Swamp cranberries: a description of where it grows when harvested

Swamp cranberries - a berry, which was glorified in his work by the famous writer Paustovsky. From his story "Pantry of the Sun" we know that it is not so easy to collect this dweller of the marshes, and sometimes even dangerous for life. But the efforts are worth it, since it is a very useful product. Where does cranberry grow, how does it look, when and how do they collect it? Read the answers to these and other questions below. Also, the article describes the description of cranberry bog.

On the healing properties of berries

Cranberries have few competitors in terms of medicinal properties. It's just a storehouse of vitamins and rare micronutrients. In its composition, in particular, there are manganese, selenium, lutein and zeaxanthin. Also in the berry contains a lot of vitamins K and C.

Swamp cranberries - true A remedy for those who want to increase the protective properties of the body or are treated with antibiotics (thanks to this berry their effect is enhanced). Earlier, when antibiotics had not yet been invented, cranberries were used instead of them. From the bog berries are prepared medicines that heal wounds, consume it with scurvy and rheumatism, and if the temperature rises, it is possible to remove the heat with the help of cranberries.

Detailed description of the cranberry marsh

It refers to shrubby plants. Its bushes are green in the marsh all year round - they do not change their color. They have a small size, as well as a thin stem (creeping) in the form of a string and the same thin branches that are covered in young plants with delicate hairs (they spread along the ground or slightly rise above it).

Leaves of cranberries are small, with a short cut, in shape resemble an oblong egg with a heart-shaped base and pointed top. Their edges are slightly bent down. The outer side of the leaf is glossy, dark green, and the "underside" is gray. In the winter they do not fly.

Blossoms this shrub small. Petals are nail-shaped, pointed at the top, most often purple, but sometimes white. Flowers have the right shape, look drooping.

Fruiting cranberries with berries, like balls or small eggs, with a width of 1 to 1.3 cm. The color of unripe fruits is white, and then they turn red and get very saturated color. The berries, like the leaves, are glossy, but it is not easy to see them, since they are hidden under the mesh of branches spread over the ground.

Habitats of cranberries

Cranberry is a berry, Which loves moisture and does not tolerate a polluted environment. This plant is very sensitive and selective - where nothing will live. Therefore, in the immediate vicinity of places of human activity, cranberries can not be found in the daytime with fire. She adores hidden from the eyes of human marshy areas, wet lowlands, and sometimes found in the hills, in the foothills. The main requirements of cranberries are: high humidity and fertile soil.

The biggest berries are in the middle zone of Russia, in the north of the country and in Siberia, as well as in Belarus, in the north of Ukraine and France, in Canada and the northern states of the USA.

Of the three types of cranberries (large-fruited, small-fruited and common), only the last two can be found on the territory of the Russian Federation. More common is marsh cranberry ordinary - it is found everywhere, except in the southern regions of the country.

What else is called cranberries?

Cranberries - this is probably one of the most multi-plant. In each region it is called differently. So, for example, the inhabitants of the Pskov region call cranberries spring, gorovinin or crane; In Vologda, Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod in the swamps grows zharavika, and in Arkhangelsk - zarovitsa; On the territory of the Smolensk region berry used to call gum; Belarusians call cranberries crane, and Ukrainians call zhurovinnikom.

When are cranberries collected and how is it done?

The flowering period of cranberry is the end of spring and early summer. But it only starts to bear fruit in September and ends by November. During this period, its people and collect. By the way, the frosts of this berry are not terrible, so you can not be afraid that it will disappear if suddenly frosts hit.

People "hunt" for cranberries from time immemorial, and in those regions where the berry is traditional, have already managed to do it. But a novice or guest will be difficult to collect, because cranberries do not grow near human settlements, besides, it is able to lure into the quagmire, covering the swamp with a net of branches and thus not allowing it to be discerned in time. When collecting cranberries, observe extreme caution.

There is another trick at the "sly" berry. She skillfully hides her fruits from the human eyes under the branches, it is not easy to find them. Experienced gatherers use a special wooden or bone scallop, with which they lift branches and remove fruits from them.

Cranberry Swamp in the Garden

As noted above, where there is a cranberry, there is no place for dirt. And vice versa. And a person, as a rule, lives in places with not the best ecology. Therefore, breeding a medicinal berry at home is problematic. For a long time people tried to "tame" cranberries, but without success. And it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the Americans succeeded in breeding a hybrid on the basis of a large-fruited species that adapts easier than others.

Today, there are many varieties of garden cranberries, and some people decide to start breeding it. To achieve success in this business, you need to be patient and armed with knowledge, since it is a very capricious and whimsical plant.

Pharmacological properties and application of cranberry marsh

The berries of this plant have antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, restorative, antibacterial and tonic effects. Swamp cranberries are recommended for use with beriberi. Berries are used to treat kidney and bladder diseases.

Cranberry juice with honey well helps in the treatment of bronchitis and sore throat. Fresh juice as a lotion is used to clean and heal wounds with eczema (dry) and lichen. In the cosmetic industry, marsh cranberries are used in the form of masks for oily skin. With the help of this berries, freckles and pigmented spots are removed from the face.

Persons suffering from duodenal ulcers and stomach ulcers, the use of this berry is contraindicated.