Four-petal cranberry (Oxycoccus palustris, synonym — O. quadripetalus ); common cranberry, swamp cranberry; the Veres family (Egisaseae); four-lobed cranberry
In September-October, ruby-red berries attract the eye in the mossy swamps of the middle zone of Russia and in the tundra. You take one, and behind it stretches a stem as thin as a thread, on which, like beads, fruits are strung. Cranberries are a treasure trove of useful substances.
Cranberry is a perennial slender bush. The stem of the plant reaches a length of 60 cm, thread-like. The leaves are leathery, narrow-lanceolate, with edges bent downwards. The flowers are four-petalled (hence the name of the species), pink, and bloom in May. The fruit is a dark red juicy berry. Ripens in September-October. The plant is widespread in the cold and temperate zones of Eurasia and North America. In Ukraine, it occurs in the Carpathian Mountains, in the Carpathians, in Polissia in swampy forests, in swamps.
After the first frosts, cranberries are ready for harvesting. Berries are picked carefully, try not to crush them, as damaged ones do not store well. Collected fruits are placed in baskets and stored at zero temperature. Sometimes they are poured into tubs, filled with water and frozen. In this form, cranberries do not lose their taste and medicinal properties for a long time. In the spring, after the snow melts, you can pick the berries again – after wintering, they are much sweeter.
Cranberry is a source of substances useful for the body: its fruits contain vitamins, sugars, organic acids, tannins and pectin substances, micro- and macroelements. Berries have long been used by folk healers, the plant is also used in scientific medicine.
Cranberry refreshes, tones, increases mental and physical performance, improves digestion and relieves fever. The antisinging properties of the plant were well known to our ancestors. The use of its fruits dramatically improves the condition of hypo- and vitamin deficiency. Berries have diuretic and bactericidal properties, they are used for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the kidneys, urinary tract and bladder. Cranberry is prescribed to patients after some serious operations. The fruits of the plant also treat gastritis with reduced acidity, as well as the initial stages of pancreatitis. Berry juice with honey is useful for sore throats, coughs and rheumatism, it also helps with high blood pressure.
The use of the fruits of the plant is contraindicated for patients with peptic ulcer disease and acute inflammatory processes of the digestive tract.
Berries are eaten fresh, sometimes sweetened with sugar, juice, fruit juice, jelly, jelly and marmalade are made from them. Fruits are also used for sauerkraut. Sometimes jam with walnuts is made from cranberries – deliciousness!
In connection with the draining of swamps, the plant is reducing its growth area, so today special plantations are being created on which cranberries are grown in culture. At the same time, the yield increases 50-100 times, and the berries are much larger and at the same time do not lose their medicinal and taste properties.
Oxycoccus palustris