On Earth there are many amazing plants that are known only in those areas where they grow. Surely you have heard of sausage or breadfruit. But today the topic of our article will be the milk tree. Why is it called so? Does it give a lot of milk? What is its use? We will try to deal with these and many other questions.
In South and Central America there are huge groves of mighty trees with shiny, as if polished leaves. Their fruits are not to be eaten. However, the locals really appreciate these trees.
Milk tree: description
This tree, which is called dairy or cow (Brosimum galactodendron), belongs to the mulberry family.
The milk tree grows up to 30 meters high. It has whole leaves, flowers are stair-like, with many stamens in capitate inflorescences. The milk tree grows in South America. Like other members of the family, brosimum secretes milky juice. However, unlike other lactiferous plants, it is not only not poisonous, but also quite edible, and even useful and very tasty. Locals use this tasty and fragrant juice ascow's milk substitute. They often call this plant the cow tree.
This large tree belongs to the nettle family, the Artacarp subfamily, or bread-trees. Their trunk can be up to one meter in diameter.
The milk tree gives the juice that the locals call milk. Indeed, it tastes very much like this drink familiar to us since childhood. Therefore, the inhabitants of South America drink it constantly, and now many Europeans have found it extremely tasty. Juice runs out quite actively - within half an hour you can fill a bottle with it.
How juice is extracted
As a rule, a small hole is drilled in the trunk for this. In some cases, the sap is extracted from a felled tree, which lasts for several weeks.
Where does such a tree grow?
It must be said that the dairy tree is an unpretentious plant. It can grow on the most meager soil, but this does not change the taste of "milk" - it is always nutritious and very tasty. It grows in the hot countries of South America. In addition, the milk tree is successfully cultivated in tropical Asia.
Fruits
A milk tree has fruits about the size of an apple. They are considered inedible, but at the same time contain a juicy and extremely tasty core. In any case, so say those who managed to try it. True, the fruits of the milk tree are not as valuable as its juice.
Composition of milky juice
Milk tree juice containswater, sugar, vegetable wax and some resins. In appearance, it is a thick and viscous liquid. It is thicker than real milk and has a balsamic flavor. Its composition is very close to cow's milk, and it tastes like cream with sugar.
A natural question arises: "What role does milky juice play in the life of a plant?". As scientists have found out, quite diverse.
Milky vessels cover all tissues of the tree. They are filled with a milky emulsion. Cow's milk is also an emulsion. Or, in other words, a liquid that contains particles of other substances. Proteins, fats, sugar and starch have been found in the milky sap of trees and other plants. Organic substances formed in the leaves accumulate in the vessels of the plant. During the period of seed ripening, the milky juice gives up its reserves for their development. At this time, it becomes watery and liquid.
Use in cooking
Milk tree sap does not spoil for seven to ten days even in the tropics, does not curdle when mixed with water. The milky juice has the taste and appearance of natural cow's milk. He is completely harmless. This confirms that the locals feed them to ore babies. If the juice is boiled, it turns into a delicious curd mass.
Thick white juice flows profusely from the incision into the substituted dishes. Many believe that the color and density of milk juice are more reminiscent of good cream, and if it were not for the unusual smell, one would think that this is cream freshly brought from milk. After a shortexposure to air, the juice becomes very thick, and it is eaten like cheese. If a little water is added to this "cheese mass", then it will remain liquid for a long time.
The natives of South America drink it like regular milk, dipping maize bread into it. In addition, they consume it with chocolate, coffee and tea. For many, this juice seems to taste better than real cream. The fact is that it has a pleasant smell of cinnamon.
The sap of this amazing tree is in high demand throughout tropical South America. No matter how much it is consumed (although nutritionists advise not to get carried away with this product), the juice does not harm human he alth, and therefore we can assume that the milk tree is an unusual and useful gift of generous nature.
In addition to a delicious and he althy drink made from milky juice, American natives receive a special substance that resembles wax in consistency and composition. They make candles out of it.
Traditional medicine
This tree is used to make a remedy that has proven itself in the treatment of asthma.
American nutritionists recommend it for children's nutrition and to maintain the strength of the elderly.
Where else is milky juice used
The local population evaporates the juice and gets a thick yellow substance, which is very similar to beeswax. It has found wide application in the household - it is used to repair dishes, to hermetically clog vessels. Except"milk" from the milky juice of this tree, American natives get a special waxy substance, from which they then make candles.
Recently began exporting milk tree sap to other countries.
Sorveira
In addition to the tree described above, other trees that "give milk" grow in the forests of South America. For example, sorveira. It is also called the nipple tree. Scientists call it useful callophora. It is enough to slightly cut the bark of this amazing miracle tree, and milk will begin to flow from it.
This is not a tropical exotic at all. On the contrary, the area of \u200b\u200bgrowth of this tree is quite extensive. Scientists and researchers claim that there are several million such trees in the Amazonian lowland.
Each sorveira tree can produce up to 4 liters of "milk" at a time. To do this, it is enough to make an incision on the trunk of a tree, and a thick white liquid will immediately flow from it in a stream, very reminiscent of cow's milk in consistency.
Sorveira juice has a slightly bitter taste. Therefore, for a long time it was considered poisonous. Today, it has been scientifically proven that sorveira juice is not only completely harmless, but is actually close in its chemical composition to natural cow's milk.
Recently, scientists from South America have begun to promote tree milk. They are confident that milk tree sap can replenish the rather meager diet of the inhabitants of the tropics.
Galactodendron and sorveira milk is similar in appearance to the milky juice of other plants, for example, milkweed, dandelion or celandine. The milky juice of the poppy in a frozen form is known as opium - the strongest remedy that has long been used in medicine. The sap of rubber trees is used to make rubber. Raw materials for dyes are obtained from some types of lactiferous trees. And the juice of galactodendron and sorveira, as it turns out, is eaten.
