Schnieder. The Ukrainian name is wild cherry zvichayna, popular names are wild cherry, bellflower.
Rosaceae family – Rosaceae.
The fruits are used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs almost throughout Ukraine. In Polissya, this is a traditional plant in almost all forests, in the Carpathians it rises to the upper border of the forest, in the forest-steppe regions it is less common and mainly along river valleys and gullies, in the steppe – very rarely.
Stocks of raw materials are large. Dozens of tons of fruits can be harvested annually, especially in the Transcarpathian, Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Common bird cherry is a shrub or tree up to 10 m in height, with a dense elongated crown. The bark is dull, dark gray, with clearly visible lenticels. Young branches are olive or cherry red. The leaves are alternate, oblong-obovate or elliptical, acutely serrate; teeth at the top with red-brown glands. The flowers are small (5-7 mm in diameter), white, fragrant, collected in dense axillary racemes. The fruit is a spherical, black, shiny drupe with one ovoid-rounded stone with a wavy surface. Blooms in May – early June. The fruits ripen in July-August.
blueberries and other plant species
The fruits are harvested when ripe (July – August), plucking the entire bunch.
Dry in ovens or dryers at a temperature of 40-50 °, spreading a thin layer (1-2 cm) on sieves. Can be dried in the sun. Then the clusters are ground and the fruits are separated on sieves from the stalks and twigs. The yield of dry raw materials is 42-45%.
According to GOST 3318-74, the raw material consists of oblong-round or pear-shaped black wrinkled fruits up to 8 mm in diameter, with seeds up to 6 mm in diameter. There is no smell. The taste is tart, slightly sour. Humidity is not higher than 14%. In raw materials, no more than (percent) is allowed: fruits of burnt or damaged by insects – 3, unripe fruits (reddish and brown) – 4, other parts of bird cherry – 2, organic impurities – 1, mineral – 0.5.
Dry fruits are packed in bags weighing 60 kg. They should be stored in dry, well-ventilated areas on pallets or racks. Storage period up to 5 years.
The fruits contain tannins, organic acids (malic, citric), in the seeds – amygdalin, fatty oil. Used as an astringent for diarrhea. They are part of the gastric collection.