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Blood-red hawthorn is common in the eastern part of Our Country, Mongolia, and China. This plant grows wild in the forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones, in floodplains. Like other species of hawthorn, it lives for about 300-400 years. Birds in the forests in winter feed on its berries, as they are very useful. Observation of wildlife helped people to become interested in this plant, to study its properties. Siberian hawthorn is used in medicine and landscape design.
Hawthorn blood red: description
The plant got its name for the color of the fruit, it has other names among the people. For example, the description of the Siberian hawthorn focuses not on the color of the fruit, but on the area of its growth. This is a small tree or tall shrub from 1 to 6 m, unpretentious in maintenance and care. It grows well and quickly, blooms profusely and bears fruit, if there were no spring frosts. The shrub is frost-resistant and tolerates even severe frosts well, the only weak point is young buds.
Characteristics and appearance of blood red hawthorn
The trunk of a hawthorn is blood-red, ordinary dark or gray-brown in color, up to 10 cm in diameter. Old branches may have a reddish tint, and young shoots are shiny, 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 spines harden after leaf fall.
The leaves are ovate or rhombic in shape. Their edges are irregularly serrated. Consist of 3 or 5 stipules. On short branches, they are 3 to 6 cm long and 2,5 to 5 cm wide. On older branches, they can be large. They are located on a short petiole. The surface of the leaf plate is covered with a small pile, dark green above and lighter below.
The root system of the blood-red hawthorn is well developed. It often grows in patches. The roots are near the surface and do not like high groundwater levels.
Description of the blood-red hawthorn fruit
The photo and description of the blood-red hawthorn clearly demonstrate its fruits, which gave it its name. Their color is blood red, rarely yellow-orange. In shape, they have an almost regular ball with a diameter of 8-10 mm, they resemble small apples. When the meat-red hawthorn ripens, almost the entire berry is occupied by bones. They are from 3 to 5 with sizes up to 7 mm long and up to 5 mm wide. The pulp is mealy. It is not much, but abundant fruiting compensates for this shortcoming.
They taste bitter, sour-sweet. When dried, they can be covered with a white coating – crystallized sugar. Stored dry for up to 8 years.
Fruiting hawthorn blood red
The plant begins to bear fruit at the age of 10-15, when it takes root and grows enough. It grows slowly, but lives up to 200-300 years. Flowering shrub begins in May-June and lasts 1-2 weeks. The whole plant is covered with dense multi-flowered inflorescences. They are 3-4 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. Pedicels may be bare or hairy. The petals are round in shape. Blood red hawthorn flowers are white with a slight yellowish tint, quickly fall off. The stamens are long with a dark red tip. Hawthorn Siberian 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 is necessary to adhere to several rules:
- The hawthorn Siberian blood-red is propagated both by seeds and cuttings. For a hedge, seeds are planted in April, plantings should be dense. For a stand-alone bush, cuttings 10-12 cm long or seedlings are chosen. The time of their landing is the beginning of spring or autumn. Pits are dug in advance up to 1 m deep, their bottom is covered with a layer of drainage, for example, broken brick and lime.
- For planting, choose sunny places so that flowering is plentiful. The soil needs to be fertile.
- Watering is carried out once a month, 10 liters per bush. During the dry season, water several times a month. The soil must be moist. From above, the 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 is grown as a shrub or tree.
The use of hawthorn blood red
In the works of ancient Greek philosophers of the 19st century. BC e and I c. n. e. the medicinal 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 XNUMXth century, scientists have been actively conducting research on the bush and have found its use not only in medicine, but also as a raw material for paint and material for selection work. Toys and decorative household utensils are cut out of wood. Today, blood red hawthorn is more commonly used as an ornamental tree or shrub.
In folk medicine
Useful properties have flowers, bark and berries of the plant. On their basis, teas and decoctions, tinctures are prepared. Siberian hawthorn is used for:
- normalization of the heart in angina pectoris, atherosclerosis;
- treatment of high blood pressure;
- as a means of calming the nervous system;
- treatment of insomnia;
- normalization of the thyroid gland;
- increase in lactation;
- with pride;
- liver treatment;
- fever treatment;
- immunity strengthening;
- combat obesity.
Despite the fact that this is a natural raw material, blood-red hawthorn has contraindications for use. You can not take drugs with him with low blood pressure, pregnancy, kidney failure, arrhythmia, autism.
In cooking
In the photo, Siberian hawthorn is a bright and beautiful fruit. He found his 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. In crushed form, add to flour for baking. 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 spring during the flowering period and in autumn, when the berries ripen. This is the king of ornamental plants. Since 1822, it has been used to decorate gardens and parks. A blood-red hawthorn hedge looks very beautiful, it has dense shoots and sharp thorns that reliably protect against uninvited guests and animals. The shrub is valuable in that it requires constant shearing and lends itself well to crown formation when trimmed into different geometric shapes. It can even be grown as a bonsai.
Conclusion
Hawthorn blood-red Siberian is an ornamental and medicinal plant at the same time. It is easy to grow in the field. One bush is enough to provide fruits for the whole family. It grows for a long time, does not like frost and flooding. Differs in high productivity. Well takes root in places remote from its wild growth.
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