Rubus Chamaemorus is surprising berry. It meets in northern regions: in Belarus, in the Far East, in Siberia. Many cloudberries grow in the countries of Scandinavia and the Baltics. It likes to grow on swamps, is found in the tundra where the sour soil, at the same time is hardy, though is exacting to weather: does not transfer a rain and wind, frosts for cloudberries are pernicious at all.
Whether you know? It is called moss currant, northern orange, the Arctic raspberry, royal berry, marsh amber, eyes marsh, the marsh policeman.
Cloudberries, or northern royal orange – a perennial of family Pink, a sort of Malines. A small semi-bush, up to 30 cm in height. It is easy to find berries, they grow on one on vertical small stalks. Blossoming begins in June, cloudberries by July ripen.
Cloudberries very curious berry, its description it is other than others. Berry indeed resembles raspberry superficially. During the maturing period it several times changes color – unripe berries have red coloring, mature remind yellow and transparent amber.
Berry cloudberries is appreciated not only tastes, it has exclusively useful properties. Being a well of various useful substances, royal orange is used since ancient times by traditional medicine, and all parts of a plant are used: roots, stalks, leaves, berries, flowers.
Whether you know? Flowers of the Arctic raspberry are divided into men's and women's. It is interesting that on men's berries appear much more often.
Chemical composition of berries of cloudberries
Marsh amber incorporates a large number of the elements important and necessary for human health:
- Citric and apple acid;
- Pectinaceous substances;
- Tannins;
- Carbohydrates;
- Proteins;
- Cellulose;
- Vitamin C in the quantity several times exceeding keeping of that in a citrus;
- Vitamin A in the quantity exceeding keeping of that in carrots;
- B1 vitamin;
- Vitamin E;
- Phytoncides;
- The bactericidal substances remaining in juice about a month;
- Tokoferola – the substances necessary for pre-natal development of babies therefore cloudberries are so useful at pregnancy;
- Fatty acids omega-3, omega-6;
- Antioxidants;
- Phosphorus;
- Magnesium;
- Calcium;
- Potassium;
- Aluminum;
- Hardware.
Despite quite high content of carbohydrates in royal orange, it is a low-calorie, dietary product. 40 Kcal are the share of 100 g of berries. Marsh berry contains useful substances depending on growth conditions. On average it is the share of a hundred-gram handful of fresh cloudberries:
- 0.6-0.8 g of proteins;
- 0 g of fats;
- 5-6 g of carbohydrates;
- 1-2 g of pectin;
- 3-4 g of cellulose;
- 1 g of organic acids;
- 7 g of karotinovy substances;
- 75-85 ml of water.
Medicinal properties
Plant cloudberries have numerous useful properties.
- Leaves and roots have the expressed diuretic property;
- If from leaves to prepare infusion, it can be used as astringent, also it has styptic and krovoochistitelny, wound healing and anti-inflammatory effect.
- Berries render antimicrobial, sudorific, diuretic, spazmolitichesky action.
- Juice has bactericidal property.
Collecting, preparation and storage of medical raw materials
All parts of a plant have medicinal properties: leaves, roots, berries, flowers and sepals. Collecting and preparation of leaves of cloudberries
Leaves of cloudberries should be collected when the bud is formed and during blossoming that they kept useful properties. Prior to blossoming of it it is not necessary to do as leaves play a large role in plant food. Take leaves from a root, lower and in the middle of a stalk, but so that the mass of collected raw materials did not exceed one third of total. Young leaves on a top should not be taken, they do not contain enough valuable elements.
Collecting is made in dry weather after dew drying early in the morning. Collect leaves without defects, without stamping densely, and as soon as possible deliver there where they will dry.
Important! Leaves of herbs should be dried, preserving against light, in the shaded room where good air circulation.
It is possible to dry leaves in three ways.
- If to tear off leaves on a glade a lack of time, it is possible to cut them together with branches which connect in bunches, rinse, well shake off and suspend for drying. After they dry, leaves break off and put for further storage. In bulk. To see, wash and dry each leaf, to pile them on 8-10 pieces, stacking them next to each other on a plain surface. To press for ten minutes a board with cargo. After that to spread out a thin loose coating on a clean cloth or paper. Subsequently periodically to mix for uniform drying.
- To slightly dry the piled leaves under oppression as the last way, then to curtail leaves in piles into tubules which to put in net capacity and to cover with wet towel wipes. In 6 hours when the aroma appears, tubules to chop and send for drying.
Collecting and preparation of roots
Roots prepare after fructification ends, and the plant will prepare for rest. Usually it happens in September and October – the northern summer is transient.
In 10 cm from a stalk the shovel at an angle to the soil goes to the earth, several rotary motions the section extends and the earth lump with a root is taken out.
On the place of collecting it is shaken off from the earth, saved from everything dried up, died off, washed cold water and cut off a radical neck and small backs. If roots thick, cut them lengthways if long – across.
Drying of roots is made in the furnace or an oven, considering that at this time the sun in the north in this case not the assistant. Temperature when drying should not exceed 80 degrees in order to avoid oxidation of the ascorbic acid which is contained in all parts of a plant.
Important! It is considered that drying is ended if the root does not bend when bending, and breaks, publishing a characteristic crash.
Collecting and preparation of flowers, berries and sepals of cloudberries
Blossoming of royal berry falls on May and June, it ripens in forty days, in July and August respectively. Flowers. As it was already mentioned, traditional medicine uses all parts of this plant including flowers which gather and dried on the same technology, as leaves.
Berries. Time of gathering berry cannot be missed. It is wrong to take it when it is painted in bright red color, so, unripe. Unripe royal berry badly comes off branches. Ripening, moss currant gains orange color and transparency. However here too there is a danger: it can become overripe and turn into the soft weight suitable only for the use in the raw and it is desirable on the place as in several hours overripe berry is capable to begin to ferment and turn into home brew.
Whether you know? Thanks to bactericidal properties the berries of cloudberries picked in time are capable under appropriate conditions to be stored three months.
Take berries after a dew descent not in rainy weather early in the morning. Having planned gathering cloudberries, it is necessary to exempt itself from another matters because business this slow and laborious.
For drying collect the fruits which did not completely change coloring from red for yellow, breaking them together with sepals and putting in a bucket or a can.
Sepals at search of raw materials separate and dried up on the same technology, as leaves.
During collecting berry weight sinks, being stamped, and room is made for new parties.
Important! Capacity during collecting should be protected from the sun leaves, a grass or fabric, but not cellophane.
It is necessary to dry cloudberries berries in the pritenenny room with sufficient air circulation, periodically stirring slowly to keep their useful properties. It is possible to do it and in an oven, then temperature should not exceed 50 degrees and the door needs to be opened. Dried cloudberries are used for preparation of broths.
Storage of dried raw materials
As any dried-up medical raw materials, it is necessary to store cloudberries, meeting simple conditions. The dried-up parts of a plant pour in glass tanks, paper packages or cardboard boxes and store in dark dry places where there are no insects, dust and garbage. Container needs to be marked, having specified date of packing. To observe periods of storage:
- Flowers, leaves, sepals, berries – from 1 to 2 years;
- Roots – from 3 to 5 years.
Application in traditional medicine: treatment by cloudberries
All parts of a plant are used for the medical purposes. Medicinal properties of berries of cloudberries have broad application: they have anti-inflammatory, diuretic and sudorific effect and also, thanks to the high content of vitamin C, are capable to treat a scurvy.
Cloudberries are capable to treat avitaminosis therefore it is so useful to children, pregnant women and old men. It is used also at burns, poisonings and skin diseases.
Whether you know? Thanks to bactericidal properties, northern orange well proved at treatment of the purulent, long not healing wounds.
Traditional medicine uses for bandaging and a stop of blood leaves, berries, roots, flowers.
The advantage of cloudberries for an organism is extensive and various.
- Thanks to the potassium which is contained in a plant, medicines of cloudberries normalize arterial blood pressure and are used in treatment of cardiac diseases.
- The diuretic effect of berry allows to use it at an urolithic disease.
- Marsh currant at violation of exchange processes in an organism, gastritis with the lowered acidity is used as astringent at diarrhea.
- Roots will be useful at catarrhal diseases and also at malaria.
- The medicine from leaves stops internal bleedings, promoting blood clotting, heals wounds and has anti-inflammatory effect, cystitis, dropsy treats.
- At treatment of oncological diseases, infusion from leaves and fruits is used.
- Wonderful berry helps at intellectual and physical activities, improves composition of blood, reduces in it sugar level, increases sight.
- In the cosmetic purposes cloudberries are used for strengthening of hair and nails, it has and regenerative properties that is very useful for skin.
Advantage of berries
Taste at berries specific, quite sour therefore in pure form it is eaten seldom. Royal berry is frozen, dried, wetted, cooked from it jam, do jelly, sauces to meat and a game, stuffings for pies. Use it for preparation of desserts, kissels and even alcoholic drinks. Than berry cloudberries is useful?
- Being strong antioxidant, she warns cancer diseases and presenilation.
- Possesses the immunostimulating action, it is capable to split and bring out of an organism cholesterol.
- The Arctic raspberry is used at indigestion, using effect of the tannins and pectins preventing penetration of toxins into blood.
- The active agents normalizing exchange processes of an organism allow to struggle with obesity. Having low caloric content, marsh berry is a dietary product.
It is not obligatory to have knowledge in the field of traditional medicine to improve health by means of this surprising plant. Consumption of berries in any kind will support and will strengthen it.
Tea
The tea with cloudberries made from plant leaves will strengthen immunity and will be very useful at cold and viral infections.
Tea for strengthening of immunity
On a glass of boiled water the raw materials teaspoon from leaves and sepals 1:1 is ready, 10 minutes infuse and it is used as usual tea.
Tea for cold
On a glass of boiled water the tablespoon of leaves is ready, infuses to the cooled state, filtered and accepted on 50 ml four times a day. Tea for cough
Cloudberries are very effective for cough. On water liter in a thermos 3 tablespoons of dry sepals are ready, three hours infuse, use after a meal on a glass.
Juice
Anti-inflammatory and wound healing effect of juice of cloudberries is widely used in traditional medicine. It is so powerful that juice is used even at treatment of itch.
The fresh juice diluted with water (2 tablespoons on 50 ml) as astringent is used with food.
Broth from leaves and roots
Broth from leaves and roots of a plant which are used in it in a proportion 1:1 is very useful.
At hypostases, cardiovascular diseases
On half of liter of boiled water 3 tablespoons of raw materials are ready, a quarter of hour is boiled on a water bath, the wrapped-up ware with broth is postponed for insisting within an hour. The filtered means is used three times a day to food in 30 minutes. At a hypertension
On 700 ml of boiled water 5 tablespoons of raw materials covered are ready and the wrapped-up means infuses within several hours. It is used in breaks between food on 100 ml. Improvements will become noticeable in a week.
For normalization of a metabolism
On liter of boiled water 50 g of raw materials are ready, cook on a water bath of 20 minutes, are cooled and filtered. It is used several minutes prior to food.
Infusion of leaves
At an urolithic disease
On a glass of boiled water the tablespoon of the crushed leaves is ready. The filtered infusion is used for half an hour to food.
At purulent wounds
Powder from the crushed dry leaves the purulent wound falls down.
Whether you know? It is necessary to put fresh leaves of cloudberries at burns and injuries of skin to the damaged place.
At gout
On liter of boiled water 3 tablespoons of leaves are ready, 4-5 hours infuse. About 50 ml daily are used.
As use in cosmetology
Marsh berry is used in preparation of cosmetics. Its extract is a part of gels, creams, cosmetics, shampoos. Its regenerating properties improve appearance of skin and nails. Cloudberries are added to hair preparations. Thanks to the regenerating properties it moisturizes and feeds the skin, restores and improves a look even of strongly injured and dyed hair.
Possible contraindications
Cloudberries in spite of the fact that it is recommended to children and pregnant women even, have some contraindications which treat:
- Hypertension, as at cloudberries property to increase arterial blood pressure;
- Tendency to thrombophlebitis because cloudberries promote blood clotting;
- Diseases of the digestive tract tied with the increased acidity;
- Allergy to a plant – rare, but quite possible phenomenon.
The nature of the North is not less, than southern, cares for the inhabitants, supplying them with all necessary for life and maintenance of health. Such plants as cloudberries marsh, growing in northern latitudes, supply people with vitamins, minerals and useful substances, offering means for regeneration and treatment.