Real elephant

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Real elephant
Common elephant (Inula helenium), illustration

Common elephant ( Inula helenium ), illustration

Systematics
Order : Astern-like (Asterales)
Family : Daisy family (Asteraceae)
Subfamily : Asteroideae
Tribe : Inuleae
Genre : Alante ( Inula )
Type : Real elephant
Scientific name
Inula helenium
L.

Real elephant ( Inula helenium ), usually called elephant for short , is a plant from the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It has been used as a medicinal and aromatic plant since ancient times .

Names

The plant has very different German trivial names depending on the region. These include old herb, breast alum, intestinal herb, intestinal arum, edelica, bellwort, helenium alum, helen herb, Odin's head and snake herb. Middle High German is occupied by alan , aland and alant .

The Greek name of Alant is Ἑλένιον.

The botanical species name helenium alludes to two ancient legends. According to one, Helena is said to have filled her hands with the flowers of this plant before she was kidnapped from Paris from Greece to Troy . According to another legend, the plant grew where Helena's tears wet the ground. It is possible that the ancient name helénion did not refer to the Helena mentioned in the Iliad , but to Helénē, a Minoan vegetation goddess .

description

Alant is a perennial herbaceous plant up to two meters high with showy yellow flower heads. It blooms from July to September. The up to 50 cm long leaves are covered with felt hair on the underside. The strong rhizome has an aromatic smell. It contains a lot of inulin , a carbohydrate similar to fructose .

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 20.

Origin and location requirements

Real elephant originally comes from Asia Minor and Central Asia. It is also native to Spain. Today he will u. a. grown in Germany, Holland and the Balkans. It prefers slightly moist, partially shaded locations. Feral, he likes to appear in societies of the Galio-Urticenea subclass and the Arction association.

Systematics

One can distinguish the following subspecies:

  • Inula helenium subsp. helenium
  • Inula helenium subsp. orgyalis (Boiss.) Grierson (Syn .: Inula orgyalis Boiss. ): It occurs in Turkey.
  • Inula helenium subsp. pseudohelenium Grierson : It occurs in Turkey.
  • Inula helenium subsp. turcoracemosa Grierson : It occurs in Armenia and Turkey.
  • Inula helenium subsp. vanensis Grierson : It occurs in Turkey.

Illustrations

  • Inula helenium subsp. orgyalis

  • Eelee bushes

  • Common elephant ( Inula helenium )

  • Real elephant after flowering

use

seasoning

Alant is rarely used in the kitchen today. The root of the alant ( drug : Helenii radix) has been used as a spice for desserts and bitters because of its bitter , resinous taste since ancient times . In his eighth satire, Horace describes a dish made from boiled elephant roots and white turnips. Pliny the Elder advised his readers to chew elephant root to refine the sense of taste, stimulate digestion, and lift the mood. The recipe collection De re coquinaria from the 4th century, which is said to go back to the Roman gourmet and cook Apicius , even counts alant among the spices that must be present in a Roman household, “so that nothing is missing when seasoning”. In the edict of Diocletian the price of Alant was fixed at 5 denarii for a pound. From the year 329 AD it is documented that 1000 denarii were paid per pound.

Candied elephant has long been considered a delicacy. Since many people react to alant with allergies, alant is almost exclusively used in liqueurs. Because of its expectorant effect, the alant root is also part of some cough syrups .

odor

Like a number of other plants, the elephant was used in the Middle Ages and early modern times to improve the indoor air. He was thrown on the embers in the open chimneys. The root extracted in alcohol produces a sweet, tart odor lotion and is suitable as an aftershave when diluted accordingly.

Dye plant

The alant root (which naturally contains urea ) is pickled and crushed in urine and produces a blue color with potash and blueberries .

Alant in popular belief

The elephant was tied into the consecration bush , which is brought to the herb consecration on Assumption Day , August 15th . In the Sauerland , as many almond blossoms as there are cows in the barn are integrated into the herb halo.

In popular belief, the elephant was also considered to ward off demons. In Styria, the parlors and stables were fumigated on Christmas Eve with alant. As a plant of defense magic, it is an ancient remedy against the plague . Worn as an amulet around the neck, it should protect against bewitches.

history

Alant is already mentioned in Egyptian papyri. In Roman Spain, the plant was known as ala after Isidore of Seville . He describes the roots as aromatic and the leaves as sharp.

The main part used is the root (Helenii rhizoma). Alant is one of the medicinal plants known since ancient times . With Dioscurides and Pliny , "Helenion" is recommended against coughs, cramps and stomach weakness.

Pliny mentions that Livia , Augustus ' wife , ate him every day - as is well known, she lived to be 88 years old. Throughout the Middle Ages , alant was a highly valued medicinal plant that was considered a panacea, especially in the form of alant wine. In the Slavic language area alant (glagol. Оман) was used as a cough suppressant.

In folk medicine Elecampane was also very popular and was in conditions such as bronchial catarrh , cough, bloating, urinary retention , gastrointestinal symptoms, jaundice used and worms. Nicholas Culpeper reported about this in the 17th and Carl von Linné in the 18th century. An ointment made from alantroot and lard was used externally against scabies, ulcers and eczema. Wounds and ulcers can be treated with fresh almond leaves. In Transylvania and in the Spreewald , the alant was smoked for breast complaints such as tobacco. In Moldova, elephant was used for chest pain, cough and shortness of breath.

Today the alant is mainly used as a cough suppressant. The exact effect has not yet been clarified. Presumably it is the essential oils that have the expectorant and slightly antispasmodic effect. As with many medicinal plants, the dose is crucial for alant. Larger amounts can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and paralysis. Commission E of the former Federal Health Office (BGA) rated the medical benefits of elephant root in 1988 as negative.

swell

Historical illustrations

literature

  • Miranda Seymour: A little history of herbs and spices , Verlag Scherz, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-502-15879-7
  • Avril Rodway: Herbs and Spices. The most useful plants in nature - culture and use. Tessloff Verlag, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-7886-9910-8
  • KG. Inula. In: Hager's Handbook of Pharmaceutical Practice . 5th edition, Volume 5 (Drugs EO), Springer, Berlin etc. 1993 ISBN 3-540-52638-2 , pp. 523-534

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hubbauer P .: "Inula Helenium in Homeopathy"
  2. ↑ a b c T. A. Sprague 1933, Botanical Terms in Isidorus. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1933/8, 401
  3. ↑ Schöpf, Hans: Magic herbs. Academic Printing and Publishing Company 1986. p. 51.
  4. ↑ Bäumler, Siegfried: Medicinal Plant Practice Today. Portraits, recipes, applications. Urban & Fischer 2006. p. 52.
  5. ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6 , p. 281.
  6. ↑ a b 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.  921 .
  7. ↑ a b c d e Werner Greuter (2006+): Compositae (pro parte majore). - In: W. Greuter & E. von Raab-Straube (eds.): Compositae. Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Datasheet Inula helenium In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
  8. ↑ Heinrich Düntzer, Quintus Horatius Flaccus: Critique and explanation of the satires of Horace: A manual for the deeper understanding of the satires of Horace. Ghent University, Meyersen, 1841. p. 305.
  9. ↑ Cajus Plinius Secundus, Natural History . Book XIX, § 92 (Chapter 29) (Digitized Latin) ( Digitized Edition Külb 1840–1864 German)
  10. ^ Adam Bülow-Jacobsen 2004, Ἑλένιον, Inula helenium (L.) in the Papyri. Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy 150, 214.
  11. ↑ Gisela Schwarz: Medicinal plant Alant: Plant against coughs and odors. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , August 5, 2013
  12. ^ Mattuschka, Heinrich Gottfried: Flora silesiaca, vol. 2. Breslau and Leipzig: Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn 1777. p. 266.
  13. ↑ Hoffmann-Krayer, Eduard u. a. (Ed.): Concise dictionary of German superstition . Volume 5: Garlic - Matthias. De Gruyter, Berlin 1974, article Kräuterweihe , Sp. 442.
  14. ↑ a b Eduar Hoffmann-Krayer u. a. (Ed.): Concise dictionary of German superstition . Volume 1: Eel - Butzemann. De Gruyter, Berlin 1974, Article Alant , Sp. 238 f.
  15. ^ Adam Bülow-Jacobsen: Ἑλένιον. Inula helenium (L.) in the Papyri. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. Volume 150, 2004, p. 214.
  16. ↑ Marzell, Heinrich: History and folklore of German medicinal plants. Reichl 2002 [1938]. P. 262.
  17. ↑ Cajus Plinius Secundus, Natural History . Translated and explained by Philipp H. Külb, Metzler, Stuttgart 1854. Book XIX, § 92 (Chapter 29) (digitized version)
  18. ^ Pseudo-Arnaldus de Villanova . 13-14 Century. The treatise… of the care and counseling of the wine… pressure. Esslingen (?) After 1478. (digitized version)
  19. ↑ a b Ursula Rosenschon 1993, six pages of medical recipes in the Glagolitic Psalter 3 / N of the Sinai monastery. Sudhoffs Archive 77/2, 154.
  20. ↑ Culpeper, Nicholas: The Complete Herbal. 1816 [1655]. P. 70.
  21. ↑ Linné, Carl von: Complete plant system: after the 13th [from vol. 12:] 14th Latin edition and according to the instructions of the Dutch. Houttuyn work trans. and with a detailed. Declaration made out. Part ninth. From the herbs. Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe 1783. pp. 416 f.
  22. ↑ Al Borza, Valeriu Buturä 1938, Peasant plant remedies in Moldau (Romania). Sudhoff's archive for the history of medicine and the natural sciences 31, 1/2, 82
  23. ↑ Monograph BGA / BfArM (Commission E): "Helenii radix (Alantwurzel)". Federal Gazette. 1988 May 5; 85 ( full text ).
  24. ^ Dioscorides : De Medicinali Materia libri quinque , 1st century (after Berndes 1902), Book I, Cap. 27 (digitized version)
  25. ↑ Pliny : Naturalis historia , 1st century, book XIX, chapter xxix (§ 91–92) (digitized Latin) (digitized German) ; Book XX, Chapter xix (§ 38) (digitized Latin) (digitized German)
  26. ^ Galen , 2nd century. De simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis ac facultatibus , lib. VI, cap. V / 7 (after Kühn 1826, vol. XI, p. 873) (digitized version)
  27. ↑ Pseudo-Apuleius , 4th century, first printing Rome 1481, chapter 98 (digitized version )
  28. ↑ Avicenna , 11th century, Canon , Vol. II. Revision by Andrea Alpago. Basel 1556, p. 227: De Enula (digitized version )
  29. ↑ Constantinus africanus , Liber des gradibus simplicium , 11th century (based on the printed edition Basel 1536, p. 367): (digitized version)
  30. ↑ Circa instans , 12th century. Print Venice 1497, sheet 197r: De Enula campana (digitized version )
  31. ↑ Pseudo-Serapion 13th century (print edition Venice 1497, Cap.CCCXXXVIII): De enula (digitized version )
  32. ↑ Pseudo Macer , 11th century, printed Naples 1477, cap. 44: Enula (digitized version )
  33. ^ German Macer . Enula. Aland . After: Bernhard Schnell, William Crossgrove: The German Macer. Vulgate version. Niemeyer, Tübingen 2003, p. 342 (Chapter 20). Cpg 226 , Alsace, 1459–1469, sheet 187v – 188r (digitized version ) . Transcription: (.xix. Enula is called et alant he is fucht on the first grade and hot on the other (elephant boiled subverts the wib at jr and is also good that the with work neczent whether one jne nuczet (he is also good for the wiben the dead child wear whether they are jne nuczent (elephant boiled vnd pressed loosens the clogged book (the roots stuck on the cloth leyed or bound) sciaticam / that is a treat to the thick (the leaves boiled with win and the loins heated with pounded help sere wol (the worczel gederret vnd ​​pulped and mixed with honey vnd eaten pissed off the cough (the same helps emoptoycis / that sint the blood righteously (elephant juice pressed with rods juice helps those who are broken there and the pleasure coughs ( Alant boiled with bottern and with oley helps the matricen that is the place where the child carries whether you bring it warm (it also helps you if you want him to be at his heymly place / if he is coated with it
  34. ^ Charles Victor Daremberg and Friedrich Anton Reuss (1810–1868). S. Hildegardis Abbatissae Subtilitatum Diversarum Naturarum Creaturarum Libri Novem. Physica , Book I, Chapter 95: Alant . Migne, Paris 1855. Sp. 1167 (digitized version ) - Translation: Marie-Louise Portmann, Basel 1991: About Alant. The alant is warm and dry in nature and has useful powers in itself. And all year round, it is said to be placed in pure wine, both dry and green. But after it has contracted in the wine, its strength dwindles, and then it should be thrown away and a new one put in. And whoever has pain in the lungs, drink it moderately every day before and after eating, and the poison that is the pus he takes out of his lungs, and he suppresses the migraines and cleanses the eyes. But if someone were to drink it like that often, it would damage him because of its strength. But if you don't have any wine to pickle, then make a pure honey spice with honey and water and put in the alant and drink as was said above. Also take figs and twice as much elephant and add galangal. And make a clear drink out of this and drink it when you have pain in the lungs, and not from other diseases, and it is good for you against the disease of the lungs. But if you have other illnesses in addition to lung disease, then drink it this way because it would be too strong for you to drink and you would be harmed by it.
  35. ↑ Gabriel von Lebenstein 14th - 15th century. Distilled waters . Manuscript M Clm 5905 , Bavarian, 2nd half of the 15th century, sheet 56r (digital copy ) Transcription: Alant waſſer. Jtem alant waſſer has the virtues who drinks it ſo it stretches the brain and always hurts. It jumps the harm and makes good ſtuel. It also sells dÿhueſten. Whatever is broken in the man, it reveals everything.
  36. ↑ Nikolaus Frauenlob 15th century Cpg 583 , South-West Germany (Mattighofen), 1482–1486, sheet 24r – v (digitized version ) . Transcription ( categorized text parts in bold): Allannt krawt vnd ​​wurczen has vj tugent Ain besunderer erczneÿ from alanndt Man sal name alanndt pepper vnd kummel ains as vil as the other and then as vil rawten nemen as the aforementioned three things with each other / vnd sal then bump together ader dÿ kümel sal before jn wine little be done When you put it in ain eysne pan and mix with honey and then onf ain fewr seczen and vastly confused vnczt that it has whale iij ader iiij vr when it then thick is sam an opiate so it has enough the sal man of the morning. ader des abencz use because salt is not pesser zuo the prust be and zuo the liver and zuo the power and helps the stomach and makes it fresh that he likes to spoil the food and helps who do not feel like it and then the human being is in the body dÿ erczney does jn stät and hert / and is he too hert that he doesn't like to have stüel dÿ erczney makes the body waich and helps the man win stüel / and helps the dÿ not throw the prunn and too many other things are good dÿ The people in leagues Who dy huesten we thuet ader an unhealthy lung vein has vein not fresh on it etc. Man sal so carry allant roots ze puluer bump and sal that with lawtterm honey to hawffen do sam an electuari and use the sal for dy hates and the lungel helps Whom dy dÿeher [thigh] vein lennde we thuendt Man sal alandt spices toss with sambt the juice and on which lay veins onf dÿ lenndt pinden that helps for the sickness of the in the le nden prevails whether the person is in good old fashioned man sal aland drincken that helps the people who are torn apart and heals whoever has spoken man sal Alannt pleter in good old wine that helps especially what the schött of lÿtt and makes people happy Ain besunder erczneÿ von allandt wurczen Man sal allandt wurczen boil in water whale and drink from it that the harm of the man dester comes easier and makes the pauch waich that he too stüell nucz seÿ vnd ranigt dÿ frawen at yer haymlichen stat - - Cpg 666 , Kurpfalz, 1478–1480, sheet 105v – 106v (digital copy ) . Transcription: A lant wzcz has vj virtue a A special erczneÿ from Alant Man sal nemen alant pepper vnd kümel enis as vil as the other Vnd sal then only as many diamonds as the other dreyerley is dÿ sal man whale butt through each other but the kumel When you have boiled wine your vein is wet when you have to bump it together so when you put it in a small pan and mix it with honey and uff a fewer seczen and almost drifted through each other vncz that it boiled whale iij ader iiij or vnd if it is thick you have an oppiat so there is enough that you can use the evening and the morning that should not be pesser to the prust and to the livers and to the good and helps the stomach and makes you fresh the speyss whale may distort and help whom dy seytten we do and then the person is worried in the body dÿ erczneÿ dÿ makes jn steady and firm and if he is too hard that he may not have had dÿ erczney softens the lip and helps with it human s tül gewynt vnd ​​helps whoever doesn’t like to throw the prunn and jst for many other things good dÿ the people in leagues b Who dy cough we do and have an unhealthy lungs and livers Man sal Alant wrczel so freshly to puluer and salt it with pure honey too much do sam an electuarj vnd daz sal man use for dÿ cough vnd daz helps the lungs and livers c who dÿ dieth ader dÿ lende we do man sal alant wrcz and pound the dieth vein on dy lenden with sambt the juice it helps to sift through the loins if a person is in some other place to ryssen Man sal alant wrcz dy helps people to be irrelevant and heylt sy e whoever speaks to the proper man sal alant in good old wine whale syden daz helps sunderwar waz the people with the scrap at liget vnd ​​makes people frolich vnd helps whale f A besunder Erczney from alant wrcz Man sal alant wrcz jn water whale syden vnd dor abe drinking daz makes daz the pru ne wynt the outside wnd also makes the leip soft because it is nücz nücz to the chairs and reynigt the frawen on jrer secretly keytt
  37. ↑ Herbarius Moguntinus , Mainz 1484, Cap. 54 (digitized version)
  38. ↑ Gart der Gesundheit , Mainz 1485, Cap. 154 (digitized version)
  39. ↑ Hortus sanitatis Mainz 1491, Book I, Chapter 177 (digitized version)
  40. ↑ Hieronymus Brunschwig , Kleines Distillierbuch 1500, sheet 17v (digitized version )
  41. ↑ Otto Brunfels : Contrafayt Kreüterbůch 1532, pp. 328–29 (digitized version ) , 2nd part 1537, p. 122 illustration (digitized version )
  42. ^ Leonhart Fuchs : New Kreütterbuch 1543, Cap. 89 (digitized version)
  43. ↑ Hieronymus Bock : New Kreütter Bůch 1539, Part I, Cap. 55 (digitized version)
  44. ^ Pietro Andrea Mattioli : Commentarii, in libros sex Pedacii Dioscoridis Anazarbei, de medica materia. Translation by Georg Handsch, edited by Joachim Camerarius the Younger , Johan Feyerabend, Franckfurt am Mayn 1586, sheet 18r – 19r: Alant (digitized)
  45. ↑ Nicolas Lémery  : Dictionnaire universel des drogues simples. , Paris 1699, p. 346: Helenium (digitized) ; Translation. Complete material lexicon. Initially drafted in French, but now after the third edition, which has been enlarged by a large [...] edition, translated into high German / By Christoph Friedrich Richtern, [...]. Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Braun, 1721, Sp. 520: Helenium (digitized)
  46. ↑ Albrecht von Haller (editor): Onomatologia medica completa or Medicinisches Lexicon which explains all names and artificial words which are peculiar to the science of medicine and the art of pharmacy clearly and completely [...]. Gaumische Handlung, Ulm / Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1755, Sp. 596: Enula (digitized version )
  47. ^ William Cullen : A treatise of the materia medica. Charles Elliot, Edinburgh 1789. Volume II, p. 459: Enula Campana (digitized version ) . German. Samuel Hahnemann . Schwickert, Leipzig 1790. Volume II, p. 512: Alant (digitized)
  48. ^ Jean-Louis Alibert : Nouveaux éléments de thérapeutique et de matière médicale. Crapart, Paris, Volume II 1804/05, pp. 18–20: Enula campana (digitized version )
  49. ↑ August Friedrich Hecker 's practical medicine theory. Revised and enriched with the latest discoveries by a practicing doctor . Camesius, Vienna, Volume I 1814, pp. 283–285: Radix Helenii (digitized version )
  50. ↑ Jonathan Pereira’s Handbook of Medicines Doctrine. From the point of view of the German Medicin edited by Rudolf Buchheim . Leopold Voss, Leipzig 1846-48, Volume II 1848, pp. 407-409: Inula helenium (digitized version )
  51. ↑ August Husemann , Theodor Husemann : The plant substances in chemical, physiological, pharmacological and toxicological terms. For doctors, pharmacists, chemists and pharmacologists. Springer, Berlin 1871, pp. 933–937: Inulin (digitized)
  52. ^ Robert Bentley , Henry Trimen : Medicinal plants. J. & A. Churchill, London 1880, Volume 3 (No 150) (digitized)
  53. ^ Theodor Husemann: Handbook of the entire drug theory. Springer, Berlin 2nd ed. 1883, pp. 341–342: Radix Helenii (digitized version )
  54. ^ Translation of the text by Franz Unterkircher. Tacuinum sanitatis ... Graz 2004, p. 74: Alant. Complexion: warm in the 3rd, moist in the 2nd degree; after others dry in the 2nd degree. Preferable: preferably from the home garden. Benefits: opens blockages, good for the heart, cleanses the chest of coarse juices. Damage: causes headaches and drains blood. Preventing the harm: With sugar, almond oil, vinegar and salt. What it produces: warm blood, but not good. Beneficial for people with cold and dry complexion, for old people and the weak, in winter and in northern regions.

Web links

Wiktionary: Echter Alant  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Echter Alant  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files