page_title: Rtanj
section_title: Rtanj tea
hierarchical_section_title: Rtanj / Plantlife / Rtanj tea
caption_attribution_description: English: A photo of the Eastern Serbian mountain called Rtanj, which is widely known for it's pyramid-like shape.
context_page_description: Rtanj is a mountain situated in eastern Serbia, approximately 200 km southeast of Belgrade, between towns of Boljevac on north and Sokobanja on south. It belongs to the Serbian Carpathians. Its highest peak is Šiljak, a natural phenomenon of karst terrain.
  The north side of the mountain is covered with forests and shrubs, full of autochthonous plant species and plenty of sources of potable water. A hunting ground covers 6368 ha. The most common prey are roe deer and wild boar.
context_section_description: A widely known traditional product of Rtanj is the "Rtanj tea", a herbal tea made of winter savory. It is celebrated for its antiseptic and aromatic properties, and is allegedly an aphrodisiac, which gave the plant a local moniker đipikur ("jump(ing)-dick"). Allegedly, the plant also has bronchodilatory and antioxidant effect and the virility is enhanced because of the flavonoids which stimulate the production of testosterone. Before it gained its modern reputation, it has been used by the local population as a remedy for bronchitis, asthma, coughing, children's respiratory inflammations and for gerontology problems.
  By May 2019, the massive summer harvesting of winter savory on Rtanj was banned by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia until the species recovers. The plant has been over-harvested in general, but it was especially damaged as, instead of the former harvesting using knives or scissors, the harvesters began massively pulling out the plants from their roots.
  Medicinal and aromatic wildly grown herbs picked on the Rtanj and the mountain Ozren, which is on the opposite, southern side of Sokobanja, account for the majority of the Serbian export of these commodities, which in 2018 reached €3.3 million.
caption: Rtanj from its northern side
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