Wild berries (photos are presented in the article) are he althy, tasty, and therefore are in demand even among hardened citizens. When going to the forest, do not forget to grab a basket, and representatives of the "berry brotherhood" will definitely share the natural vitality with you.
Garden or forest?
Which berries are better: those that grow in the wild, or those that we grow in our country houses? Of course, forest fruits are more useful - they are not polluted by civilization and consist entirely of natural nutritional components. However, all this is true, provided that you did not collect them along the road and not in the vicinity of any industrial facility. Wild berries are not treated during development and growth with any chemicals designed to protect against diseases and pests, since nature itself solves all problems. That's why wild fruits give us a full range of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial elements.
Next, we will talk about which edible wild berries you should pay special attention to.
Raspberries
Everyone remembers the taste of these delicious fruits from childhood. And who is mom orgrandmother during the period of colds did not carefully bring tea with raspberry jam to bed? And now, remembering the carefree childhood, we are happy to eat this berry right from the bush. Raspberry forest is distributed almost throughout Russia, with the exception of the Far North. They collect it everywhere, but many do not even imagine how useful these common fruits are for us.
Healing qualities of raspberries
The berry is mainly used in the treatment of colds and acute respiratory ailments. It contains salicylic acid, which can reduce fever much more effectively than many medicines. Raspberry forest will also help with neuralgia, sciatica, joint pain. People who cannot eat the fruits due to an allergic reaction can be offered to brew the stems and leaves of the plant, and then take the resulting decoction - in this way, the manifestations of fever can also be quickly removed. To strengthen immunity in summer, it is worth eating fresh raspberries, and in winter, use berries in the form of jam, liqueurs, and decoctions. There is also a modern way to preserve fruits - freezing.
Blueberries
If we consider all the black wild berries, then, of course, blueberries are the most famous. Why is it called that, because its fresh fruits are more saturated blue than black? The name of the berry was given by the Russian people because it stains the mouth and teeth black, that is, “blackens”. The plant itself is a small tree or a small bush. Blueberries are a berry that people know and love very much.ancient times. It is harvested from July until the first frost. Many residents of central Russia will be interested to know that there is still a special "red blueberry" - redberry. It grows in Kamchatka and Primorsky Krai.
Composition and benefits of blueberries
Everyone knows that this wild berry improves eyesight, but what other benefits does it have? For a long time, diseases of the housing and communal services have been treated with the help of blueberries: for mild disorders, they took a decoction of dried berries or blueberry jelly, and for chronic constipation, they ate fresh fruits. In addition, blueberries help to cure rheumatism, gout, and all kinds of inflammation. If you suffer from nocturnal enuresis, heartburn, stomach diseases, enteritis, drink tea or a decoction of these berries. Fresh fruits, among other things, increase the level of iron in the body. You can also use blueberries externally: apply the pureed berries to the affected areas in the presence of eczema, acne, long-term healing wounds, burns, ulcers.
Strawberry
As evidenced by archaeological excavations, the fruits of this perennial plant were used by our distant ancestors. Strawberry is a wild berry, which is an overgrown receptacle with juicy small "nuts" covering its surface. The plant bears fruit from the end of May to the end of June, that is, for three to four weeks. Wild berries are found in Europe and America. Traditionally, strawberries populate glades in forests - in these places you can find the largest and sweetest fruits. In general, the plant feels good on the slopes of the mountains,only swamps are unsuitable for it - a large amount of moisture is fatal for this crop.
Healing properties of strawberries
This wild berry contains organic acids, sugar, catechins, tannins, pectin, coloring substances. The fruits are rich in minerals and vitamins, due to which strawberries are actively used in cosmetology and medicine. In addition, the beneficial properties of the plant served to the fact that it is used in dietetics. It is recommended to use this berry for kidney stones, anemia, gout. The juice and pulp of strawberries allow you to restore s alt metabolism, alleviate the condition with eczema (in this case, the rubbed fruits must be applied to the affected area). In the fight against high blood pressure, experts advise using the leaves of the plant. In general, strawberries have diaphoretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, hemostatic properties. Masks, tonics, lotions and scrubs based on this berry are popular in cosmetology.
Blueberries
This is a low shrub, growing mainly in the northern regions, where the temperate and cold climate prevails. The diameter of the fruit is just over a centimeter, the color is blue with a bluish bloom. Blueberry is a real long-liver, sometimes the age of the bush is up to a hundred years. Fruits include up to eight percent of useful sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose) and a sufficient amount of organic acids (malic, citric, acetic). Blueberries are rich in fiber, pectins, vitamins. One undoubted advantage is the presence of anthocyanin in it (thisa plant pigment that acts as a strong antioxidant).
Despite such an abundance of useful components, this is a fairly low-calorie berry, which made it a popular dietary product. The antioxidants present in its composition increase the body's resistance to disease, and also free it from free radicals. Flavonoids provide protection against pathologies of the cardiovascular system and cancer, while organic acids improve the activity of the pancreas. Fiber and pectin, in turn, normalize bowel function. In addition to all of the above, blueberries are an excellent antiscorbutic agent, an assistant in the treatment of anemia. The berry has choleretic, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic properties. Fruit juice increases concentration and improves memory.
Blackberry
The berry looks like a raspberry, but it is worth recognizing that in many ways it surpasses its "relative". Blackberry fruits are incredibly fragrant and tasty, filled with healing juice. The plant brings a good harvest at the time when the main summer berries have already departed (in August-September). But there is a drawback: the culture is very susceptible to cold weather, so it may not endure a harsh winter. Fruits are sweetened by sucrose, glucose and fructose. Blackberries are one of the few berries that people with diabetes can safely eat. It should also be noted that this culture surpasses almost all others in terms of vitamin content. The fruits are saturated with nitrogenous, mineral, pectin, tannicsubstances and organic acids.
In folk medicine, there is a use for the whole plant: the leaves, the berries themselves, and even the roots. Unripe fruits have a fixing effect on the intestines in case of diarrhea, while ripe ones, on the contrary, can be used as a mild laxative. Blackberry has anti-inflammatory and anti-sclerotic properties, strengthens capillary walls. This wild berry removes radioactive elements from the body. A decoction of the roots healers are advised to use for rinsing the mouth and throat with acute respiratory infections, tonsillitis. It will also provide a diuretic effect and restore normal liver function. The leaves of the plant have a pronounced astringent effect and can stop not only diarrhea, but also bleeding.
Bonebone
Many people underestimate this berry, believing that its taste is not good enough, and the bones that constantly come across discourage appetite. However, it is simply necessary to eat the bone, because the benefits that it brings to the body are enormous. Its fruits are prefabricated drupes, which consist of four or more parts, including fairly large seeds. They are somewhat reminiscent of pomegranates in taste, and ripen in July-August (in some places you can harvest in September).
The low popularity of bone berries explains the gaps in information about what it has a chemical composition. It is only known for sure that this berry is superior to many others in terms of vitamin C content. In addition, it contains vitamin P, which is so necessary for a person, since the body itselfit is not produced, as well as phytoncides, organic acids, tannins and pectins, flavonoids.
For a long time, bone marrow has been used in the treatment of scurvy, anemia, anemia, and colds. Fruit juice, saturated with useful elements, normalizes metabolic processes in the body, removes toxins, toxins, strengthens the vascular walls. A decoction prepared from the stems and leaves of the plant is effective for pathologies of the heart muscle, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Such juice will bring relief from gout, prevent the formation of tumors, relieve insomnia, headaches, hemorrhoids, strengthen hair and eliminate dandruff. The use of fresh stone fruit leaves externally will quickly remove the redness of the eyes.
Cowberry
This wild berry is small and inconspicuous in appearance, but it contains a real pantry of useful substances. Cowberry cures many diseases, it was not for nothing that it used to be called the berry of immortality.
The plant is a short perennial shrub. It is quite unpretentious, can grow in mixed and coniferous forests, in peat bogs. Lingonberries are common in regions with a temperate climate, tundra and forest tundra of Eastern Siberia. The fruits ripen in August-September, they are usually round, red in color, sweet and sour in taste, with a tart, astringent taste. This wild berry is rich in carbohydrates, tannins, vitamins, organic acids, pectins, minerals. Lingonberries can be stored for a long time due to the presence of benzoic acid in its composition. plant wideused in medicine as an antiscorbutic, antiseptic, antipyretic, diuretic.
Cranberries
This he althy berry has long been used by healers to alleviate the condition of patients with sore throat. It is also advised to use it for colds, diseases of the genitourinary system, atherosclerosis, rheumatism.
Blossoming with pink-red flowers in May-July, cranberries give a harvest in September. Its fruits are juicy, sour in taste, red in color, spherical in shape. In swamps, berries are harvested from late autumn to spring. Cold cranberries are not terrible - they only improve the taste of the fruit.
Wild berries described in this article are concentrates of taste and benefits. Follow them into the forest with the whole family. Have no doubt: nature will generously share its we alth with you!
