Content
Tree of God is a herbaceous perennial plant or lemon (medicinal) wormwood. The homeland of the subshrub is considered to be the territory of the Northern Hemisphere, where temperate climatic conditions prevail. Most often, wormwood is found in nature in arid regions, in elevated areas, sandy and poor, but well-warmed soils. Private amateur gardeners value this subshrub for its decorative appearance and pleasant smell, which repels insects.
What kind of plant is God's tree?
The tree of God is called medicinal or lemon wormwood (Artemisia abrotanum). The homeland of the plant is Asia, southern Europe (Iran, Middle East, Turkey). The subshrub was brought to North America by European settlers.
People call medicinal wormwood either God's tree or dill tree.
For many years, this plant has been effectively used in alternative medicine. For centuries, people have considered the low-growing herbaceous shrub to be a magical tree that protects against evil spirits.
Lemon wormwood is used as incense in Catholic churches.
What does medicinal wormwood look like?
Medicinal wormwood has dense stems and branches
The plant can grow up to 1.2 m in height. The gray-green leaves are pinnate, smooth on top, and covered with down on the bottom. The yellow flower heads are spherical in shape. The shrub begins to bloom in July and ends in September.
The stems of the lady's tree look like green dill. Therefore, young plants can be easily confused.
Where does lemon wormwood grow?
In the wild, shrubby wormwood grows in southern Europe, North America and Asia Minor. The lady's tree is also found in the Altai region, in southwestern Russia. The plant prefers forest edges and wet areas.
A perennial subshrub from the Wheatgrass family (Compositae) covers wastelands, clearings, rocky slopes, and grows effectively in sunny, dry areas. Often wormwood forms dense vegetation around abandoned buildings and along highways.
Dill wormwood often carpets the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus
Useful properties of God's tree
God's tree has medicinal properties; the herbaceous wormwood contains 0.62% essential oils. In addition, the leaves of the plant contain many other medicinal components:
- coumarin compounds (scopolin, isofraxidine, calicantoside);
- bitter glycosides, anabsintin, absintin, ortabsin;
- tanning elements;
- volatile oils containing thujone;
- organic acids;
- resin.
Medicinal characteristics of dill wormwood: antispasmodic, choleretic, antiseptic, insecticidal and anti-inflammatory effects.
Applications of God's Tree
God's tree contains a large number of different medicinal components
It has long been used to prevent various diseases. Medicinal tinctures from lemon wormwood promote the effective production of digestive juices and strengthen the gastrointestinal tract.
Dill shrub is used to treat bronchitis, urinary tract, diarrhea, and infections of the upper respiratory tract.
In folk medicine
Wormwood tree - the tree of God is widely used in folk medicine. The psychoactive characteristics of essential oil can be used to calm the nervous system, prevent hysteria, seizures, insomnia, and relieve prolonged stress.
Dill wormwood has a tonic composition that activates most of the body's working mechanisms.
The medicinal dill tree has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, helping to distribute nutritional components evenly and correctly throughout the human body. Lemon wormwood helps keep the human body free of toxins and unwanted metabolic waste.
Essential oils of dill tree are characterized by a tonic effect that helps eliminate conduction and heart rhythm disturbances.
Also, medicinal wormwood has a positive effect on the regulation of enzymes and hormonal secretions.
The medicinal components of the plant stimulate the nervous system, resulting in increased alertness and activity in humans. The entire immune system is also activated, which begins to more effectively protect the human body from various infectious pathologies.
A decoction of lemon wormwood is used externally to combat skin parasites (scabies mites and lice), treat wounds and burns. For rheumatic diseases, tincture of God's tree is added to baths. During the bathing process, human skin relaxes, calms and tones.
It is recommended to take medicinal baths if the skin is affected by fungal infections.
In cosmetology
Lemon wormwood is part of the plant family that includes calendula, chamomile, and St. John's wort. It is actively used in cosmetology for body and face care. Cosmetic oils and extracts are obtained from medicinal herbs.
In cooking
God's tree has even been used in cooking. Young shoots of medicinal wormwood have a rich lemon aroma. Therefore, small amounts of greens are added to vegetable salads.
The fresh leaves of the plant are used to make some types of liqueurs and olive oil.
The dried leaves are crushed and added to food seasonings.
Contraindications for use
The main contraindications to the use of drugs based on high lemon wormwood, side effects:
- If you are allergic to vegetation of the Wheatgrass family (Chrysanthemums, ragweed and others), medicinal products based on the tree of God cause allergic reactions.
- Decoctions and tinctures of medicinal plants are not intended for long-term use.When consumed in large doses, the medicine can cause anxiety, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, convulsions and tremors.
- Dill trees should not be used for medicinal purposes by people suffering from a rare disease - porphyria. Thujone contained in the essential oil of the plant of Godhead significantly increases the production of porphyrin.
- The use of decoctions and cosmetics based on medicinal wormwood is not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The plant contains thujone, which has a negative effect on the uterus. This component poses a risk to pregnancy.
- Medicinal compositions from wormwood should not be consumed by people who have impaired kidney function. Essential oils of medicinal plants can cause kidney failure.
- Epileptics and people suffering from seizure disorders are not recommended to take wormwood decoctions without first consulting a doctor.
- The essential oil of God's tree contains a fairly high concentration of thujone. In large quantities, this component is toxic and contributes to the occurrence of seizures. Therefore, such oils must be used very carefully in aromatherapy.
For medicinal purposes, doctors recommend using pre-dried dill wormwood. Dry grass contains significantly less thujone.
Lemon wormwood essential oil is quite poisonous
Its prolonged use can lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system and brain damage. God's tree extract is characterized by narcotic properties and is addictive.
Planting tree wormwood
God's tree grows effectively in sunny areas and does not tolerate drafts. Therefore, it is better to plant sprouts of semi-shrubs near any buildings, along fences. The soil should be well drained, loosened and fertilized.
Dill wormwood does not grow in very acidic soils.
Before planting a medicinal plant, the soil must be dug up and manure and rotted compost added.
Recommended fertilizers per 1 m2 land plot:
- organic – 6 kg;
- superphosphate – 25 g;
- potassium chloride – 15 g;
- ammonium nitrate – 15 g.
Holes for individual sprouts of dill wormwood are dug in increments of 1 m
Immediately after planting, the seedlings are watered and the condition of the soil is constantly monitored for the next few days until the plant takes root. At this stage, both waterlogging and drying out of the soil should not be allowed.
During the season, the soil is additionally fertilized three times. Extreme fertilizing with organic fertilizers is carried out in late autumn.
God's tree does not require replanting for 10 years. During this period, the plant only needs to be watered, loosened the soil around it, weeded and cut off damaged branches.
Caring for God's Tree
God's tree is an easy-to-care plant. Dill wormwood is characterized by increased resistance to the negative influences of the natural environment. The shrub can withstand frosts down to -30ºС.
Rules for caring for a medicinal tree:
- Intensive irrigation on hot days, moderate under normal weather conditions.
- It is recommended to use vermicompost and compost. The substrate with such fertilizers turns out to be more structured.
- At the beginning of spring or late autumn, dill wormwood is pruned. To stimulate the growth of young stems and maintain compactness, it is advisable to trim the lady's tree before the resumption of the growing season. This procedure must be performed annually. Collecting medicinal herbs does not harm the bush; on the contrary, it promotes the effective development of young branches.
- God's tree in optimal climatic conditions is characterized by increased resistance to fungi and many other diseases. Possible aphid attack.
- An adult subshrub independently endures the winter period on an open plot of land. For the first few years, young dill wormwood is recommended to be covered with spruce branches or an earthen mound for the winter.
The lady's tree shrub survives at temperatures as low as -30ºС
Even if the upper part of the plant freezes during the first winter, new buds will bloom from the bottom of the stems and form a new bush.
Reproduction methods
God's tree is propagated in three ways: by seeds, by dividing the bush or by cuttings. Select the most optimal option for the region.
Seeds
In warm areas, dill wormwood seeds are collected at the onset of the first frost, before pruning the bushes in late autumn or early winter. Seed material is planted in fertilized greenhouse soil in the spring (late winter - early summer). Before sowing, it is recommended to store the seeds in a cool place.
Rules for sowing seeds of God's tree:
- Planting material is planted in a greenhouse or first in flower pots for growing seedlings in a warm living room. When maintaining a temperature of +15ºС, the seed germinates within 1-2 months.
- When the seedlings become quite large, the plants are divided.Planted in separate pots.
- When the seedlings grow more than 15 cm, they can be transplanted to an open plot of land. This is done after the end of night frosts or in the summer.
Dividing the bush
Propagation of the tree of God by dividing the bush involves the spring transplantation of part of the root system of the plant with a young shoot. When choosing this method, it is worth considering that the subshrub will acquire decorative forms and an attractive appearance only after a couple of seasons.
By cuttings
Rules for cutting dill wormwood:
- In the summer, cuttings are cut from a healthy subshrub and dipped in a special powder that stimulates the formation of the plant’s root system.
- Next, the cuttings are planted in loosened and moistened soil. The sprout is covered with a glass jar or a transparent plastic lid from a container specially designed for seedlings.
- The rooting of medicinal wormwood is carried out over the course of a month, only after which the sprout can be transplanted to a permanent place in open ground.
When propagated by cuttings, the tree of God takes on decorative forms only after 2 years
Photos in landscape design
Photo of a plant called God's tree in landscape design:
- Under the windows of the house.
- In the flowerbed.
- Near other plants.
- As a decorative fence.
Conclusion
God's tree or lemon wormwood is an ornamental shrub with medicinal properties. It is a perennial plant with pinnately dissected silvery leaves that grows up to 1.2 m in height.The shrub is unpretentious in care, prefers the sun, does not grow in acidic soil, and tolerates wintering in an open plot of land. It grows independently near abandoned buildings, along highways, and on forest edges. The plant is widely used for medicinal purposes.
Reviews of medicinal wormwood
