Kalinów, near Bratoszewice

The gorgeous butterfly is Vanessa atalanta. It is native to the temperate Eurasia. Edible plant - roots raw or cooked, can be dried for later use; young leaves raw or cooked; young stalks and branches raw or cooked; seeds can be sprouted and used like bean-sprouts. Herbal plant - is one of the foremost detoxifying herbs in both Chinese and Western herbal medicine; the plant is antibacterial, antifungal, carminative, it has soothing, mucilaginous properties and is said to be one of the most certain cures for many types of skin diseases, burns, bruises, etc, it is used in the treatment of herpes, eczema, acne, impetigo, ringworm, boils, bites etc; the plant can be taken internally as an infusion, or used externally as a wash; use with caution; the roots of one-year old plants are harvested in mid-summer and dried, they are alterative, aperient, blood purifier, cholagogue, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and stomachic; seeds are alterative, antiphlogistic, depurative, diaphoretic and diuretic, recent research has shown that seeds extracts lower blood sugar levels; the crushed seeds are poulticed onto bruises, the leaves are poulticed onto burns, ulcers and sore; the juice of the plant, when used as a friction, is said to have a stimulating action against baldness. Useful plant - could certainly be utilized industrially, having an excellent fibre beneath the bark which often attains a length of 1 meter without a break.