Mountain pine is a generous plant: the herbal products derived from this conifer give vitamins and balsamic oils that help bones and the airways
Mugo pine is a conifer known for centuries for its healing properties, particularly valuable for the respiratory and articular system. Even today, mountain pine is used to prepare aromatic baths, syrups and fumigations that cure sore throats, colds and coughs, thanks to the specific expectorant properties of the essential oil contained in needles and twigs. Its pine cones rich in resin, which was collected and added to the ointments for the treatment of rheumatism, once in winter they were dried and burned in the stoves to disinfect and perfume the domestic environments.
Mugo pine, emblem of strength and longevity
The mountain pine is recognizable from other conifers for small branches that look like cleaning brushes for bottles: because it does not grow too high and is able to tolerate extreme environmental conditions, this rustic evergreen can grow up to 2700 meters of altitude . Throughout December, get in the habit of burning a teaspoon of his needles with incense: the house will immediately fill with a balsamic and stimulating fragrance, which will wipe away the black mood and reignite optimism and vitality.
Take an energizing bath in mountain pine
After a tiring day or when you feel the flu-related bone ache, fill a cotton bag with a handful of mountain pine buds and needles, place it under the tap and fill the tub with boiling water. Immerse yourself for a quarter of an hour.
Try its painkiller oil
It is prepared by putting 2-3 tablespoons of minced pine twigs, needles and buds in a jar with a tightly closing cap and covering it with sweet almond oil; leave the pot in the sun (or on the radiator) for 20 days, shaking it from time to time, then filter and use the ointment to treat the areas affected by rheumatism. A few drops of oil massaged every morning on the neck, in the area of the thyroid, wipes away the winter tiredness and rekindles the metabolism.
Expectorant and sedative, calms the irritating cough
Here is an ancient mountain recipe to prepare an effective syrup against the cough and the catarrh: 7-8 pine cones are collected still unripe, washed, dried, put in a glass jar with the lid and covered with brown sugar. The jar is placed in the sun for 1-2 months, until the sugar dissolves. The liquid is filtered and used as a syrup.