shoots. Flowers up to 3.5 cm in diameter, usually collected in 2-3 or single. Bracts in the form of a pair of small linear leaves are located oppositely in the middle of the peduncle, do not reach the calyx. The corolla is pink, rarely white.

Grows in areas with other meadow plants from the side of the ravine and the river.

Onosma Preduralskaya

Belongs to the borage family. Pedicels are very short, much shorter than bracts. The whole plant is hard and rough. The stem is straight, simple, less often branched, covered with hard, spaced bristles and dense downy. The root leaves are numerous, petiolar, linear, sessile stem, linear-lanceolate.

Loves open, sunny places with rocky soil. Grows in crowded bushes. Very interesting during the flowering period. There are not many plants on the Roman-Gora hill on the summit on the south side. Numerical counts showed about 20 plants.

Plain wormwood

Belongs to the Asteraceae family. The root is upright, woody, developing branched flowering shoots and straight, ribbed, reddening branched flowering stems. Leaves of sterile shoots and lower stems are doubly, three-pinnate, slices narrowly linear, 3-10 mm long, barely pointed, middle and upper stem leaves are sessile, short bracts, narrowly linear. The outer leaves of the envelope are oval, almost round, convex, green along the back, the inner ones are widely scariously bordered along the edge.

Well expressed as a cover plant on the southern slope of the Roman Gora hill. Plants are shorter than normal, indicating oppression by pasture pressure.

The world around us, grade 4

Steppe zone

In the past, there were endless steppes in the steppe zone. Now they are almost everywhere plowed up, their place was taken by fields. The preserved areas of the steppes with their wonderful flora and fauna must be protected.

Using the map in the textbook, paint over on the contour map (The world around us, grade 4, p.

Features of all kinds of plants in the steppe

36-37) steppe zone. For color matching, you can use the "key" below.

Which zone, located between the steppes and forest zones, remained unpainted? Paint over it at home.

Answer: Forest steppe

Our inquisitive Parrot knows a thing or two about the steppes. Here are some of his statements. Are they correct? Circle Yes or No. If not, correct the mistakes (verbally).

a) The steppe zone is located south of the forest zones. Answer: Yes
b) In the steppe zone, a cold, rainy summer. Answer: No
c) The soils in the steppe zone are very fertile. Answer: Yes
d) Tulips bloom in the steppe in the midst of summer. Answer: No
e) The bustard, one of the smallest birds in our country, is found in the steppe. Answer: No

Seryozha and Nadia's mother asks if you know the steppe plants. Cut out drawings from the Application and place them in the appropriate boxes. Check yourself with the tutorial. After self-test, stickers are drawings.

And this task was prepared for you by the father of Seryozha and Nadia. Recognize the animals of the steppe by fragments. Sign the names of the animals. Ask the student sitting next to you to test you.

Make a diagram of the power circuit typical for the steppe zone. Compare it with the one suggested by the deskmate. Using these diagrams, tell about the ecological connections in the steppe zone.

Feather grass - Filly - Steppe Lark - Steppe Eagle
Fescue - Hamster - Steppe viper

Think about the ecological problems of the steppe zone expressed by these signs. Formulate and write down.

Suggest conservation measures for class discussion that can help solve these problems.

Continue filling the poster "The Red Book of Russia", which was drawn by the father of Seryozha and Nadia. Find the plant and animals of the steppe zone on the poster and sign their names.

Thin-leaved peony, steppe eagle, bustard, steppe rack

8. On the instructions of the textbook (p. 117) draw a steppe.

9. On the instructions of the textbook (p. 117), prepare a report on the plants and animals of the steppe, which you are especially interested in.

Message subject: Bustard

Message plan:

1) Foreword
2) Basic information
3) Conclusion

The bustard is recognized as the heaviest of flying birds; this steppe inhabitant mainly moves on the ground and runs quickly in case of danger. Individuals are considered omnivorous, in their diet plant food (seeds, shoots, wild garlic) and animals (insects, rodents, frogs), during the mating season, males perform a spectacular dance.
Dimensions:
Length: males up to 105 cm, females from 75 to 80 cm
Weight: males up to 16 kg, females up to 8 kg
Life Expectancy: 20-25 Years
The bustard is predominantly a steppe bird. It lives on open plains without coars, meadows and fields. This is due to the caution of the birds, since the free space is far visible there. During nesting, individuals stop in areas with high vegetation. There are also cases when bustards nest among crops of grain, sunflower and other crops.

Source (s) of information: Internet, encyclopedia

Plants of the steppe zone: photos and names

What plants grow in the steppe?

• Mountain, steppes with lush alpine vegetation and alpine, characterized by sparse and nondescript vegetation, mainly consisting of grains and breaks.
• Meadow. Steppes, characterized by the presence of small forests that form glades and forest edges.
• The real ones. Steppes with feather grass and fescue growing on them in a large predominance. These are the most typical steppe plants.
• Sazovye - steppes, consisting of plants that adapt to arid climate, shrubs.
• Desert steppes on which desert tumbleweeds, wormwood, prutnyak grow
• It is also necessary to say a few words about the forest-steppe, which is characterized by the alternation of deciduous forests and coniferous forests with areas of the steppes, since the plants of the steppe and forest-steppe differ only in subspecies.

The steppe has its embodiment on any continent except Antarctica, and on different continents it has its own name: in North America it is prairies, in South America it is a pampas, in South America, Africa and Australia it is a savannah. In New Zealand, the steppe is called tussoki.

Let's consider in more detail what plants grow in the steppe.

Types of steppe plants

• Krupka. It is an annual cruciferous plant native to the highlands and tundra. There are about 100 varieties of grains that are characteristic of our steppes. It is characterized by a branched stem with oblong leaves, topped with tassels of yellow flowers. Flowering period April - July. In folk herbal medicine, grits are used as a hemostatic, expectorant and diuretic.
• Breaker. It is also an annual plant, about 25 cm long and has oblong leaves, many flower arrows, each ending in an inflorescence of tiny white flowers. The breaker is used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic and hemostatic, as well as an anticonvulsant in epilepsy
• Poppy. Depending on the species, this is an annual or perennial grass with flower buds on long peduncles. It grows on rocky slopes, near mountain streams and rivers, in fields, along roads. And although poppies are poisonous, they are widely used in herbal medicine as a sedative and hypnotic for insomnia, as well as for some diseases of the intestines and bladder.
• Tulips are perennial herbaceous plants of the steppe of the lily family with large and bright flowers. They mainly grow in semi-desert, desert and mountainous areas.
• Astragalus. This plant has more than 950 species of all kinds of colors and shades, growing in desert and dry steppes, in the forest zone and in alpine meadows. It is widely used for edema, dropsy, gastroenteritis, diseases of the spleen, as a tonic, as well as for headaches and hypertension.
• Feather grass. It is also a varied herb. There are more than 60 of them, and the most common of them is feather grass. It is a perennial plant of the cereal family. Feather grass grows up to 1 meter tall with smooth stems and spinous leaves. Feather grass is used as a decoction in milk for goiter and paralysis.
• Mullein. It is a large (up to 2 m) plant with hairy leaves and large yellow flowers. Studies of the plant have shown the presence of many beneficial substances in its flowers, such as flavonoids, saponins, coumarin, gum, essential oil, aucubin glycoside, the content of ascorbic acid and carotene. Therefore, the plant is actively used as a food additive in salads and hot dishes, drinks are prepared, and also eaten fresh.
• Melissa officinalis. It is a perennial tall herb with a pronounced lemon scent. The stems of the plant are crowned with bluish-lilac flowers, which are collected in false rings. Lemon balm leaves contain essential oil, ascorbic acid, some organic acids.
• Camel thorn is a subshrub, up to 1 meter in height, with a powerful root system, bare stems with long spines and red (pink) flowers. Camel thorn is widespread in the riverside area, grows along irrigation ditches and canals, on wastelands and irrigated lands. The plant contains many vitamins, some organic acids, rubber, resins, tannins, essential oil, as well as carotene and wax. A decoction of the plant is used for colitis, gastritis and stomach ulcers.
• Sagebrush. It is a herbaceous or semi-shrub plant found almost everywhere. The whole plant has a straight stem with thin pinnately-divided leaves and yellowish flowers, collected in inflorescences. Wormwood is used as a herb, and essential oil is used in perfumery and cosmetics. Also, wormwood is important as a forage plant for livestock.
• So, we have considered only some types of steppe plants. And, of course, differences in the landscape leave their mark on the appearance of the grasses growing on it, but, nevertheless, some common properties can be distinguished. So for steppe plants are characteristic:

• Branched root system
• Bulb roots
• Fleshy stems and thin, narrow leaves

Plants of the steppe zone

VEGETATION of the steppes consists of a variety of grasses capable of withstanding drought. In some plants, the stems and leaves are strongly pubescent or have a developed wax coating; in others, tough stems are covered with narrow leaves that curl up in the dry season (cereals); still others have fleshy and juicy stems and leaves with a moisture reserve. Some plants are distinguished by a root system deeply going into the ground or form tubers, bulbs, rhizomes.

The steppe zone is one of the main land biomes. The zonal features of biomes were formed under the influence, first of all, of climatic factors. The steppe zone is characterized by a hot and arid climate for most of the year, and in spring there is a sufficient amount of moisture, therefore, the steppes are characterized by the presence of a large number of ephemerals and ephemeroids among plant species, and many animals are also confined to a seasonal lifestyle, hibernating in arid and the cold season.

Steppe almonds. Photo: Sirpa Tähkämö

It is represented by steppes in Eurasia, prairies in North America, pampas in South America, and tussians in New Zealand. These are areas of the temperate zone, occupied by more or less xerophilous vegetation. From the point of view of the living conditions of the animal population, the steppes are characterized by the following features: a good overview, an abundance of plant food, a relatively dry summer period, the existence of a summer dormant period, or, as it is now called, semi-rest. In this respect, steppe communities differ sharply from forest ones. Among the prevailing life forms of steppe plants, there are grasses, the stems of which are crowded into turf - sod grasses. In the Southern Hemisphere, these are called tussocks. Tussoks are very tall and their leaves are less rigid than those of the grass grass of the Northern Hemisphere, since the climate of the communities of the Southern Hemisphere close to the steppes is milder.

Rhizome grasses that do not form turf, with single stems on creeping underground rhizomes, are more widespread in the northern steppes, in contrast to turf grasses, whose role in the Northern Hemisphere increases to the south.
Among the dicotyledonous herbaceous plants, two groups stand out - the northern colorful forbs and the southern colorless. The colorful forbs are characterized by a mesophilic appearance and large bright flowers or inflorescences, for the southern, colorless forbs - a more xerophilic appearance - pubescent stems into leaves, often narrow or finely dissected leaves, flowers are hardly noticeable, dim.
Typical for the steppes are annual ephemera, which die off in spring after flowering, and perennial ephemeroids, in which tubers, bulbs, and underground rhizomes remain after the dying off of the ground parts. Colchicum is peculiar, which develops foliage in the spring, when there is still a lot of moisture in the steppe soils, retains only underground organs for the summer, and in the fall, when the whole steppe looks lifeless, yellowed, it gives bright lilac flowers (hence its name).

The steppe is characterized by shrubs, often growing in groups, sometimes solitary. These include spireas, caragana, steppe cherries, steppe almonds, and sometimes some types of juniper. The fruits of many shrubs are eaten by animals.
Xerophilic mosses, bushy and crustose lichens, sometimes blue-green algae from the genus Nostok grow on the soil surface. For the summer dry period, they dry up, after the rains they come to life and assimilate.

In the steppe there are plants that are rather ordinary-looking, perhaps that is why they are unfamiliar to many: crumbs and breaks. They are among the first to appear on dry ridge, sandy hillocks, hills and mounds.

Cruciferous grains are most commonly found in the highlands and tundra. The total number of its species in our country reaches one hundred. The most common are Siberian groats (found in meadows, in dry tundra, on alpine and subalpine lawns practically throughout the country, including the Arctic and mountain systems of Central Asia and Siberia), as well as oak groats (widespread, except for the Arctic, in dry meadows and steppes). Outwardly, these crumbs are very similar to each other.

Oak groats are an annual plant with a branchy, leafy stem up to 20 centimeters in height, in the lower part of which there is a basal rosette of oblong leaves, and in the upper part there are loose tassels of yellowish flowers. It blooms in April - July. The chemical composition of the grains is poorly studied, it is only known that the aboveground part contains alkaloids. The plant was used in folk herbal medicine as a hemostatic agent along with a shepherd's purse. It is believed that the aerial part, together with the seeds, has an expectorant and antitussive effect, as a result of which it is used for whooping cough and various diseases of the bronchi. or a decoction of the herb externally and internally - as a blood purifier) ​​o In Chinese medicine, plant seeds are popular, which are used as an expectorant and diuretic.

Krupka Siberian is a perennial with dark yellow flowers. Deserves, like oak groats, to study for medical purposes.
The breakers from the family of primroses number 35 species in our country, distributed mainly in the mountains of the Caucasus, Central Asia and Siberia. The most common northern breach is a small, up to 25 centimeters, annual plant with a basal rosette of medium-sized oblong leaves and, as a rule, numerous, up to 20 pieces, flower arrows up to 25 centimeters high, each of which ends in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence, consisting of 10-30 tiny white flowers. The northern breach is found almost throughout the country - in the forest-steppe, steppe, forest and polar-arctic zones: on dry and steppe meadows, rocky slopes, in sparse pine and other forests, and he especially loves and.

The flora of the steppe

willingly occupies plowed glades and fallow lands like a weed.

The plant has long been used for medicinal purposes by the people of our country. Recently, medicine has been studying the possibility of obtaining from it drugs of a contraceptive (contraceptive) action. The studies carried out have yielded good results - the centuries-old folk experience of using the breakthrough has been fully confirmed. It is believed that the breakthrough has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, its decoction or paste is used for leucorrhoea in women and gonorrhea in men, hernia and goiter, gastralgia, urolithiasis, especially widely - for sore throat (gargle and ingest). The use of a breakthrough is also known as an anticonvulsant in epilepsy and eclampsia (seizures, including in children), as well as a diuretic and hemostatic agent.

Oak groats. Photo: Matt Lavin

The tumbleweed is a peculiar life form of steppe plants. This life form includes plants that break off at the root collar as a result of drying out, less often - rotting, and are carried by the wind across the steppe; at the same time, then rising into the air, then hitting the ground, they scatter the seeds. In general, the wind plays an essential role in the transfer of seeds of steppe plants. There are a lot of flying plants here. The role of wind is great not only in pollination of plants, but the number of species in which insects take part in pollination is less here than in forests.

Features of steppe plants:

a) Small leaves. Leaves of steppe grasses are narrow, not wider than 1.5-2 mm. In dry weather, they fold lengthwise and their evaporating surface becomes even smaller (adaptation to reduce evaporation). In some steppe plants, leaf blades are very small (bedstraws, kachima, thyme, gerbils, hodgepodge), in others they are dissected into thinnest slices and segments (gills, adonis, etc.).
b) Pubescence. A whole group of steppe plants creates a special "microclimate" for themselves due to abundant pubescence. Many species of astragalus, sage and others, with the help of pubescence, protect themselves from the sun's rays and thus fight drought.
c) Wax bloom. Many people use a layer of wax or other waterproof substance secreted from the skin. This is another adaptation of steppe plants to drought. It is possessed by plants with a smooth, shiny leaf surface: milkweed, gills, Russian cornflower, etc.
d) The special position of the leaves. Avoiding overheating, some steppe grasses (grasshoppers, serpukhs, chondrils) have their leaves with their edges towards the sun. And such a steppe weed, like wild lettuce., Generally orients the leaves in the vertical north-south plane, representing a kind of living compass.
e) Coloring. Among the summer steppe grasses there are few bright green plants; the leaves and stems of most of them are painted in dull, faded tones. This is another adaptation of steppe plants that helps them protect themselves from excessive lighting and overheating (wormwood).
f) Powerful root system. The root system is 10-20 times the mass of the aboveground organs. There are many so-called sod grasses in the steppe. These are feather grass, fescue, thin-legged, wheat grass. They form dense tussocks with a diameter of 10 cm or more. Turf contains many remnants of old stems and leaves and has a remarkable property of intensively absorbing melt and rainwater and retaining it for a long time.
g) Ephemera and ephemeroids. These plants develop in the spring when the soil is moist enough. Thus, they manage to bloom and bear fruit before the onset of the dry period (tulips, irises, saffron, goose bows, adonis, etc.).

Home comfort

Steppe plants

Steppe plants are extremely diverse, but many of them have common characteristics. Among them are small, narrow leaves. In some species, they have the ability to curl up during drought to protect against excessive evaporation of moisture. The color of the leaves is often grayish or gray-green: the bright green foliage familiar to the eye can rarely be found here. The steppe plants tolerate heat well and the absence of rain.

According to various reference books, about 220 different plant species can be seen in the steppe. Many steppe plants have a branched root system allowing them to extract moisture from the ground. Willows can be found in the floodplains of flowing rivers, and in those places where groundwater come close to the surface of the earth - and other trees and shrubs: hawthorn, Tatar maple, wild grapes, thorns, etc. In places with saline soil, special steppe plants grow: saline wormwood, kermek, sveda, saltwort.

Unfriendly for most of the year, the steppe transforms in early spring. At this time, before the beginning of the dry season, it is covered with a variegated carpet of early flowering plants: tulips, irises, hyacinths, crocuses, and poppies. These steppe plants differ from cultivated varieties, first of all, in their smaller size. Moreover, their shape can be more bizarre - like, for example, the tulip Schrenk, one of the founders of the cultivated varieties of this flower. Due to the plowing of the steppe, as well as the ruthless collection of flowers, this species is listed in the Red Book of Russia. The dwarf steppe iris, like the Schrenck tulip, can have flowers of various shades, from yellow to purple. This species is also listed as endangered.

Until the heat comes, the bright steppe flowers already have time to give seeds. In their tubers they store nutrients that will allow them to bloom next year. It is the turn of the plants habitual to drought: fescue, feather grass, wormwood. Fescue (Valissian fescue) is an erect cereal up to half a meter high. This plant serves as food for horses and small livestock and is one of the main grazing plants in the steppe zone (fescue is not suitable for harvesting for future use). Feather grass, a typical representative of the steppe flora, is a perennial herb with a short rhizome and narrow, long leaves that resemble a wire. In total, there are about 400 species of this genus, some of them are protected. The main enemy of feather grass is uncontrolled grazing, during which this plant is simply trampled down. As for wormwood, in the steppe, along with other plants, there are almost all of its species (there are more than 180 of them). Continuous wormwood thickets usually form low varieties - for example, wilted wormwood, seaside and others.

Individual steppe plants (for example, kermek), after drying out, form the so-called tumbleweed. At the end of summer, the dried stalk of the kermek is torn from the roots by a gust of wind and rolls along the ground, scattering seeds along the way. Other stems and twigs can cling to it: the result is a rather impressive dry ball. Kermek vulgaris blooms pink, purple or yellow small flowers... On its basis, many cultivars have now been developed, which are widely used in landscape design. Common on saline soils, the species of the Sveda genus - small-leaved and creeping - are, respectively, a small shrub and an annual plant with reddening stems. They are readily eaten by camels.

What plants are typical for the steppe zone

Likewise, salicornia also serves as livestock feed during the autumn-winter season. Soda was previously extracted from its ash.

All steppe plants have their own characteristics that allow them to survive in conditions of heat and lack of moisture. These include powerful roots, early flowering in certain species, narrow leaves, etc.