The time when bird cherry blossoms is special. First, it is a very beautiful sight. Even the trees had barely spread their leaves, and here, like explosions of white color - hanging fragrant buds of white flowers and swirling swarms of bees above them. The people call bird cherry a beautiful bride. Wearing smart white attire, she symbolizes the transition to a hot early summer.
The bird cherry genus has 20 species of shrubs and trees. In the middle lane in the gardens, common bird cherry is common, which has black, astringent fruits, as well as virgin, whose berries are red. Fragrant bird cherry has the most pleasant smell during flowering.
Bird cherry flowers are unusually fragrant and are collected in brushes, reaching a length of 12 cm. Its leaves are large. It can often be found in city parks, among shrubs in damp forests, in the western regions of the forests of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In the forest-steppe zones, this plant is less common. Bird cherry is common in forests throughout Europe, and is also found in Western Siberia. Its wood is dense, hard and resilient,has a rare brownish-black color, thanks to which it has found application in turning and carpentry.
The fruits of bird cherry have a peculiar astringent taste. Can be eaten, but not raw. Of these, as a rule, a variety of drinks are prepared, as well as flour. Kissels, fillings for pies and dumplings are made from the latter.
What is good for us?
Besides beauty and pleasant smell, this tree has many useful properties that we can use. When bird cherry blossoms, its flowers contain vitamins C (ascorbic acid), E, P, micro and macro elements - copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, etc. The fruits contain 5% sugars, flavonoids (isoquercetin, rutin), anthocyanins, citric and malic acid.
Bird cherry flowers, like its fruits, are used as a good diuretic and choleretic agent. They are also used to treat rheumatism, gout, pulmonary tuberculosis, purulent wounds, furunculosis, enterocolitis, conjunctivitis, non-infectious diarrhea, and the initial stages of diabetes mellitus.
Bird cherry cold
They say when bird cherry blossoms, it gets colder. Is it true? Since ancient times, people have believed that it is the color of bird cherry that brings with it a cold snap. But folk signs only fix, and do not explain the essence of the phenomenon. In May, when bird cherry blossoms, there is a return of cold weather, often with snow. The reason is that at this time we are often invaded by arctic air masses from the north of Scandinavia. And whatAs for the tree itself, the time when bird cherry blossoms can either coincide with the arrival of these cold weather or pass earlier.
If you plant bird cherry in your garden, this tree will give you fragrant beautiful inflorescences, and then allow you to enjoy the fruits. New varieties of bird cherry have large and not so tart berries, they have a peculiar piquant taste. Biologically active substances contained in them slow down the aging process, increase the body's resistance to adverse environmental conditions, fruits and flowers contain vitamins and trace elements.
