Bird cherry is a low tree from the genus Plum. It grows in shrubs and forests throughout our country, from the Sea of Okhotsk, and through Asia to Western Europe. In Russia, its cultivation as an ornamental plant is very common.
Description
Bird cherry is a tree or tall shrub, from sixty centimeters to ten meters high, with an elongated dense crown. The bark of this representative of the Pink family is black-gray, matte, with white lenticels. Its branches are olive or cherry red.
Bird cherry leaves are regular, simple. They have an ovoid-lanceolate or oblong elliptical shape, from three to ten centimeters long. Petioles grow up to one and a half meters. The stipules of bird cherry are subulate, falling very early. But the greatest interest when considering this culture is its flowers - white, sometimes even pinkish. They are collected in drooping thick brushes, reaching a length of up to twelve centimeters. The flowers have such a strong fragrance thatit spreads throughout the region. There are five petals and sepals on a pedicel, twenty stamens.
When does bird cherry blossom?
With the advent of May in nature, there is a rapid growth of herbaceous plants. Along with this comes the widespread flowering. It is impossible to pass by bird cherry without enjoying its aroma.
This representative of the Pink family is called the queen of spring for a reason. Bird cherry blossoms precede the start of many agricultural activities. It is believed that planting wheat and potatoes during this period contributes to a good harvest. The flowering of bird cherry for the villagers, therefore, means that it is time to sow. It has long been believed that in this way nature gives a kind of "signal" to the beginning of the grain-growing season.
Blossoming bird cherry almost always occurs at the end of April or beginning of May. Our ancestors associated two points with this period. The first meant that nature had awakened, and the second meant the beginning of summer.
As a rule, bird cherry blooms in the first week of May. However, depending on the weather, this time can move up to a week in one direction or another. Therefore, it is impossible to reliably name the date of flowering of this plant: it depends on the region in which the tree grows, on the climate and even on the variety.
How cherry blossoms
Today, there are more than twenty species of this representative of the Pink family. Interestingly, its berries are literally saturated with useful elements. They contain a large numbercob alt, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, many vitamins P, C and E.
The flowering period of bird cherry is associated by many with the time to start catching fish in open water.
Popularly, this plant has many names, but the most remarkable, perhaps, is “beautiful bride”. Bird cherry blossoms are a special sight. The trees are just opening their leaves, and then, like white explosions, the fragrant buds of beautiful flowers, hanging in the midst of the first swarms of bees, are striking. Putting on its elegant attire, this tree symbolizes the transition to the hot summer season.
Varieties
The genus Bird cherry has about twenty species. In the gardens of the middle zone of our country, an ordinary variety is common, which has black and astringent fruits. Often there is also a virgin variety, with red berries. The most pleasant aroma spreads when the fragrant bird cherry begins to bloom.
However, not all varieties are distinguished by this trait. For example, the flowering of the late bird cherry is not accompanied by a smell. Its homeland is the forests of North America. One can guess that such a name was given to her for the late flowering periods. This tree, growing up to twenty meters, has a spreading crown and cherry bark. Its leaves turn bright reds and yellows in autumn.
Application
Bird cherry flowers, like its fruits, are used as a diuretic or choleretic agent. They are also used in the treatment of rheumatism and gout, enterocolitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, furunculosis, purulent wounds, conjunctivitis. It is believed that the bird cherryhelps with diarrhea of non-infectious origin, as well as at the initial stage of diabetes.
In addition, this crop is easy to grow, it grows quickly and tolerates frost well. However, not only the early flowering of bird cherry is its advantage. The plant has excellent decorative properties, and therefore is widely used in landscape design.
This is interesting
Despite the fact that bird cherry enjoys widespread love among the people (many poets sang about it, a large number of signs are associated with it), nevertheless, gardeners and gardeners do not really like this plant and prefer not to plant it on their plots. For some reason, it is generally accepted that this representative of the Pinks attracts pests, becoming a kind of incubator for them. However, this opinion is fundamentally wrong. Rather, on the contrary, this tree is extremely useful. Bird cherry flowers and foliage emit a huge amount of volatile phytoncides, purifying the air around. There are practically no mosquitoes or ticks near bird cherry.
True, for the same reason it is better not to put bouquets with her flowers in the house: a strong concentration of phytoncides sometimes causes a headache.
