In the autumn forest, bunches of mountain ash blazing with crimson look especially beautiful against the background of its dark openwork leaves. In Russia, this plant has been in great honor since ancient times: sincere songs are sung about it, riddles are put together.
Rowan begins to bear fruit at 8-10 years and so on until the age of 100-150 years, and she lives up to 200 years. The harvest of fruits from one large tree can reach 600-1000 kilograms. The time of their collection is September – October. The forest beauty is unpretentious, easily tolerates severe frosts and drought.
To preserve the mountain ash for several months, you can dry it, freeze it, or boil it with jam. It is recommended to add mountain ash to pies or to make medicinal teas from it.
The chemical composition of rowan fruits
Rowan is one of the most valuable plants: due to the high content of biologically active substances, its berries have a tonic, prophylactic effect.
Ripe fruits contain 60-200 mg% vitamin C, up to 18 mg% carotene, as well as vitamins B1, P and E, tannins, pectins, flavonoids, essential oil, sorbitol, organic acids (malic, citric, tartaric), potassium , calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, iodine, boron. In terms of the amount of carotene, rowan berries "overtake" carrots, and in terms of vitamin P content (about 800 mg%), it occupies one of the first places among fruit and berry crops, surpassing apples and oranges by almost 10 times. This vitamin has a vaso-strengthening effect, stimulates the restoration of muscle and bone tissues, activates the activity of the thyroid and adrenal glands, and has a protective effect against viral diseases.
Rowan medicinal properties
Due to the unique natural complex, rowan fruits help well with scurvy, anemia, liver and kidney diseases. Their infusion has a slight stimulating effect on the secretion of the digestive glands (with gastritis with low acidity), on the tone of the gastrointestinal tract, has a slight choleretic and diuretic effect. The choleretic effect of mountain ash infusion is close to the action of magnesium sulfate. This increases mainly the outflow of bile from the gallbladder.
Decoctions of berries and bark are used for hypertension and as a hemostatic agent. A syrup made from the juice of fresh, fully ripe fruits is a good laxative and diuretic.
Thanks to amygdalin, mountain ash increases the body's resistance to oxygen starvation. Amygdalin also counteracts lipid oxidation (as a result of the self-oxidation of intracellular fats, toxic substances are formed that disrupt the functioning of cells). Vitamins C and E contained in rowan berries also protect intracellular fats from oxidation. The action of these substances prevents the development of atherosclerosis and improves the general condition of the body.
In folk medicine, infusions of rowan fruits are used for scurvy and other vitamin deficiencies. Water decoctions are also used for rheumatism and as an astringent for bowel diseases. Tincture of berries on vodka is taken for hemorrhoids. And the flowers are steamed and drunk like tea for colds and goiter.
Ripe fruits are used as medicinal raw materials. They need to be harvested after frost, when the berries become less bitter and sour. Sort the collected rowan, separate the twigs, leaves. Then rinse. If the berries are very dirty, then rinse them in water 2-3 times. Then put the berries on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 40-50 ° C. By the end of drying, increase the temperature to 60 ° C. Since the berries are small, they dry quickly - within 2–4 hours. So watch them as they dry so they don't burn or dry out.
Dry fruits are prepared vitamin and general strengthening tea: 1 tablespoon of them is poured with two glasses of boiling water, boiled in a water bath for 15 minutes, insisted until cooled and filtered. Drink a quarter glass 3 times a day).
Another recipe: pour 200 g of mountain ash with a glass of boiling water and leave for 4 hours.Then strain and drink half a glass 2-3 times a day before meals for gastritis with low acidity of gastric juice, kidney disease, liver disease, atherosclerosis, hemorrhoids and bleeding.
Fresh fruits can be squeezed juice, which is drunk a teaspoon before meals for hypacid gastritis. Pour 2 kg of washed berries with 2 liters of water and cook until the berries soften. Then rub them through a sieve. Squeeze the juice and pasteurize it in glass jars for 15 minutes. Drink 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
If you decide to extract juice using sugar, then you must first cover the berries with sugar (for 1 kg of berries - 600 g of sugar), leave for 4–6 hours, then boil for 30 minutes. The resulting juice should be taken one tablespoon before meals 3-4 times a day.
Another way to preserve rowan is freezing. When frozen, the appearance, color and taste of the berries are almost completely preserved.
In winter, tea with mountain ash jam is very useful. The jam, cooked from mountain ash, harvested after the first frosts, turns out to be very tasty. First, separate the berries from the brushes and blast them in water for 4–5 minutes at 96–100 ° C. Then make a syrup with 3 glasses of water and 1.5 kg of sugar. Put 1 kg of rowan in it and stand for 6-8 hours. Then cook until tender, removing 4-5 times after boiling for 10-15 minutes to cool and remove the foam. So that the berries are saturated with syrup, after cooking, cool the jam and stand for 12 hours. Then remove the berries from the syrup and put them in jars, and keep the syrup on fire for a little more and pour the mountain ash hot. You can add a little cinnamon or vanillin to the jam.
Vitamin teas with rowan
- Make a collection of 20 g of mountain ash, 2 g of oregano herb, 3 g of peppermint leaves. For a teapot - 1 teaspoon of the collection. Pour boiling water over and leave for 30 minutes. Drink like tea.
- Take 50 ml of rowan and cranberry juice. Dissolve in 0.5 liters of chilled boiled water. Add sugar to taste.
- Take 20 g of mountain ash and 25 g of rose hips. Pour in all 400 ml of water and boil for 10 minutes. Insist in a warm place for 12 hours, then strain. Drink half a glass 2-3 times a day for hypovitaminosis and general weakness.
- Take 1 part rowan, oregano herb and 3 parts rose hips. Pound and mix the rowan and rosehip. Pour 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture with 1 cup boiling water, bring to a boil, add oregano, leave for 1 hour and strain. Drink half a glass 2-3 times a day.
Rowan fruits are contraindicated in case of increased blood clotting and increased acidity of gastric juice.
Pastila, marmalade, tinctures, kvass and vinegar are also prepared from mountain ash. Dried and ground berries are added to confectionery. Freshly cut branches with fruits have amazing properties. Placed in water, they keep it fresh for up to four years; without berries, the water deteriorates within a few days.
Chopped up rowan leaves are placed in stored potatoes to prevent spoilage. Resilient and durable wood is used for musical instruments and other crafts. The bark contains up to 14% tannins and can serve as a tanning agent. Rowan is considered a good honey plant.
"Ural gardener", No. 51, 2018
