Cloudberry (Latin Rubus chamaemorus) is a species of perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Rubus (Rubus) of the Rosaceae family.
The name
"Cloudberry" is both the name of the plant and its fruits.
In ancient times they were called "swamp amber", "eyes of the swamp", "swamp guard". In the north, the name "royal berry" has taken root.
Folk names: moss currant, gloshina, northern orange, Arctic raspberry.
Ontogenesis
In the ontogenesis of cloudberry, three stages are distinguished: a single-walled plant (1-6 years of life), the formation of a curtain (6-10 years), the formation of a clone (from 10 years). The seeds germinate after dormancy in early June. For 5-6 years, one of the dormant underground buds gives escape, so the formation of the curtain begins. With subsequent growth, rhizomes are destroyed, the connection of daughter plants is lost, a clone of many individuals is formed. Clones are especially characteristic of the berry patch habitat with extremely unfavorable environmental conditions.
In natural populations, males predominate over females.
Botanical description
Herbaceous or semi-shrubby plant up to 30 cm tall, with a creeping rhizome.
The stems are thin, erect, with two or three leaves and one apical flower with white petals.
The leaves are wrinkled, round-kidney-shaped, five-lobed, irregularly shaped along the edge.
The flowers are unisexual, single, white. Staminate and pistillate flowers are found on different plants, male flowers are slightly larger. There are five sepals and petals; stamens and pistils are numerous. Blooms in June — July, and after 40-45 days the berries ripen.
The fruit is a combined drupe with a diameter of 1.5 cm, resembles raspberry fruits in shape, but has a special smell and taste. Unripe berries are yellow—red, with some "creakiness", dense, and mature - orange, almost transparent, resemble pure bright amber.
The fruits are harvested in July — August, the roots are harvested in late autumn.
Distribution
Cloudberry grows in the northern hemisphere from 78°N to about 55°N. In very rare cases, it occurs up to 44 ° N, mainly in mountainous areas.
It is found in peat bogs, swampy forests, moss and shrub tundra in the Arctic and northern forest zone of the northern hemisphere, in the middle zone of the European part of Russia, in Belarus, Siberia, and the Far East. Sometimes cultivated.
Cloudberry berries are adjacent to lingonberries, watermelon, blueberries, blueberries, there is often a bagulnik growing nearby, a lot of sphagnum moss. Such places are the favorite pastures of white partridges and talking grouse.
Cloudberry is one of the symbols of Finland. Since 1999, the Mint of the country has been minting a 2 euro coin with a cloudberry image, created by architect and designer Raimo Heino.
Chemical composition
Mature berries contain sugars (6%), proteins (0.8%), fiber (3.8%), organic acids: malic, citric — (0.8%); vitamins C (30-200 mg), B (0.02 mg), PP (0.15%), A; minerals: a lot of potassium, phosphorus, iron, cobalt, anthocyanins, tannins and pectins.
Meaning and application
Cloudberry is a source of useful substances; thus, vitamin C in cloudberries is 4 times more than in oranges.
Fruits with good taste are used in various types (fresh, in the form of jam, juice, jam, jam, compote). It is stored for a long time in a wet form. In Finland and Sweden, cloudberry liqueur is produced, which is popular among foreign tourists.
Cloudberry flowers give honey bees nectar and pollen.
Only slightly unripe cloudberry berries are harvested, since ripe soft berries are absolutely not transportable.
In Norway, everyone is allowed to collect cloudberries in state-owned forests, but only local residents have the right to transport berries. The rest of those who wish can only eat cloudberries at the gathering place. Also in Norway, the collection of unripe cloudberries is prohibited.
A favorite food of deer that eat leaves all summer until they are coarsened. They eat berries well. Horses, goats and pigs are eaten selectively. Roots and rhizomes have a pasture value. The aboveground part retains its fodder value under the snow.
Medical significance
Cloudberry is used in dietary and therapeutic nutrition, for the treatment of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, burns and skin diseases, in case of poisoning with heavy metals, as an anticonvulsant.
Cloudberry berries have antimicrobial, diaphoretic, antispasmodic effects. The content of provitamin A cloudberry surpasses carrots. Cloudberry is a source of tocopherols, which are necessary for the normal course of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child.
Fruits can be used as an aid in the treatment of vitamin deficiency and hypovitaminosis. In addition, they have a diuretic effect. The berry is used as a thirst quencher, which is useful for colds. Cloudberry with honey can be given when feeding weakened patients. Cloudberry is able to enhance blood clotting, has a fixing effect. However, with peptic ulcer of the stomach, duodenum and gastritis with increased acidity, especially during the period of exacerbation, cloudberry should not be consumed.
The leaves have astringent, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic and diuretic effects. Decoction of leaves is used for ascites. They can be used as an aid for diarrhea, dropsy, cystitis, gout and metabolic disorders. Infusion of leaves is used as an anti-inflammatory and wound healing agent for internal bleeding, diarrhea.
Fruits and leaves in the form of an infusion are taken in folk medicine as a diuretic, for gastritis with low acidity, malignant tumors.
Cloudberry roots are used as a diuretic, for kidney stones, vitamin deficiency, metabolic disorders, colds and malaria.
Cloudberry juice lubricates the affected areas of the skin with scabies.
Cloudberry is effective in the treatment of non-healing wounds. At the same time, berries and other parts of the plant are used: leaves, roots, sepals.
One of the common diseases of the inhabitants of the polar countries is scurvy. The name of this disease among the Nenets — singa, sigga — is borrowed from the Russians, but methods of combating it were found long before their arrival. Therefore, newcomers suffered more from scurvy until they borrowed medicines from the Nenets, Khanty, Pomors, Evens, Koryaks, Chukchi and Eskimos, which also included cloudberry.
Khanty and Nenets use cloudberry leaves as a dressing and hemostatic material. Khanty people apply cloudberry leaves smeared with fish oil to festering wounds to accelerate their release from pus, changing them twice a day.
Cloudberry was Alexander Pushkin's favorite berry. It is known that before his death he asked his wife for soaked cloudberries.
Protected status
Cloudberry is listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus. Cloudberry is also protected in Poland.
