arnica

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arnica
Arnica (Arnica montana), illustration

Arnica ( Arnica montana ), illustration

Systematics
Order : Astern-like (Asterales)
Family : Daisy family (Asteraceae)
Subfamily : Asteroideae
Tribe : Madieae
Genre : Arnica ( Arnica )
Type : arnica
Scientific name
Arnica montana
L.

The True arnica ( Arnica montana ), also Bergwohlverleih called, is a plant from the genus Arnica within the family of the daisy family (Asteraceae). It thrives in the mountains of Europe and is under nature protection .

The real arnica was voted Flower of the Year 1986 and Medicinal Plant of the Year 2001. It is considered a poisonous plant .

description

Vegetative characteristics

Arnica has opposite leaves

The real arnica is an aromatic, fragrant, deciduous, persistent and clonally spreading herbaceous plant and reaches heights of 20 to 60 centimeters. It forms underground rhizomes . The glandular-haired stem is simply or at most not very branched and usually has one to two, rarely three opposing pairs of leaves . This objectness the stem leaves is within the daisy family rather an exception, but is also found in Wasserdost and among the better-known ornamental plants in the marigold ( Tagetes ). The basal leaves are arranged in rosettes and are ovate to lanceolate and have entire margins. The leaf blades are four to seven veined and hairy.

Generative characteristics

An arnica ray flower

The flowering period in Central Europe extends from May to August. The mostly individually standing cup-shaped inflorescences have a diameter of about 4.5 to 8 centimeters. The basket bottom is hairy and transmits yolk yellow tubular flowers and often at margins 14 to 17 florets .

The achenes have a one-piece rough pappus that spreads when it is dry.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 38.

ecology

Arnica at a location in the Swabian-Franconian Forest

The real arnica is a hemicryptophyte and a semi-rosette plant with a storage rhizome .

In terms of flower ecology, it is the "cup flower type". The female ray florets are colored orange-yellow by the carotenoids , lutein and xanthophylls ; just like the hermaphrodite tubular flowers. The flowers smell aromatic. Dung bees in particular are observed as visitors and pollinators ; also butterflies like little fox and peacock butterfly . Even self-pollination takes place.

The diaspores spread as umbrella fliers and watery ones, and there is also chance spread through grazing animals. The plants are spurned by grazing animals; On primary rock soils in the mountainous region, they can therefore prevent any grazing in the event of mass development. The Immisberg-Hüttenwasen hillside pasture in the northwest part of the Feldberg massif had to be removed from grazing in 2016 due to the prevalence of arnica with over 1 million shoots there, so that the more than a thousand young cattle kept there over the summer an important part of their pasture area got lost. Fruit ripening is from August to October.

Occurrence

The distribution area includes the Alps , Pyrenees to the Balkans and a northern distribution to southern Scandinavia and the Baltic States . The real arnica prefers acidic and poor meadows and avoids lime. They can also be found in sparse forests. It can be found from the valley up to altitudes of 2800 meters. In Central Europe it is a species of the order Nardetalia. It also colonizes fresh to freshly changed, light to sunny, nutrient-poor and acidic borne grass lawns, heaths, mountain meadows and also moors with clay, loam or peat soils.

In the Allgäu Alps , it rises in the Tyrolean part between Bernhardseck and Mutte near Elbigenalp to an altitude of 2100 meters.

Conservation status for Arnica montana
(reporting period 2007–2012)
EU country ALP CON
Belgium ---
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    Germany
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    France
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    Italy
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    Luxembourg ---
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    Austria
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    Poland
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    Romania
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    Slovenia
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    Spain
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    Czech Republic ---
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    ALP = alpine biogeographical region, CON = continental biogeographical region,
    GREEN = favorable conservation status , ORANGE = inadequate conservation status ,
    RED = poor conservation status , --- = the member state has no share in the
    respective biogeographical region

    Hazard and protection

    In Belgium , Luxembourg , Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina , arnica montana is considered critically endangered, the Netherlands and Belarus class arnica as critically endangered. In Germany , Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia , Romania and Kaliningrad ( Russia ) the species is considered endangered and is on the Red List of Endangered Species in Germany at level 3. Arnica montana is classified as “potentially endangered” in Norway and Denmark.

    In Austria you go according to WWF-encyclopedia not from a hazard. However, the more recent Red Lists of the federal states show the sometimes severe deterioration in recent years. The Red List of Upper Austria (2009) categorized Arnica montana in the Bohemian Massif as “ critically endangered”, in the Alps as “endangered” and in the Alpine foothills as “threatened with extinction”. These deteriorations are reflected in the assessment of the conservation status (2013) according to Article 17 of the Habitats Directive : For the alpine region of Austria, the conservation status is classified as "inadequate" and for the continental region as "bad", with a continuing negative trend. In Germany, arnica is classified as a national type of responsibility within the national strategy for biological diversity of the federal government. As it turned out in 2017, the arnica stocks in northern Germany are genetically impoverished.

    Through breeding efforts, it has now been possible to develop a variety with the name 'Arbo' from Arnica montana , which is suitable for field cultivation, so that the wild stocks can be spared when collecting for medicinal purposes. The main source of danger for Arnica montana is not so much the harvest of the flower heads as the ongoing destruction of its habitat, namely the species-rich nebula grass .

    Efforts in the area of ​​reproduction are also showing success in the context of a project funded by the federal program for biological diversity . The aim is to stop the sharp decline in arnica stocks in the Bavarian Vogtland and Fichtel Mountains . For this purpose, arnica seeds collected in the project area are applied to prepared sowing sites and what is necessary for successful sowing is tested.

    Systematics

    The first publication of Arnica montana was in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum p. 884.

    One can distinguish between two subspecies:

    • Arnica montana subsp. montana : Their flower heads are 5 to 8 centimeters in diameter. The number of bracts is 18 to 24.
    • Arnica montana subsp. atlantica A. Bolòs : Their flower heads are 4 to 5 centimeters in diameter. The number of bracts is 11 to 18. It occurs in Portugal, Spain and France.

    Arnica as a medicinal plant

    Ingredients and effects

    Structural formula of 11α, 13-dihydrohelenalin, which is esterified as an ingredient in arnica flowers on the OH group with lower fatty acids, for example with an acetyl, isobutyryl, tigloyl or isovaleryl group.

    Arnica flowers contain sesquiterpene lactones in esterified form as their main active ingredients , especially helenalin and dihydrohelenalin esters , which have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. Plants in Central European areas contain more helenaline, in the Spanish area dihydrohelenaline dominate. Because of the toxicity of helenalin and dihydrohelenalin, tinctures and extracts from arnica flowers should not be used internally as self-medication. Oral application should be rejected because internal use is not advisable due to the narrow therapeutic range. Arnica flowers in tea can also lead to poisoning. In mice it is known that excessively high doses of dihydrohelenalin lead to cardiac arrest; Helenaline can also have a damaging effect on the heart.

    In addition, the yellow flower heads of arnica contain flavones , flavonols and essential oil , etc. a with thymol , thymol methyl ether , azulene . In addition, triterpenes , phenol carboxylic acids and polysaccharides have been identified in arnica flowers ; also the terpenoids 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymol , arnicolide A, B, C and D and arnifoline .

    The flavonoids and triterpene diols contained in arnica - when applied externally - also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Avoid contact with eyes and open wounds. The ingredients of arnica can cause allergic reactions ( itching , skin rash , blistering , allergic contact eczema , contact dermatitis). Helenalin or its esters have a sensitizing and therefore allergenic effect. The leaves and their extract, called arnicin , can also cause skin irritation.

    use

    Grass grass with arnica

    Arnica was not known to the ancient writers as a medicinal plant. The earliest mention is found in Hildegard von Bingen . The plant she describes as "Wolfslanta" could be arnica. From the 18th century arnica was actually used for ailments and diseases. The range of applications was broad, in addition to bruises and general injuries, varicose veins, phlebitis, gout and rheumatism were also treated. It was also used as an analeptic and stimulant . It was also often misused as an abortion .

    Nowadays arnica is used for external application for injuries and rheumatic muscle and joint problems.

    For external use, an (alcoholic) tincture is most often made. Most sesquiterpene lactones go into solution here. A water-based extract can also be used, in which 75% of the sesquiterpene lactones are dissolved. Tinctures or extracts for external use have an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect.

    Since internal use is not permitted, a large number of tea preparations have been withdrawn from the market. These are only permitted for external use, although not for long-term use. Here arnica flowers were scalded with boiling water and sieved out. Nowadays, however, tea preparation is no longer so common.

    Arnica in the form of the flower drug (Arnicae flos)
    This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

    The following components are used as a drug :

    • Arnica montana flowers (Arnicae flos, Flores Arnicae, Flores Calendulae alpinae, Flores Plantagines montanae, Flores Ptarmicae, Flores Alismae, Flos Arnicae); Arnica flowers (mountain root flowers, mountain root flowers, blood flowers, angel flowers, angelica, chamois flowers, fall herb flowers, loan flowers, wolf flowers), the dried, whole or partially disintegrated inflorescences or flower heads.
    • Arnicae herba (Arnicae folium, Folia Arnicae, Herba Arnicae, Herba Doronicae germanici); Arnica herb (arnica leaves, angel's herb, fall herb, chamois herb, loan herb), dried basal leaves that are collected in May before flowering and that are almost stem-free on the market.
    • Arnicae radix (Arnicae rhizoma, Radix Arnicae, Radix Doronici germanici, Rhizoma Arnicae); Arnica root (Bergwohlverleihwurzel, Mutterwurz, Stichwurz, Wohlverleihwurzel), the dried "rhizome" with the roots.

    Real arnica used to be added to snuff because the dried leaves irritated the nasal mucous membranes. Together with coltsfoot and mullein blossoms , arnica was also smoked as herbal tobacco.

    Arnica potencies are often used for injuries ( ecchymosis ), especially in homeopathy . As with all homeopathic medicines, numerous scientific studies have not been able to determine any beneficial effect of these preparations compared to placebo, be it preventive or therapeutic.

    Extraction

    Since it is difficult to grow arnica in large quantities for the production of medicinal products, wildly collected flowers are used in larger quantities by natural medicine manufacturers for the production of arnica oils, for example . The Weleda company, for example, obtains a large part of its annual requirement of 1300 kg of dried arnica flowers from the Romanian Carpathians . There, farmers collect around 5,000 kilograms of fresh arnica flowers per year as part of a cultivation project by the environmental protection organization WWF and Weleda AG.

    Because of the difficulties in cultivation, the North American meadow arnica ( Arnica chamissonis Less subsp. Foliosa (Nutt.) Mag.) Has been used, but it contains fewer ingredients. We succeeded in breeding the “Arbo” variety from Arnica montana. This variety can be grown in fields. In this way, wildlife is spared.

    Cultural meaning

    Arnica in superstition

    Illustration from CAM Lindman: Bilder ur Nordens Flora

    Hildegard von Bingen cites the plant "wolfesigarta" as a strong aphrodisiac, which is mostly, but probably wrongly, interpreted as arnica. She wrote: “When a man or woman glows in love, then if someone touches him or her on the skin with Wolfeslanta, the touched one will burn in love for the other, and when the herb has dried up, then man or woman will become almost maddened by the glow of love, so that they finally become nonsensical. "

    The arnica is one of the old magic plants , as indicated by some popular names, e.g. B. Thunderwort, wolf banner, locust flower. As a bright yellow flowering plant, it used to play a role in the cult of the summer solstice. Many of these pagan customs then passed into popular customs. For example B. the flowers collected on St. John's Day, i.e. June 24th, the day of the solstice , are particularly medicinal.

    On the eve of Midsummer's Day, farmers put arnica bouquets on the corners of their grain fields. This should keep the " Bilmesschnitter " from destroying the grain . This was a grain demon and especially liked to walk over the grain fields around the time of the summer solstice and cut down the stalks there. However, this superstition is probably based on good observation, because the arnica fly ( Trypeta arnica ), a cereal plant, lays its eggs on arnica plants .

    In some areas arnica is also one of the flowers that belonged in the bouquet of the herb consecration on the Assumption of Mary, August 15th. This makes arnica one of the Marian plants. It is possible that she was assigned to the mother goddess Freyja (or Freia ) in pre-Christian times .

    philately

    On October 15, 1975, a picture of an arnica appeared as a motif ( Michel no. 511) as part of the annual welfare stamps issued.

    The arnica is the main component of the Thuringian Forest Nature Park's logo . Here arnica is particularly common in the mountain meadows.

    Common names

    A number of common names are known for Arnica montana L .: Bergwohlverleih, Engelkraut, Fallkraut, Kraftwurz, Wundkraut, Wolfsblume, Arnica flower (Eng.), Leopard's bane (Eng.), Mountain tobacco (Eng.), Fleur d'arnica ( french)

    In German-speaking countries, the following other trivial names are or were used for this plant species, sometimes only regionally : Bergwegebreit, Bergwurz (Stauf near Leiningen), Blood instinct ( Silesia ), Cathreinwurz ( Fusch im Pinzgau ), Angel herb ( Alsace ), Angel potion ( Prussia , Lausitz ), Färberblume ( Augsburg ), Fallkraut ( Thuringia , Silesia, Swabia , Zittau ), Fallkrut ( Rendsburg pharmacy ), fire flower ( Eifel , Kelberg ), fruen Melkkrut, Gehannesblaume, Gemsblume ( Bernese Oberland ), Gemschenwurz, Gemschwurze ( Bern ) , Hundstod (Silesia), Johannisblume (Alsace, Thuringia), large yellow Johannisblume ( Fichtelgebirge , Silesia), geel St. Johannisblumen, St. John's wort ( Bavaria , Alsace), St. John's wort, power roses ( Carinthia ), Kraftwurz ( Lungau ), lye herb, large Lucan herb , St. Luciuskraut (Alsace), Marienkraut, Marientrank, Münchskappe, Münchswurz, Motherwort, Minorflower ( Entlebuch ), Schmeerblumen, Schneeberger ( Bröttigau in Graubünden ), Schnupftabacksb leum (Eifel near Nuremberg , Wössleinbach ), Sonnerwirbel (Alsace), Sterenblume (Graubünden), star anise (Graubünden), stinging herb (Silesia, Rendsburg pharmacy), catch herb, forest bleum, wild plantain (near Pregellern in den Bunden), dat Wohverlei (Tyrol ), Wolferley (East Prussia), Wolfes ( Middle Low German ), Wolfis (Middle Low German), Wolffelein (East Prussia, mentioned in 1590), Wolfilegia (Old High German), Wolfsblome (Rendsburg Pharmacy), Wolfsdistel (Middle High German), Wolfzeilisa (Old High German), Wolvor (near Mecklenburg ), Wolv ( Danzig , Saxony ), Wolverley (Silesia, Middle High German), Wolvesdistel (Middle High German), Wolvestisteln (Old High German), Wolveszeiseln (Old High German), Wolveszeisil (Old High German), Wolveszeisiln (Old High German, zeisiln in the sense of Tail), Wolvisegela, Wulferley (Mecklenburg), Wulfsblöme (East Friesland), Wullvorley (Mecklenburg), Wulverling and Wulwesblaume ( Göttingen ).

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ a b c d e Werner Greuter: Compositae (pro parte majore). Arnica montana. In: Werner Greuter, Eckhard von Raab-Straube (ed.): Compositae. at Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity .
    2. ↑ Michael Wink, Ben-Erik van Wyk, Coralie Wink: Handbook of poisonous and psychoactive plants. Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8047-2425-9 .
    3. ↑ a b c Arnica montana L., Real arnica. In: FloraWeb.de.
    4. ^ Gerhard Wagenitz (Ed.): Illustrated flora of Central Europe. Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta . Founded by Gustav Hegi. 2nd revised and expanded edition. Volume VI. Part 4: Angiospermae, Dicotyledones 4 (Compositae 2, Matricaria - Hieracium) . Paul Parey, Berlin / Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-489-86020-9 , pp. 1372 (revised reprint of the 1st edition (Volume VI / 2 from 1929) with addendum).
    5. ↑ a b c Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait . 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
    6. ↑ https://www.badische-zeitung.de/keine-schuetzenswerte-pflanze--176021657.html
    7. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  948-949 .
    8. ↑ T. Blachnik, A. Zehm: Echte Arnika, Arnica montana L. Bavarian State Office for the Environment, accessed on March 13, 2018 .
    9. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW-Verlag, Eching near Munich 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 , p. 616.
    10. ↑ in accordance with the assessment requirements for Article 17 of the Habitats Directive in the alpine and continental biogeographical regions for selected member states of the European Union, from European Topic Center on Biological Diversity (2014): Species assessments at EU biogeographical level , as of June 15, 2014.
    11. ↑ Arnica - Species Lexicon - WWF Austria.
    12. ↑ Michael Hohla et al .: Catalog and Red List of vascular plants of Upper Austria. In: Stapfia. Volume 91, Linz 2009, pp. 80, 177, PDF on ZOBODAT
    13. ^ Federal Environment Agency: Austrian report in accordance with Article 17 of the Habitats Directive for the reporting period 2007–2012, abridged version. 2013.
    14. ↑ Species in particular responsibility of Germany ( memento of August 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) on the homepage of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, accessed on June 3, 2016.
    15. ^ V. Duwe, L. Muller, T. Borsch, S. Ismail: Pervasive genetic differentiation among Central European populations of the threatened Arnica montana L. and genetic erosion at lower elevations. In: Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Volume 27, August 2017, pp. 45–56. doi: 10.1016 / j.ppees.2017.02.003 .
    16. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Max Wichtl (Ed.): Tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals: A manual for practice on a scientific basis. 5th, completely revised and expanded edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8047-2369-6 , p. 91 ff.
    17. ↑ T. Blachnik, R. Saller: In situ propagation of Arnica montana - results and recommendations for action for species protection practice. In: ANLiegen Natur. 37 (1), 2015, pp. 31–41, Laufen. (PDF file 1.0 MB)
    18. ^ A b IK Ferguson: Arnica L. , pp. 189–190 In: Thomas Gaskell Tutin et al .: Flora Europaea. Volume 4, Cambridge University Press 1976, ISBN 0-521-08717-1 .
    19. ↑ a b Ben-Erik van Wyk, Coralie Wink, Michael Wink: Handbook of medicinal plants. Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8047-2069-2 .
    20. ↑ J. Connolly, R. Hill: Dictionary of Terpenoid. CRC Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-412-25770-4 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
    21. ↑ Anonymous: Final report on the safety assessment of Arnica montana extract and Arnica montana. In: International Journal of Toxicology. Volume 20, Supplement 2, 2001, pp. 1-11. doi: 10.1080 / 1091581015290254711 . PMID 11558636 .
    22. ^ Gerhard Wagenitz (Ed.): Illustrated flora of Central Europe. Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta . Founded by Gustav Hegi. 2nd revised and expanded edition. Volume VI. Part 4: Angiospermae, Dicotyledones 4 (Compositae 2, Matricaria - Hieracium) . Paul Parey, Berlin / Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-489-86020-9 , pp. 705 (revised reprint of the 1st edition (Volume VI / 2 from 1929) with addendum).
    23. ^ E. Ernst, MH Pittler: Efficacy of homeopathic arnica: a systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials. In: Arch Surg . Volume 133, 11, 1998, pp. 1187-1190. PMID 9820349
    24. ^ Daniel P. Friedmann: Homeopathic Arnica: Smoke and Mirrors . In: Dermatologic Surgery . tape 42 , no. 1 , January 2016, p. 128 , doi : 10.1097 / DSS.0000000000000532 , PMID 26716711 .
    25. ↑ The stubborn arnica. on: taz.de .
    26. ↑ The arnica. In: Weleda. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
    27. ↑ Saxon State Ministry for the Environment and Agriculture (ed.): Arnika. Arnica montana. Biological diversity in Saxony. Dresden 2011, p. 10.
    28. ^ Gerhard Madaus : Textbook of biological remedies. Volume 1: Medicinal Plants. G. Thieme, Leipzig 1938. (Reprint: Olms, Hildesheim 1979, ISBN 3-487-05890-1 )
    29. ^ Heinrich Marzell: Magic Plants, Hexentränke (= Kosmos Library. Volume 241). Franckh, Stuttgart 1963, pp. 37-38.
    30. ↑ There must be seven herbs. In: kathisch.de. August 14, 2018, accessed September 27, 2018 .
    31. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, p. 40. (online)

    literature

    • Hartwig Abraham, Inge Thinnes: witch's herb and magic potion. Our medicinal plants in sagas, superstitions and legends. Freund, Greifenberg 1995, ISBN 3-924733-02-3 .
    • Detlef Arens: Sixty native wild plants in vivid portraits. DuMont, Cologne 1991, ISBN 3-7701-2516-9 .
    • Gertrud Scherf: Magic plants, witch herbs - magic and myth of native wild and cultivated plants. blv, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-405-16219-X .
    • Matthias Melzig, Eberhard Teuscher, Ulrike Lindequist: Biogenic drugs. A textbook in pharmaceutical biology. 6th, completely revised edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8047-2073-0 , pp. 192–198.

    Web links

    Wiktionary: Arnika  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
    Commons : Real arnica ( Arnica montana )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files