Content
Blood-red hawthorn is common in eastern Russia, Mongolia, and China. This plant grows wild in forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones, in floodplains. Like other types of hawthorn, it lives about 300-400 years. Birds in the forests in winter feed on its berries, as they are very healthy. Watching wildlife helped people become interested in this plant and study its properties. Siberian hawthorn is used in medicine and landscape design.
Blood red hawthorn: description
The plant got its name from the color of its fruits; people also have other names for it. For example, the description of Siberian hawthorn focuses not on the color of the fruit, but on its growing area. This is a small tree or tall shrub from 1 to 6 m, unpretentious in maintenance and care. It grows well and quickly, blooms and bears abundantly, if there have been no spring frosts. The shrub is frost-resistant and tolerates even severe frosts well, the only weak point is the young buds.
Characteristics and appearance of blood-red hawthorn
The trunk of the hawthorn is blood-red, dark or gray-brown in color, up to 10 cm in diameter. Old branches may have a reddish tint, while young shoots are shiny, at first they are pubescent and then become bare. The trunk and branches are covered with hard, thick spines 1.5-4 cm long. On young branches the thorns harden after leaf fall.
The leaves are ovate or rhombic in shape. Their edges are unevenly serrated. Consist of 3 or 5 stipules. On short branches they have a length from 3 to 6 cm and a width from 2.5 to 5 cm. On older branches they can have large dimensions. They are located on a short petiole. The surface of the leaf blade is covered with a small pile, dark green on top and lighter below.
The root system of blood-red hawthorn is well developed. It often grows in patches. The roots are located near the surface and do not like high groundwater levels.
Description of blood red hawthorn fruits
Photos and descriptions of blood-red hawthorn clearly demonstrate its fruits, which give it its name. Their color is blood-red, less often yellow-orange. In shape they have an almost regular ball with a diameter of 8-10 mm, reminiscent of small apples. When the meat-red hawthorn ripens, almost all the berries are occupied by seeds. There are from 3 to 5 with sizes up to 7 mm long and up to 5 mm wide. The pulp is mealy. There is not much of it, but abundant fruiting compensates for this deficiency.
They taste bitter, sourish-sweet. When dried, they may become covered with a white coating - crystallized sugar.When dry, they can be stored for up to 8 years.
Blood red hawthorn fruiting
The plant begins to bear fruit at 10-15 years of age, when it has sufficiently taken root and grown. It grows slowly, but lives up to 200-300 years. The flowering of the bush begins in May-June and lasts 1-2 weeks. The entire plant is covered with dense multi-flowered inflorescences. They are 3-4 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. The pedicels can be bare or fleecy. The petals have a round shape. The flowers of blood-red hawthorn are white with a slight yellowish tint and fall quickly. The stamens are long with a dark red tip. Siberian hawthorn has bisexual flowers. The fruits ripen in late September or early October. Harvesting can continue until the first frost.
Planting and caring for blood-red hawthorn
This plant is unpretentious, but when growing and planting it, you must adhere to several rules:
- Siberian blood-red hawthorn propagates both by seeds and cuttings. For hedges, seeds are planted in April; the plantings should be dense. For a free-standing bush, choose cuttings 10-12 cm long or seedlings. The time for their planting is the beginning of spring or autumn. Holes up to 1 m deep are dug in advance, their bottom is covered with a layer of drainage, for example, broken bricks and lime.
- For planting, choose sunny places so that flowering is abundant. The soil needs to be fertile.
- Watering is carried out once a month, 10 liters per bush.During dry periods, water several times a month. The soil must be moist. The top root zone is mulched.
- Fertilize in the spring with slurry for better fruiting.
- Regular pruning of shoots in early spring is required. You can give the crown a spherical or pyramidal shape. Blood red hawthorn grows as a bush or tree.
Uses of blood red hawthorn
In the works of ancient Greek philosophers of the 1st century. BC e and 1st century. n. e. The healing properties of the plant and methods of its use are mentioned. Many peoples believed that thorns protected from evil spirits, and they decorated the entrance to the house with branches. Since the beginning of the 19th century, scientists have actively conducted research on the bush and found it used not only in medicine, but also as a raw material for paint and material for breeding work. Toys and decorative household utensils are carved from wood. Today, blood-red hawthorn is more often used as an ornamental tree or shrub.
In folk medicine
The flowers, bark and berries of the plant have beneficial properties. Teas, decoctions, and tinctures are prepared on their basis. Siberian hawthorn is used for:
- normalization of heart function in case of angina pectoris, atherosclerosis;
- treatment of high blood pressure;
- as a means to calm the nervous system;
- treatment of insomnia;
- normalization of the thyroid gland;
- increasing lactation;
- with diarrhea;
- liver treatment;
- treatment of fever;
- strengthening the immune system;
- fight obesity.
Despite the fact that this is a natural raw material, blood-red hawthorn has contraindications for use.You cannot take medications with it if you have low blood pressure, pregnancy, kidney failure, arrhythmia, or autism.
In cooking
In the photo, the Siberian hawthorn is a bright and beautiful fruit. It found its application in cooking. The fruits can be eaten raw. They are also used for cooking compotes, jelly, jam, making jelly, marmalade. In dried form, berries and flowers are used to brew tea and coffee. When crushed, it is added to baking flour. The nectar of the plant is collected by bees - you can find hawthorn honey.
In landscape design
From a decorative point of view, the shrub attracts attention in the spring during the flowering period and in the fall when the berries ripen. This is the king of ornamental plants. Since 1822 it has been used to decorate gardens and parks. A hedge of blood-red hawthorn looks very beautiful; it has dense shoots and sharp thorns that reliably protect against uninvited guests and animals. The shrub is valuable because it requires constant trimming and lends itself well to crown formation when pruned into different geometric shapes. It can even be grown as a bonsai.
Conclusion
Blood-red Siberian hawthorn is an ornamental and medicinal plant at the same time. It is easy to grow it on the plot. One bush is enough to provide the whole family with fruits. It grows for a long time, does not like frosts and flooding. It has high productivity. It takes root well in places remote from its wild growth.
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