Everyone knows the mountain ash - a tree, without which it is hard to imagine a front garden at the house, a shady corner of the park, an alley on the city boulevard. However, the life expectancy of mountain ash, along with the peculiarities of its growth, as well as the useful and medicinal properties of this plant for many still remain a secret.
Description of mountain ash
The first word in the Latin name of the mountain ash - Sorbus aucuparia - means "bird". However, in our language another botanical species is so called. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, the Russian name of this plant is not a literal translation of Latin.
Vonega, divorcee, vispina, sparrow, judik, pea, hazel grouse - this is popularly called mountain ash in different places. This tree has been known since ancient times. It was mentioned in the works of ancient scientists, in particular Virgil and Pliny. Its fruits are edible and were eaten in the past.
Mountain ash is a bush or a low tree with a height of four to fifteen meters. The bark of its trunk, as a rule, is brownish-gray (in young shoots it is light gray). Leaves are unpaired, in length they reach twenty centimeters. The individual plates of which the composite sheet consists are oblong and have sharp teeth along the edges.
Mountain ash inflorescences are small scutes (up to ten centimeters across), white flowers. The fruits are round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter, bitter or tart to the taste. They are usually bright red, but sometimes the color may be yellowish or orange. They ripen, depending on the place of growth of mountain ash, mainly from September to October (less often - November).
Distribution area
Mountain ash belongs to frost-resistant plants. It is widespread in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. It is known that the places where mountain ash grows are sometimes found even beyond the Arctic Circle.
In the wild, these trees tend to grow singly or in small groups. Favorite habitats are the slopes of ravines, clearings and forest edges. Mountain ash prefers sod-podzolic and medium loamy soils. On poor and sandy soils, it grows poorly. The science has also proved that the life expectancy of mountain ash is longer with high humidity.
Mountain ash grows in large numbers in Belarus, Ukraine (Galicia, Polesie), as well as in the European part of Russia. In the Baltic states, Scandinavian countries, the Far East and Siberia, other species of this plant are found.
Features of the growth of mountain ash
During germination, the cotyledons are brought to the surface. They usually live from fifty to eighty days. Rowan begins to grow earlier than an apple tree or pear, but blooms a week later than they.
In the first year of life, mountain ash sprouts develop slowly, and from the second or third year, shoots begin to grow rapidly. In young trees, crowns often have a pyramidal shape, which later changes to rounded under the weight of foliage and fruits. Most mountain ash species dominate apical growth.
Under the forest canopy, the life expectancy of mountain ash is reduced. These trees grow best and bear fruit more abundantly in well-lit places with moderate humidity.
How long does mountain ash live?
Compared to other deciduous trees, this plant is not considered a long-liver. The average life expectancy of mountain ash in nature is eighty to one hundred years. Sometimes the age of individual specimens reaches one hundred to one hundred and fifty, and sometimes even up to two hundred years, but these are exceptional cases.
Less than mountain ash, only alder (fifty to seventy years old) and home plum (up to sixty years old) live.
Beneficial features
The fruits of mountain ash are recognized not only folk, but also official medicine. This product has a high level of vitamins (primarily A and C), its diuretic and hemostatic effects are also known.
After the first autumn frosts, ripened rowan berries lose their bitterness, acquiring a sweet taste. On the day of Peter and Paul - "Ryabinnikov", honored on September 23, our ancestors harvested healing mountain ash kvass, which was considered an excellent laxative and coolant, as well as helping to treat various inflammations. Compotes were made from berries and infusions were made, which were then used in the treatment of colds, atherosclerosis, rheumatism, heart failure.
Tea from flowers and berries of mountain ash with the addition of mint is a good remedy for overwork.
Residents of the northern regions and today often eat raw rowan berries, and also dry them, soak and ferment. From this berry is obtained a delicious jam, pastille, marmalade, jelly and jam.
It is also known that fruits and vegetables, which were stored with rowan leaves when stored in the cellars, are stored much longer and better.
