Other Names: Burç Tree, Gökçe Tree, Haşişet-üd-dik, Gökçe, Burç, Çekem, Viscum, Mistletoe, Gui
Botanical Information: It is a plant from the Mistletoe family that grows as a parasite. It has a very frequently bifurcated branch system that can reach 100 cm in diameter. Its body is quite short, and from there it spreads its roots to the branches of trees to absorb plant sap. It has two opposite leaves at the ends of the branches, resembling olive leaves. It has 2-6 small yellowish-white flowers at the ends of the branches. In October-November, chickpea-sized white, sticky fruits are formed and contain 1-2 oval or angular seeds.
Places where it is grown: Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Turkestan are the places where it is most commonly grown.
Collection and Storage: Mistletoe is collected in March, April or September and October. The fruits are sorted and thrown away. The leaves and stems are preserved by drying.
Known Composition: Its leaves contain substances called tannin, urson, inosite, viscotoxin, sapotoxin and glycoside. There is a sticky substance called visine in the fleshy part of the fruits of the plant. With this, mistletoe is prepared to catch the birds.
Benefits:
It lowers high blood pressure. It relieves headaches caused by high blood pressure.
It soothes the nerves and relieves nervous spasms. It relieves palpitations.
It regulates metabolism.
It is useful against arteriosclerosis.
In some recent cancer studies, it has been found that mistletoe prevents tumor formation. (For this purpose, injections made from mistletoe of different trees are used to treat different types of cancer.)
How to Use: Tea prepared by pouring a glass of boiling water on 1-2 teaspoons of dried leaflets and young shoots and steeping for 10-15 minutes, is drunk three times a day.
WARNING: Mistletoe fruits should not be used.
