It is no secret that most plants that we consider useless or even dangerous are used in folk or traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Today we will discuss the inconspicuous herb starlet lanceolate, talk about its distribution, accessories, and also find out whether it is really a medicinal plant.
Description and photo
Let us begin with a description of the star-sprout lanceolate (stile-leaved), we indicate the main differences from other plants of this genus.
If you look at non-flowering grass, it can be confused with couch grass, which is not only parasitic in the fields and summer cottages, but also widely distributed in the steppe and forest-steppe zones. The leaf plates of the stars are narrow, lanceolate, and are colored green. Young leaves may have a lighter shade. Grow up to 9 cm in length. 
The flower has a straight stem, tetrahedral, painted in salad color. The maximum height is 0.6 m. It is a perennial herb.
Buds From a distance, the inflorescences may resemble a wild chamomile, however, coming closer, you can see that the petals are quite rare, there are gaps between them, which is a distinctive feature of the plant. The flowers have a pure white color, composed of 6-14 petals. The flower is in late spring. The fruit of a star is a box, which has a minimum size - about 5-6 mm.
Check out also such medicinal perennials: sweet clover medicinal, momordika, craters, hogweed.Quite often starlets are attributed to weeds, as it has a thin, creeping rhizome, which quickly spreads to fairly large areas.
Quite often, the lancet starlet is called mokit, however this is fundamentally wrong, since this plant has ovoid leaves and is an annual. The starfish genus includes about 120 species, however, only 50 of them grow on the territory of the Russian Federation. You can confuse different plants for the reason that they have similar inflorescences, so you should always pay attention to the structure of the stem, leaf plates and the “decoration” of the peduncle.
Did you know? Folk signs say that if a star-spruce holds a flower stem closed all day, then it will rain.
Where is growing?
Now you know that stellate lanceolate and woodlouse have significant differences by which these plants can be distinguished. Next we will talk about where you can find representatives of this kind and what climate and weather conditions for them are preferred. 
Above, we wrote about the fact that only half of all species can be found on the territory of Russia, so the question is where this plant is spread. You can meet starlets in central and northern Asia, as well as in Europe. The plant grows in deciduous and mixed forests, so in the steppe part of the country it can be seen very rarely. Most often, starburst "settles" near the shrubs, which allow it to receive diffused light.
Beneficial features
Lanceolate starlet has a large number of useful properties.
The green part of the plant helps relieve fatigue in the legs after a working day or strong physical exertion. Also, the plant helps to strengthen the nervous system and "rescues" during PMS (helps with violations of the cycle).
It should be said that the wood louse, the “sister” of the grass we are discussing, also has medicinal properties: it is not only used in food, as it has a large amount of vitamins, but also helps with ulcers, rashes, bleeding; used to treat cataracts, and also increases the body's resistance to disease. 
Do not think that the lanceolate plant is useless, unlike woodlice. Flowers belong to the same genus, so their effect on the human body is very similar.
Did you know? The herb is used not only in traditional medicine, but also in homeopathy. Medicinal products are produced from it, the medicinal properties of which are proven by traditional medicine.
Use in traditional medicine
Next, we discuss the direct use of herbs for the treatment of diseases.
Starlets will help to cope with the following ailments:
- dizziness;
- weakness;
- anemia;
- osteochondrosis;
- arthritis;
- female problems (erosion, cyst).
Important! For steaming, only enamelware is used.Take the infusion should be 50 g 3 times a day.
For the treatment of osteochondrosis and arthritis, green grass should be well steamed and applied to the sore spot as a compress. It is better to do everything before bedtime so that the steamed places do not blow. 
To solve women's problems take the above infusion, or make a decoction. You can use dried tops, from this radically nothing will change. We will need a few tampons or in extreme cases make them cotton wool. We lower the tampon in the infusion / decoction and place it in the vagina. The course of treatment is 5 days.
Side effects and contraindications
Starfish lanceolate, like woodlice, has both beneficial properties and contraindications.
First, you may be allergic to this plant, so if you find redness, nasal congestion or other allergic reactions, you should immediately stop taking infusions or decoctions, as you can in the worst case get anaphylactic shock, like any other allergen.
Secondly, the herb lowers the pressure well, respectively, is contraindicated in hypotonic patients, who already have very low pressure.
In principle, there are no other contraindications, but it should be understood that the herb is poorly understood and various “side effects” may occur. Therefore, if you feel unwell after consuming plant-based products, you should immediately refuse them.
Star Harvesting
In order to procure raw materials for the winter, you need to find a plot where a large amount of this grass grows. At the same time, the site must be far from the carriageways or plants, otherwise you will get poison instead of medicine.
Important! It is necessary to dry the star at a temperature of not more than 45 °WITH.In all parts of the plant are vitamins and nutrients, but the root can still be removed, so as not to clear it from the ground. After cutting off all the grass, it should be washed in running water and spread out for drying in one row in a ventilated place, protected from sunlight.
After cutting off all the grass, it should be washed in running water and spread out for drying in one row in a ventilated place, protected from sunlight.
Starfish as a weed
At the beginning of the article we talked about the fact that the plant is considered a weed, as its roots quickly spread out and occupy a large area. However, not only the roots of a scary plant.
The fact is that the boxes, which are fruits of grass, contain about 15 thousand seeds, which are safely sifted out after the fruit bursts. Needless to say, how serious can be the consequences of the fact that such a number of seeds germinate in the garden or fields with cereals.
Important! Seeds remain viable for up to 5 years.Considering the aforesaid, it is very dangerous to plant the plant in the garden plot, since it will parasitize not only you, but also the neighbors, to which the seeds reach.
Starfish - a useful and extremely tenacious plant. Now you know how to use the lanceolate starlet, we compared it with the woodlouse from the photo and described the main differences. You do not need to plant a plant for any needs, because in the forest you can get a better and more environmentally friendly product and at the same time protect your cultivated plants from the invasion of weeds.
