Common cherry blooms in May - June. It bears fruit in August through September. Honeycreeper (Fig. 86).
:fig1:
Widespread in the European part of the USSR, the Caucasus, Western Siberia, Central Asia. It grows along river banks, in shrub thickets, in forest clearings and edges. Common cherry is cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Used mature cherry fruit without stalks, odorless, their taste is sour, astringent.
Chemical composition
.The glycoside amygdalin, which cleaves hydrocyanic acid, is found in all parts of the plant; the highest amygdalin content is found in the bark (up to 2%) and in the seeds (1.5%). Fruits, leaves and flowers of cherry have phytoncidal properties. Flowers usually produce less (about half) phytoncide production than its leaves.
Studies have established that one of the important components of the phytoncidal complex of cherry for therapeutic purposes is benzoic aldehyde. Bird cherry fruit organic acids, ascorbic acid, sugars, tannins, malic and citric acids. In leaves and flowers - essential oil, which includes glycoside prunasin, causing their odor, as well as ammonia, isoamylamine, trimethylamine, vitamin C; in bark - glycoside prulaurazin, tannins.
The leaves, bark, seeds and flowers of cherry are poisonous due to the presence of hydrocyanic acid.
Action and application
.Bird cherry fruit has a pronounced astringent property. In medicine, a decoction of the fruit or infusion is used internally as an astringent, antidiarrheal agent. Recently, attention has been drawn to the use of cherry as a phytoncidal plant in the treatment of trichomonadal colpitis.
In domestic folk medicine infusion of fruits is used as an anti-diarrheal agent. Cherry blossoms are also used to prepare an infusion. It is recommended as a lotion for inflammatory diseases of the mucous membrane of the eyes. Bark from young branches in the form of decoction - as diaphoretic and antifever, in the form of infusion - from rheumatism. In lung diseases, the leaves and flowers are brewed and consumed as tea.
We use cherry blossoms, leaves and fruits as an antimicrobial and astringent. In trichomonadal colpitis - in the form of sprays.
The fruit of the cherry tree is edible. The flour from them is a food product as a filling to the dough. Flour, boiled with water, together with honey is used for making soursels or instead of jam. The fruits are used in liquor production..
