Shrub with a strange name for our ear is very useful for the human body. And in folk medicine, almost all of its parts are used. Loch - a plant that has many varieties, and they can be found almost all over the world.
Lough: description and meaning of plant name
The etymology of the word is not entirely clear, but in biology there is a whole family of plants called "suckers". In different countries you can find a different name for this plant. So, in Central Asia it is called jigida or djida. In Greece - elaeagnus, which loosely means "Abraham tree of olive". The name pshat is also known, but all these names do not reflect the beneficial properties with which the plant is rich.
Some of its species are evergreen, while others are deciduous. But in most cases they are covered with spines. Branches with light bark are covered with alternate silver leaves with short petioles. Flowers can be solitary, and can grow in bunches, depending on the type of sucker. Flower shape four-lobe tubular-bell-shaped, without petals with four stamens.
The most valuable in the plant is the fruit. The berry is a drupe with powdery sweet pulp and elliptical bone. It is eaten raw, dried, added to dishes, and medicinal decoctions and infusions are prepared.
Important! The fruits of the sucker - a treasury of organic acids, potassium and phosphorus salts. They are recommended to eat to maintain the cardiovascular system, improve memory. Also on their basis they prepare special preparations.Shrubs can be propagated by cuttings, root suckers or seeds. The plant is resistant to drought, unpretentious and at the same time is a magnificent honey plant. Moreover, in places where the silver goof grows, the soil is enriched with nitrogen. On its tubers live colonies of bacteria that contribute to the concentration of nitrogen in the soil.
Popular types of sucker
In total, there are more than 100 types of sucker in the world, which grow in Europe, Japan, and China. However, the following species have taken root in our strip.
Sucker umbrella
Its greatest accumulation is observed in East Asia, because the plant does not tolerate winter. If the temperature at -5 ° C is still experiencing, then at -10 ° C may die. The sucker umbrella in height reaches 4 m, and the crown grows to 160 cm. The leaves are light green, lanceolate. Already in May it produces yellowish-silver flowers, which attract bees very much - the plant is considered an excellent honey plant. 
Important! Honey from the sucker, as well as the majority of its preparations, store no more than two years. Then they begin to gradually lose their properties. In flowers, this process begins earlier - in a year.The first fruits appear on the shrub that has reached the age of nine. They ripen in autumn and are round, not oblong, like most other varieties.
Sucker spiny
Prickly sucker belongs to the evergreen species of shrubs, which grows up to 7 m in height. Its sprawling branches are covered with thick spines, on them grow oblong-elliptical leaves with wavy edges. From below they are silver-brown, and from above - dark green shiny. Sometimes lateral shoots appear on the branches, with which it clings to neighboring plants or objects. Then it develops as a climbing plant. 
The flowers of the plant are silvery-white on top, and at the core are golden in color. They grow in bundles of 2-3 pieces and exude a strong aroma. At the end of flowering, they give a greenish-brown fruit at first, which reddens as it ripens. For the special beauty and unpretentiousness of his landscape designers revered, using for the formation of hedges.
Loch multicolored
Relatively low, up to 1.5 m in height, shrub that does not have thorns. On brown-red scaly branches grow oval slightly oblong leaves. From above they are silvery-scaly, and from below silvery-brown. In June, covered with yellowish-white flowers in the form of a bell. In August, in their place large red berries are formed on thin long drooping fruit stems. Their pulp is acidic, juicy, rich in nutrients such as amino acids, glutamic and aspartic acids, arginine, lysine. 
Did you know? Initially, this type of plant could only be found in the forests of China and Japan. It spread across the territory of the Russian Federation in the twentieth century, when the Japanese brought it to South Sakhalin. With his help, they improved the area around their homes, calling the plant "gum". They also believed that the sucker berry, besides other useful properties, has the ability to return youth.
Sucker silver
Homeland shrub is considered to be North America. The sucker silver has a description similar to a multi-flowered one. Its branches are not covered with thorns, the young bark has a brown shade, and the old - silver. The leaves are leathery on both sides, but have brown scales underneath. Flowers produces the same in color, aroma and melliferous, as well as other species. They appear in the middle of summer and hold about 20 days. If the shrub is more than 8 years old, at the end of flowering, scaly fruits are tied in their place, which ripen only in September. 
The shrub reaches a height of 4 m, tolerates drought worse than the species described above, but is more frost resistant. Feels good in the conditions of the city, but grows very slowly. Thanks to its beautiful fruits and leaves it is widely used in landscape design.
Did you know? Not only the silver look, but also other varieties of the sucker are readily used to create living compositions in the homestead territory. The shrub goes well with low plants covered with red leaves, golden and coniferous trees. Looks good in contrasting compositions, perfectly copes with the role of the hedge.
Loch narrow-leaved
In the wild, this plant can be found on the banks of rivers and lakes of Central and Asia Minor, in Kazakhstan, in the Caucasus, as well as in southern Russia. It is also grown as a cultivated plant, however, is called completely different. If you do not understand what a Jida is, you should know that this is exactly this type of sucker. 
This is a spreading deciduous shrub that grows up to 10 m in height. It has red-brown bark covered with silvery scaly hairs. On the branches spines grow up to 3 cm in length and soft lanceolate leaves up to 8 cm in length. From above, they have a light green tint, and from below they are covered with silver-white scales.
The flowers are the same fragrant, but slightly different in color - yellowish on the outside and silvery inside. Keep also no more than 20 days after the start of flowering. Then the berry is tied, which, as it ripens, changes the silvery shade to a yellowish-brown one.
The narrow-leaved loch has a deep root system; therefore, it develops relatively quickly, is drought-resistant, frost-resistant, and easily transfers the polluted air of megalopolises. Often used as a hedge and in compositions against the backdrop of dark greenery.
The use of sucker in traditional medicine
The plant is known for its astringent properties; therefore, various anti-diarrhea agents are prepared from it. Broths and infusions have a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory effect. They are used in the treatment of worms, inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract. Most often for such purposes use leaves and fruits of a bush. 
Also, the Loch perfectly treats colds, its antipyretic properties are especially appreciated. Due to the anti-inflammatory effect, it is successfully used to relieve pain from gout, rheumatism, and radiculitis. In this case, the leaves of the plant make lotions. Decoctions of flowers heal wounds, are used for hypertension, edema, colitis.
But the most valuable and richest part of the plant are its fruits. If you use them raw, you can improve memory, bring the body into a tone and strengthen it. Berries have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. In addition, the fruits have an excellent taste, they are used to make jams and compotes.
A beautiful plant from oriental gardens has long gained popularity in Europe and other parts of the world. Landscape designers value it for unusual leaves and bright fruits, beekeepers for fragrant flowers rich in nectar, and traditional healers for a huge range of useful substances.
They are treated with diseases of the cardiovascular system, intestines, respiratory tract. The loch is effective in the treatment of hypertension, rheumatic pains, elimination of worms from the body. And the Chinese and Japanese still believe that the Loch is able to restore youth to the body.
