Probably, every person has seen the wild rose growing in many forests. Looking at its small but attractive flowers, it is hard to believe that it is the ancestor of the exquisite rose. But it is so. Rosehip also has a number of useful properties, due to which it is used in many areas of human life.
External description
To begin with, let's give a short description of the wild rose. In general, according to various estimates, there are from 300 to 500 species of this valuable plant. Of course, they differ significantly from each other. Therefore, we will give an average description that most fully reveals the picture.
It is a shrub. Usually the height of the wild rose is about 2-3 meters. Lives up to 50 years. However, this can be very different - depending on the growing conditions. On arid, depleted soils, some bushes do not grow more than 25-30 centimeters. And with a sufficient amount of moisture and nutrients in the soil, real giants grow up to 6-8 meters high. The most ancientrose hips from the famous grows in Germany, near the Hildesheim Cathedral. Its exact age is unknown, but experts estimate it to be more than five centuries old! Its height is 13 meters, and the trunk at the base has a girth of 50 centimeters. Of course, such a structure of the wild rose is not the rule, but an extremely rare exception.
The leaves are not too big, about 1x3 centimeters. Collected in groups of 5-7 on one branch.
The root system of the wild rose is quite powerful, which allows it to survive even on dry soils - moisture is extracted from a depth of several meters.
The flowers are not too big, about 4 centimeters in diameter. Color varies greatly - shrubs with white and pink flowers are most common, but mixed and yellow flowers can also be seen.
After flowering, the ovary and berries appear - first green, later red or orange. There are also bushes with black berries. The fruits themselves are a thin shell of pulp covering several dozen small seeds.
Giving a morphological description of the wild rose, one cannot fail to mention the thorns. Not too large, but surprisingly sharp, they cover almost the entire stem, which makes picking berries a very dangerous activity - one careless movement and the hand, or even the face of the picker, will be covered with deep scratches.
Distribution area
Let's start with the fact that the Latin name for wild rose is Rosa canina or dog rose. Yes, from a scientific point of view, this is also a rose, although between the beauties familiar to most people andthese conspicuous yet modest flowers, hundreds of years of purposeful breeding.
The Russian name of the plant was due to the thorns. Which is not surprising - a cautious person will first of all pay attention to thorns before picking berries.
It is quite difficult to unequivocally establish the homeland of the common rosehip. This unpretentious plant, easily enduring wind, heat, drought and cold, is found throughout almost the entire Northern Hemisphere. It usually grows in forests and steppes, near water. Moreover, as it was said, it easily withstands drought, which can destroy other shrubs - thanks to a powerful root system - it deepens up to 5 meters.
You can meet throughout the post-Soviet space, as well as in most European countries. However, it also grows in North America, and in North Africa, India. Sometimes bushes come across even in the Philippine Islands. But the local varieties are very different from those familiar to us - they are more reminiscent of lianas than shrubs. Therefore, only an experienced botanist will be able to understand that in front of him is a representative of the common wild rose genus.
What does it contain?
Surprisingly, almost every part of the shrub is useful and healing - from the roots to the fruits.
Fruits contain a huge amount of vitamin C - 50 times more than in the usual lemon! In general, the content of ascorbic acid largely depends on the variety and place of growth. In most of our country there are bushes, the fruits of which contain up to 1.5% of this valuablevitamin in its pulp. In the valley of the Irtysh River in Kazakhstan, bushes grow, in which this figure reaches 4 percent. They also contain vitamins B2, P, K and E. Some experts generally consider rose hips to be the most medicinal plant in existence!
The essential oil contained in the petals is highly valued. Rose oil has always been very expensive - not only because of the great aroma, but also because of the benefits it brings. The oil from the petals contains flavonoids, anthocyanins, glycosides and a number of other substances. Yes, although the common rosehip flowers are rather unassuming, they are the raw material for the preparation of these oils.
The leaves are also very useful - they contain not only essential oils and vitamin C, but also tannins, flavonoids, catechins and phenolcarboxylic acids.
Branches, primarily rosehip bark, can boast of having vitamin P, sorbitol, saponin, catechins in their composition.
Finally, even the roots are medicinal! They include triterpenoids, flavonoids, catechins and tannins.
Benefits and harms
As you can see, the wild rose, the photo of which is attached to the article, is a very useful plant that can heal many diseases. But he also has disadvantages, contraindications, which are very important to know about in order not to make mistakes.
Fruits are actively used in medicine - both in pure form (rosehip tea) and in the form of complex derivatives - various medicines are made from them. Themare prescribed both for ordinary beriberi, and for deadly diseases. Due to the unique composition of the drugs can help cure various diseases or at least alleviate their symptoms.
We will talk about all this a little more later. Now back to the possible harmful effects of drinking.
To begin with, a high content of vitamin C with constant use can damage tooth enamel. Therefore, tea should be drunk through a straw, avoiding contact with the teeth, or simply rinse your mouth after drinking.
It is quite understandable that people who are allergic to vitamin C should refuse such drugs. Diabetes and gallstone disease are also those diseases in which rosehip medicines should not be used. With gastritis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, you should also refrain from taking fruits and preparations made on their basis.
Medical use
Now we will tell you more about how rose hips are used in medicine.
The oil prepared from its seeds is actively used for dermatoses, ulcers, bedsores. It will be a real find for nursing mothers suffering from cracked nipples.
By affecting bone marrow function, rose hips can help treat whooping cough, diphtheria and scarlet fever.
Scorbut, hemophilia, hemorrhagic diathesis and anticoagulant poisoning are also on the list of diseases that are successfully cured by rosehip infusions. In fact, these are far from all the diseases that can be successfully fought with the help of rose hips andderivatives of them. This list is really huge and includes many dozens of items.
Simple tea from it perfectly supports immunity. It is no coincidence that it is recommended to drink it with pneumonia, hyperthyroidism, constant nervous and physical stress. In the absence of contraindications, the infusion will be a good choice for a pregnant mother, having a positive effect on the intrauterine development of the child.
It is from the wild rose that a number of well-known medicines are made.
- "Holosas" is a condensed aqueous solution of the extract. It is used as a diuretic and choleretic agent.
- "Carotolin" is a wound healing agent extracted from seeds. Contains tocopherols and carotenoids.
- "Galascorbin" - used for burns and cracks in the skin. It is a compound of s alts of ascorbic and gallic acids.
In traditional medicine, mainly fruits and seeds are used. But traditional medicine appreciates every part of the bush - connoisseurs are able to prepare various preparations that allow them to successfully fight a variety of diseases.
Use in cooking
Rose hips are also widely used in the food industry. Of course, the simplest is tea from its dried fruits. But the pulp is often used to make marshmallows and mashed potatoes, which have a high concentration of vitamin C. One teaspoon is enough to satisfy the daily requirement of ascorbic acid.
Petals can become raw materials for the most delicate pinkjam - one of the most valuable. Berries are often used to infuse kvass.
In Slovenia, rosehip petals are used to make the non-alcoholic drink Kokta. And in the Caucasus, young shoots are used as an ordinary vegetable - raw or in the preparation of various dishes.
However, the petals and fruits of some varieties are much more beneficial than others. Therefore, it is worth studying the classification of the common wild rose before heading into the forest to collect valuable raw materials.
Place in industry
Wild rose hips are also used in industry.
Of course, in the first place, the petals are used to make essential oil - exquisite and surprisingly fragrant, capable of becoming the basis for perfumes. The oil content of the petals is very low, so about three tons of raw materials have to be processed to get one kilogram of the finished product!
In the USSR, the industry aimed at obtaining rose oil was actively working. Today it, alas, has completely ceased to exist. Instead of a high-quality product used for the manufacture of expensive cosmetics and flavoring food products, a synthetic analogue is imported from other countries.
Fruit seeds have also found use - they turned out to be a very suitable raw material for drying oil.
Optimal growing conditions
Of course, wild rose grows best in nutrient-rich black earth soils with regular watering or rainfall. In this case, he does not have to develop the root system, which means that he is more activelycrown and fruits develop.
But the shrub also grows well on poor soils - both sandy and loamy. Even in dry years, it can extract the necessary moisture from great depths. Of course, under such conditions, the number of fruits, their size and quality are significantly reduced.
Thanks to many years of selection, modern cultivars can boast not only larger and more beautiful flowers, but also a large number of fruits, the size of which will pleasantly surprise any connoisseur. Quality care - regular watering, clearing the area of weeds, loosening the soil for oxygen penetration - can achieve an even more impressive effect.
Collection and storage
Fruit picking usually occurs in early to mid-August - depending on the climate in the area and the weather in a particular year. If drying and long-term storage are planned, then it is enough to wait until the berries turn red and immediately after that start picking. In cases where the harvester plans to use the fruits as a raw material for making jam, marshmallow or marmalade, it makes sense to wait another week or two. Then the overripe pulp will become more tender, pliable. It is much easier to clean it from impurities - seeds and sepals.
But nevertheless, drying is most often used as the simplest method that provides a significant shelf life of the product and does not destroy valuable trace elements and vitamins.
You can use a regular vegetable dryer, which are sold in manystores.
Also, regular drying on a hot day is also a good choice. The collected berries (together with the sepals) are poured onto corrugated metal pallets and placed in a warm, dry, but shaded place. The iron tray heats up quickly, after which the berries dry actively. But still, it takes up to a week to completely dry - depending on the temperature and humidity.
Don't put pallets in the sun. On the one hand, it speeds up the drying process. But on the other hand, the efficiency is sharply reduced. The top layer dries out completely due to strong heating and can no longer pass moisture. And inside, in the seeds, it will remain. And it will be almost impossible to get rid of it - you will have to break the berries so that the moisture can safely leave with further drying.
It is very important to dry the berries well - even a small amount of moisture can lead to the development of fungus and mold, making the fruit completely unsuitable for eating. To check this, it is enough to knead a few berries from different parts of the pan between your fingers. If the particles crumble, then the drying was successful. If the pulp or seeds are even slightly smeared, it is necessary to continue drying to prevent spoilage.
If you plan to dry a small amount of fruits, you can use the oven. It is heated to a temperature of about 70-80 degrees Celsius, after which baking sheets with berries are placed there. Then the door closes - leaving only a small gap for ventilation and removal of excessmoisture. Drying lasts about two days - plus or minus 12 hours. It depends on the initial moisture content of the fruits and their size. After this period, it is necessary to check the readiness of the berries in the manner described above. If they are not dry, it is worth returning the baking sheet back to the oven.
After that, the dried berries are poured into canvas bags and put away for storage - in a dry, preferably cold, dark and well-ventilated place. In this form, they may well be stored for several years without losing their useful properties, for which experts highly appreciate them.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know much more about the wild rose - the Latin name, distribution area, useful properties and much more. We hope that this knowledge will be useful to you and will allow you to get rid of many diseases or simply improve your he alth.
