Viburnum vulgaris (red) has established itself primarily as an effective therapeutic agent for many ailments. Also, the raw materials of this deciduous tree shrub are widely used in cooking, cosmetology and gardening.
Description of common viburnum
This plant has a grayish-brown color and longitudinal cracks. The minimum height of the bush is 1.5 m, the maximum is 4 m. The lifespan of viburnum can reach 50 years or more. The length of the opposite petiole leaves is 5-10 cm, the width is 5-8 cm. The shape is round and ovoid. On top of the leaves I have a dark green tint, below - grayish green. In the fall, the color can be red-orange and purple. Leaves have a more or less thick velvety surface. Furrowed one- or two-centimeter petioles are characterized by the presence of two stipules at the base.
Naked or ribbed rounded shoots with large lentils are grayish-white, yellow-brown and red in color. The hexagonal core has a white tint mixed with red. Reddish-green ovoid buds have two fused hairless, slightly shiny and sticky scales. Above they are reddish-brown, and at the base - gray or greenish. On the fruit shoots are two false-pointed buds, and on the barren - one.
Heteromorphic flowers are collected in an umbrella-shaped beam panicle in the amount of 6-8 pieces. Their diameter varies from 5 to 8 cm. The parts of the inflorescence located on the tops of young branches are either with very small scattered glands or bare. Five stamens have yellow anthers. The pistil is characterized by a lower, three-nested ovary of cylindrical shape, a tripartite stigma, and a conical column. The flowering period begins in late May and usually lasts one and a half to two weeks.
Fruit
Bright red berries of viburnum have a spherical or oval shape with a diameter of 8-10 mm. A flattened large bone (7–9 mm) is characterized by an uneven surface and a sharp point at the apex. 1,000 seeds weigh 20-30 g. You can save them a year.
The taste of juicy fruits of viburnum vulgaris is characterized by viscosity and slight bitterness, which disappears after the first winter. Berries ripen in August and September.
Area of distribution and methods of reproduction
Despite the fact that viburnum copes well with waterlogging, frosty and arid weather, it can most often be found in countries of Asia and Europe, characterized by a temperate climate. It is a common plant in the Caucasus, Crimea, Kazakhstan, North Africa, Eastern and Western Siberia. In the steppe region, it predominantly focuses on rivers; in forest areas, it prefers moist soil of edges, glades and clearings. Viburnum is seen in spruce, fir, pine, oak, hornbeam, black alder, birch and aspen undergrowths. In the northern and forest-steppe zones, shrubs form floodplain thickets.
Viburnum vulgaris is an insect-pollinated plant. They are attracted by barren marginal flowers. The pollination function is performed mainly by beetles, hymenoptera and dipterous. Also, the plant reproduces with the help of fruits that carry birds, seeds, root offspring and layering.
Stone processing
Before planting, the seeds of viburnum ordinary must be subjected to two-stage stratification. First, the bones should be indoors for 18 hours at a temperature of 20 ° C, then 6 hours - at 30 ° C. At this stage, the embryo develops and the root system germinates. During the second step, the seeds are exposed to a temperature of 5-10 ° C for 2-4 months, during which an shoot is formed and the dormancy of the epicotyl is eliminated.
Pharmacognosy
Viburnum vulgaris is a rich source of medicinal plant materials. Its bark contains carbohydrates and a large number of related compounds: pectin, myricyl alcohol, cellulose, phlobafen, resin and phytosterol. Essential oil contains formic, caproic, acetic, valerianic, caprylic, linolenic and phenolcarboxylic acids; saponins, iridoids, alkaloids, coumarins, vitamin C, triterpenoids, glycoside, viburnin, flavonoids, leukoanthocyanins and anthraquinones. The woody composition of common viburnum includes tannins.
The fruits of the plant contain carbohydrates, namely glucose, polysaccharides, fructose, xylose, mannose, rhamnose, sucrose, galactose and arabinose. The berries also include acetic, isovalerianic and phenolcarboxylic organic acid derivatives, pectin, triterpenoids, steroids, carotene, vitamin C, tannins, sambucin, catechins, flavanoids and a large amount of potassium salts.
Viburnum roots are rich in triterpenoids, essential oils, vitamin K and C. Branches contain tannins and salicin. The composition of the plant's flowers includes ursolic acid, peonoside, kempferol, astragaline and other flavonoids. Leaves contain saponins, phenols, viopuridal, iridoids, vitamin C, steroids, alkaloids, coumarins and anthocyanins. They also include phenolcarboxylic and higher fatty acids (coffee, chloragenic and neochloragenic, oleic, linolenic, behenic, myristic, stearic, arachinic, cerotinic and others).
Pharmacological properties
Common viburnum, namely its bark, is widely used in practical medicine. In the form of extract and decoction, it acts as an anti-inflammatory and hemostatic agent for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, menopause, hemorrhoids and algomenorrhea. An infusion of bark has a sedative effect in epilepsy, essential hypertension, hysteria and neurosis. It is used externally for periodontal disease and herpes. Acute and catarrhal rhinitis and tracheobronchitis are treated with bark agents in the form of inhalations, irrigation and drops.
In practical medicine, infusion and fresh berries of viburnum are used as a vitamin, laxative and diaphoretic. Fruit extract produces a healing effect. Using collection enhances myocardial contraction. In veterinary medicine, a decoction of the bark is used as a digestive aid. Infusion of flowers treats foot and mouth disease in large horned animals.
Raw material preparation
The healing properties are contained in the berries and bark of Viburnum vulgaris. The latter should be collected from felled plants before budding and during sap flow, that is, in early spring. Pieces of bark must be dried, crushed and dried in the open air or under the influence of high temperatures, namely 50-60 ° C. If the raw materials break easily, the preparation process has been successfully completed.
Berries fully ripen in September and October. Collected drupes should be dried and dried to a solid state at a temperature of 70-80 ° C. At the end of the process, the stalks are separated. Flowers and leaves of viburnum are also considered medicinal. They are harvested and harvested in late spring and early summer. For drying flowers and leaves, both high air temperature (about 50 ° C) and a well-ventilated place are suitable. Finished raw materials are well stored in a cotton bag.
Use in traditional medicine
Residents of many countries have long believed in the healing properties of common viburnum (in Latin the plant has the name Viburnum opulus). A decoction of the cortex was used for neurosis, epilepsy, respiratory and female diseases, cardiac and renal edema. Infusion of leaves is used for angina. Decoction of branches helps with hemorrhoids, respiratory infections, scrofula, throat diseases, and also externally with conjunctivitis. Residents of China used the fruits and leaves of viburnum as a laxative and emetic.
The infusion and decoction of the flowers of the plant have a diaphoretic, expectorant, diuretic and astringent effect. Also used externally for flushing wounds and as a fight against tuberculosis of the skin and tonsillitis. The infusion of berries has a hypotensive, choleretic, sedative, restorative and anti-inflammatory effect in convulsions, insomnia, hysteria, eczema, boils, carbuncles and gastric ulcers. A decoction of seeds helps with dyspepsia. Berry juice was used to treat bronchial asthma, headache, carcinoma and skin cancer.
Viburnum and cooking
Berries have a special aromatic bouquet. The first frosts relieve them of bitterness. From the fruits of viburnum, tasty and healthy juices, jelly, extracts, wines, tinctures and liqueurs are obtained, which have a peculiar sour taste.
Berries are suitable for cooking meat seasonings and pie fillings. Fruits contain a large number of pectins, so they make natural marmalade. Many convert berry juice to vinegar. Plant seeds have a tonic effect, so they often replace caffeine.
Red viburnum in a garden decor
Beautifully flowering shrubs are often grown in parks and gardens. Derived decorative varieties are especially popular, which differ from each other in height, color, leaf shape, intensity and duration of flowering. Viburnum is able to withstand prolonged frosts (−35 ° C and more). Smoke and industrial gas have almost no effect on the life of the plant.
Roseum
This decorative variety of viburnum vulgaris is used as a single abundantly flowering shrub near buildings and hedges. The height of an adult plant is approximately 4 m. The shape of the crown is round. During the year, viburnum increases by 30-70 cm. In autumn, the light green color of leaves is replaced by yellow-red. Snow-white flowers form a large number of large spherical caps, which cover the entire bush.
Common viburnum Roseum grows well in places with moist, nutrient-rich soil. Able to tolerate short waterlogging of the soil. It is useful to carry out anti-aging pruning. The plant has an average resistance to pests and diseases. It blooms equally plentifully and continuously both in sunny places and in partial shade. The shrub has a fairly high frost resistance. For example, in the field of the Vnukovo nursery, viburnum experienced severe winters without any damage.
Compactum
This ornamental shrub is small (about 1.5 m), but a dense plant with light green leaves and a wide rounded crown. Creamy white flowers. In August and September, viburnum bears fruit in numerous light-red drupes, forming clusters. Berries, whose diameter is not more than 1 cm, can remain on the bush for a long time.
Young common viburnum "compactum" grows slowly, but over the years the process is significantly accelerated. The bush begins to bloom about five years after planting in May and June. The plant prefers slightly acidic or strongly alkaline fresh fertile soil. In general, the bush is unpretentious in maintenance. It tolerates forming trimming carried out in the spring. Constantly needs fresh air, as this protects the plant from aphids.
As for fertilizer, the introduction of organic-mineral substances is always beneficial for viburnum. The decorative compactum variety is grown singly or in groups to create mixborders, hedges and other landscape compositions. It has high frost resistance. One of the main features of viburnum of this species is flowering and fertility at a young age. Drupe stays on the plant throughout the winter, while maintaining its color. These properties are very beneficial for many birds.
Fruit breeding
The bush of the variety “taiga ruby” with an oval crown has a height of not more than 3.5 m. The mass of spherical dark cherry fruits is 0.5 g. The taste of berries is characterized by a slight sweetness and pleasant bitterness. From the bush during the fruitful season, you can collect more than 9 kg of drupes. On the viburnum of the “red bunch” variety, delicious sweet and sour berries weighing 0.74 g are grown, which can be consumed fresh. The average yield of the bush is 4 kg.
The fruits of the “zarnitsa” variety have a sour-bitter aftertaste. The ripened light red drupes are characterized by an ellipsoid-pointed shape. The average yield of shrubs does not exceed 5 kg. The weight of the berry is 0.7 g. The variety "red coral" differs from other breeds of viburnum with its high productivity. The total weight of fragrant berries on one shrub often exceeds 10 kg.
On the viburnum of the “pomegranate bracelet” variety, maroon oval fruits with a rather dense skin grow. The weight of one berry usually exceeds 1 g. Slightly bitter, pleasant fruits can be eaten fresh. A distinctive feature of the "garnet bracelet" is considered to be high resistance to aphids. From one bush you can collect about 15 kg of berries.