There are a large number of herbs that are weeds, but are used in folk or traditional medicine, as they have useful healing properties. Today we will discuss just such a plant, the usefulness of which is bordered by serious harm. We will talk about the composition and properties of creeping bitter, discuss medications based on it and tell you how to get rid of weeds.
Botanical description
Creeper or pink - This is a perennial herb that belongs to the Astrovye family (genus Raponticum). 
Plant is malicious weedwhich is very difficult to completely eradicate on the site. This is due to the fact that the gorchak has a strong taproot as well as a well-developed root system, due to which its rhizome covers a large area, and when it destroys the aerial part together with the pivot of the root system, it can fully recover as it has a root-sprout reproduction method. That is, a subsidiary begins to grow from a certain part of the root of the mother plant, which is then separated, forming its own aboveground and underground part.
Familiarize yourself with the worst enemies of the garden: biological groups and a list of the most common weeds.
The maximum height of the plant is 75 cm. The peduncle is represented by a basket, which is colored pink (hence the second name).
Important! Externally, the bitchak is very similar to cornflowers.
Places of growth
The plant is parasitic on dry areas for the reason that it came to us from Central Asia, where the annual rainfall is extremely small. Today, this weed can be found all over the world, except Africa.
However, it is worth remembering that in Central Asia it is not only dry, but also quite warm. Weed loves direct sunlight and high temperature of the air, so it is distributed only up to 50 ° latitude. If we take the territory of the Russian Federation, we will not succeed in meeting the weed north of the southern border of the Voronezh Region. 
Chemical composition
Immediately it should be said that this plant scientists have devoted quite a bit of time, so it composition poorly understood. It is only known that alkaloids, essential oils and resin are contained in the aerial parts. As for the rhizome, it was discovered in the complex carbohydrate inulin.
Important! The maximum concentration of inulin is observed with the complete extinction of the aboveground part of the grass.
Medical applications
As a medicine used only in traditional medicine. This is due to the fact that the composition includes compounds that are more dangerous to humans than useful. At the same time, you can purchase dry grass or rhizome at the herbal store, as well as in some pharmacies.
Learn more about weeds that have healing properties: creeping buttercups, European dodder, thrown amaranth, curled thistle, creeping grass, Norwegian trefoil, Lobata pueraria, ambrosia, dandelion, bluegrass, swan, and osote.
The herb is used to treat such ailments:
- malaria;
- epilepsy;
- scabies;
- tuberculosis;
- helminthiasis.
Contraindications
Preparations based on gorchaka or with its addition forbidden to take children, pregnant and lactating mothersand also to those people who have acute diseases of any organs. It should be understood that the plant is poorly understood, so it is used only if the person does not have serious health problems, otherwise the traditional medicine can complicate the problem.
Before using any herbal remedies consult a doctor.
Did you know? Inulin, which is contained in the rhizome of the gorchaka, is used in traditional medicine as a probiotic. Also complex carbohydrate is used for the production of industrial fructose.
Growing a creeping bitter
It is worth remembering that a bitterness is a weed that should be planted so that it cannot spread over a large area. If you need to grow this plant for some medical purposes, we will tell you how to do it. 
You can find the roots or seeds of a plant only in the place where the gorchak was eliminated by himself: they are not on sale.
Gorchak seeds - this is the seed material that helps the weed to spread over long distances. Seeds remain viable for about 4 years, so they can be transported with grain, even to other continents. Young plants from seeds develop very slowly. During the first 3 months only a small socket is formed, and the root reaches a depth of two meters. Further, the underground shoots are transformed into massive thick roots that form a rhizome, which occupies a considerable space under the ground.
Any part of the rhizome can be used as planting material, since the weed accumulates a huge amount of nutrients in the underground part, and, most importantly, there are numerous buds on the roots, from which in the case of separation shoots grow, a young plant is formed.
Important! The plant remains viable even if it is affected by adverse environmental conditions for more than 3 years.
Harvesting and drying of raw materials
Preparation of raw materials is carried out exclusively in summer, during the flowering of grass, which takes place in July and August. Is harvested green part, flowers, and rhizome. 
After harvesting, all products are well dried in the open air. For drying, canopies are used, in which there is a good air circulation. To dry raw materials should be away from the garden or garden, as this plant can "settle", after which it will be very difficult to withdraw.
Remember that the bitter contains essential oils - accordingly, it is not recommended to dry it indoors, as there may be a strong odor that will cause a worsening of the condition of the household.
Infusion
Infusion is used to treat malaria and epilepsy.
To prepare the drug, you need to purchase dry leaves or plant stems. Rhizome or flowers for these purposes are not suitable.
We take 1 teaspoon of dry grass, after which we pour 200 ml of boiling water over it and leave for 1 hour, after wrapping the vessel with a towel. After the medicine is infused, it needs to be drained and cooled.
Take infusion of 1-2 tbsp. l three times a day, a quarter of an hour before meals. The course of treatment is not limited in time, so they use a medicinal infusion until the symptoms of the disease disappear. 
Decoction
There are several options for decoction, which are used to treat various ailments.
- Tuberculosis treatment
Take 1 tbsp. l herbs, then pour 500 ml of boiling water and set on fire. After boiling should be counted 3 minutes and remove from heat. Next, pour into a convenient vessel, wrap with a towel. Broth should stand for about 2 hours, then it must be filtered.
Take a decoction of 100 ml three times a day after meals.
Important! Can be used to treat dry or wet cough.
- Scabies treatment
We take a teaspoon of dry grass, pour 200 ml of boiling water, then hold for about half an hour in a water bath. Next, cool without placing in the fridge and filter.
The tool is applied externally to the affected skin. The treatment continues until the symptoms of scabies disappear. Dilute the drug with water is not necessary. With the deterioration of the condition or the occurrence of a negative reaction of the organism to the remedy, the treatment is stopped and the doctor is consulted. 
- Helminthiasis treatment
For the preparation of means we need the fruits of the plant, which act as achenes. They are collected immediately after flowering.
Take 1 tsp. fruit, pour a glass of boiling water, boil on low heat for a quarter of an hour. Next, give about 10 minutes to insist and filter.
Take 1 tbsp. l half an hour before meals. The course of treatment should not exceed 1 month.
Gorchak like a weed
The description of a bitch in all sources begins with the fact that it is a malicious pest that is very difficult to remove. It is for this reason that it is safer to order a finished dry product, rather than trying to grow this grass in your area: you can ruin the crop not only in your own home, but also in your neighbors.
Learn how to remove weeds from the plot: field sow thistle, creeping grass, sedge, nettle, oats, woodlouse, purslane, snyat, euphorbia, horsetail, dodder, dandelion, quinoa, birch bindweed, hogweed.
If such grass appears on the field, then all the plants that were planted on it die from a lack of nutrients or from poisons that are released into the ground by bitter. Weed absorbs 2.5 times more nutrients from the soil than cultivated plants, therefore very quickly reduces soil fertility. In this case, the grass takes root to a depth of 6 meters, respectively, to dig it entirely impossible. 
Gorchak harms not only crop planting, but also animals: the plant is unsuitable for feeding livestock, respectively, has no economic value, but it covers the territory of fields or pastures, displacing any cultivated plants or useful agricultural herbs.
Academician Maltsev, who was engaged in breeding and innovation in agriculture during the USSR, described Gorchak as a plant that in an arid climate displaces absolutely all other crops, drowns such a weed as sow thistle, is not afraid of soil compaction, salinity or the presence of a thick clay layer. If the climate suits this plant, then it can be destroyed only by complex measures using chemical means.
Did you know? Gorchak is so tenacious that its seeds, being eaten by cattle, are not digested in the body and leave it with the waste. Only high temperature during composting, which affects the seeds for about 4 months, can destroy the seed material.
Harm
Above, we have considered harm to crops, as well as to animals, but it is worth talking about harm directly to people.
The fact is that the weed not only crowds out other crops and reduces yield, but also spoils products. If, together with wheat, the seeds of bitter are ground, then the flour will be very bitter, which will adversely affect the products for the manufacture of which it will be used. 
If on the fields of wheat, sunflower or oats, a bitterness appears, then the percentage of fat, protein decreases and the alkalinity of the seeds increases. All this happens for the reason that the plant releases poison into the soil that cereals cannot resist.
Do not forget that there are many pests and diseases that appear on the weed, after which they can go to cultivated plants. The treatment of areas on which the gorchak parasitizes is greatly complicated due to the presence of a massive taproot.
Control measures
Let's start with biological control measures. On the weed can parasitize Gorchak nematode (Anguina picrides), which causes bloating in the plant, and also disrupts the process of growth and storage of useful substances. In order to infect large areas of growth of a gorchak with a nematode, it is necessary to take already infected plants, then distribute them across the field (2 kg per 100 squares) and repair them to a depth of about 3-5 cm. At the same time, you shouldn’t hope for a lightning effect: at best Next year only half of the weeds will be affected by the nematode.
Read also about the types of nematodes and how to deal with them.
Also use chemicals. Immediately it should be said that the use of selective chemicals will not work, since they are useless against gorchaka. Accordingly, it is senseless to spray preparations of continuous action on crops of crops, otherwise you can forget about the harvest. For this reason, herbicides are used only after harvest, and not once. For the treatment area is used to choose the drug "Hurricane" or "Roundup." Per 100 squares, dilute 120 mg in 5 l of water, after which the treatment is carried out in calm weather using protective equipment (respirator, gloves, protective suit). 
After treatment, the weeds, unfortunately, will not die, but will only be seriously affected, so you need to repeat the treatment at least 3 times to achieve the expected effect. The problem is that the drug harms only the above-ground parts, and the rhizome remains alive, which is why next year there are new daughter plants. For this reason, it makes sense to combine biological agents with chemical ones, and also to remove weeds during rapid growth and flowering by hand.
Learn how to remove weeds from the garden, how to get rid of weeds using folk remedies, what tools are available for removing weeds with roots.
Now you know what a bitter weed is, how to use it for medicinal purposes and what to do if it settled in your garden or in the garden. Remember that sowing such a dangerous weed for the sake of several useful properties is not worth it, as you not only lose your own harvest, but also lose a huge amount of time doing the destruction of overgrown grass.
