Dogwood (Rubus saxatilis); Rose family (Rosaceae); petiole stony
Magnificent ruby stone fruits are refreshing and quench thirst, only the stone is big. The closest relative of the raspberry and blackberry, the dogwood has not succeeded in growing: its fruit-bearing shoots rise only 10-30 cm above the ground. However, it multiplies much faster than raspberries – mustache-shoots grow at a rate of 3-4 cm per day.
Dogwood is a perennial plant, densely pubescent with hairs and covered with thorns, rough to the touch. The leaves are triangular, pubescent, especially thick pubescence from below. The flowers are white, in sparse racemes, sometimes solitary. The plant blooms in June-July. The fruits ripen in July-August. Berries in the drupe fruit are so tightly pressed to each other that individual ones become faceted. It is no coincidence that the Russian phenologist D.P. Zuev called the ossuary “the pomegranate of the north”. In the middle zone of Russia and in Siberia, it grows in broad-leaved and light coniferous forests. It goes to the north approximately to the latitude of Arkhangelsk. In Ukraine, it grows in all forest areas, among shrubs, rarely in the forest-steppe zone, extremely rarely, only in river valleys, in the steppe zone.
Fruit juice and decoction of plant leaves are used medicinally in traditional medicine. The fruits contain flavonoids, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) (up to 150 mg%), other vitamins, pectin and tannins, organic acids, and the grass contains alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and vitamins.
Fruit juice shows anti-singing and protistocidal properties (it has a harmful effect on protozoa). In traditional medicine, it is prescribed for anemia and metabolic disorders. A decoction of leaves is used to wash the head with seborrhea.
The nutritional quality of the stone is quite high. Excellent jellies, juices, compotes, morsas and jellies are made from it. Dry seeds, ground into flour, are added to the dough when baking confectionery. Only fresh berries cannot be stored for a long time – they quickly wrinkle and congeal.
The ossuary has another wonderful property: it serves as a barometer — it helps predict the weather. If its leaves are twisted – wait for dry weather, you can mow and collect hay, and if they are straightened – it will rain.
Decoction of leaves (external). A tablespoon of raw materials per 400 ml of boiling water, heated in a water bath for 15 minutes, filtered. For washing the head with seborrhea.