Mountain ash ordinary – gorobina zvichayna (harvesting and storage)

Name: Common mountain ash – gorobina zvichayna (harvesting and storage)

Rowan ordinary – Sorbus aueuparia L. The Ukrainian name is gorobina zvichayna, folk names are hornbeam, rabina.

 

Rosaceae family – Rosaceae.

The fruits are used for medicinal purposes.

Occurs in Polissya, in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe, in the mountainous part of the Crimea; in the Carpathians it rises to the upper border of the forest. Grows in forests, thickets of shrubs, sometimes along the banks of rivers, traditionally single bushes and groups. It is grown almost throughout Ukraine on the streets, in parks, roadside plantings, forest belts.

Stocks of raw materials are large. Dozens of tons of fruits can be harvested annually. The main preparations are expedient in the Carpathians (Transcarpathian, Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi regions) and Polissya (Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy regions). The average annual harvesting of dry fruits of mountain ash in the republic in 1974-1976. amounted to 66.7 tons.

Rowan ordinary – a tree up to 18 m in height, with a loose crown. The bark is smooth, grey. Young branches are pubescent. The leaves are alternate, pinnate, with 5-7 pairs of oblong-lanceolate, sawtooth-toothed leaflets. The flowers are fragrant, white, collected on the tops of the branches in dense corymbose (up to 10 cm in diameter) inflorescences. Fruits are spherical or oval, berry-shaped, red or orange-yellow, bitter, tart. The seeds are small. Blooms in May – June. The fruits ripen in August – September.

Harvest ripe fruits before the onset of frost (August – September). Whole clusters are cut with knives or secateurs and then the fruits are cut off.

After drying for several days in the sun, they are dried in ovens or dryers at a temperature of 50-60 °, laying out in a thin layer (3-5 cm) on grates or sheets.

According to GOST 6714-74, the raw material consists of rounded or oval-rounded, very wrinkled fruits within 9 mm in diameter, with the remains of a calyx in the form of five inconspicuous teeth, closing in the center, with 5-7 seeds, without stalks, red-orange in color . The taste is bitter-sour. The smell is weak, peculiar. Humidity is not higher than 18%. Not more than (percent) is allowed in raw materials: blackened, darkened and burnt fruits – 3, unripe fruits – 2, other parts of mountain ash – 0.5, fruits with stalks – 3, organic impurities (parts of other plants) – 0.5, mineral impurities – 0.2.

Packed in linen-jute bags weighing 20-40 kg. Store in dry, well-ventilated areas on pallets or racks. Storage period up to 2 years.

Fruits contain carotene, vitamins C and P, bitter substances, sugar, sorbose, sorbitol alcohol, organic acids, tannins, flavonoids, phospholipids, pectin substances. It is used in the form of an infusion as a multivitamin agent, is part of vitamin collections, and is also used in the confectionery and alcoholic beverage industries.