Wild berries: names, properties and collection rules

Walking through the forest, we now and then see the various berries, but often the question arises, is it possible to eat them.The ability to distinguish between edible and inedible fruits is important for both adults and children. We will give examples of the most popular berries that you can find in your area. Bright photos and descriptions will help you in the future to easily recognize the useful fruits in the forest.

Depending on the region varies and the range of berries. Some of them can be found throughout Russia, while others choose special places with suitable climate and conditions. Some names are familiar to us from childhood, while others will be a real discovery for you.

We can distinguish the following.

• Forest cherry. You can meet her in the birch forests. In especially fruitful years, the bushes are completely covered with bright small berries. Compared with the garden, it has a more modest size. But the flavor is much richer than the first.
• Black currant. Wild varieties are quite small, but there is much more benefit in them than in selective species. Currant loves high humidity, so it grows on the banks of reservoirs. Also, it is often possible to meet her in the marshland. Not only berries, but also the leaves and buds of the plant are valuable. You can make fragrant green tea from them, which will be rich in essential oils and beneficial properties.
• Wild raspberry Delicate berries are very fragrant. The shrub itself grows in mixed or pine forests of the Ural region. And if the berries go well for jam, then the leaves can be dried and taken for colds and in the season of respiratory diseases.

• Rosehip A beautiful rosaceous shrub to the middle of summer is covered with beautiful orange berries. They are valued for their high content of vitamin C and tannin.
• Sea buckthorn. There are real legends about its useful properties. Local forest dwellers also love it. Bright orange sea-buckthorn beads thickly stick with twigs. This creates certain difficulties in harvesting, as it is very difficult to remove the fruits from the branch without damaging them.

• Irga. Delicious sweet berry with the fruits of an unusual blue-blue color. Unpretentious plant that can adapt to almost any conditions, but feels best on the sunny edges. If you want to harvest, you have to hurry, as the local birds also adore these juicy sweet berries.
• Viburnum. Bright red berries with a slightly transparent skin are like plastic beads adorning the bush. Their peculiarity is that the crop is harvested after frost. They become a real gift of nature for people and forest dwellers, because only these bright berries remain in winter in the branches, providing feathery food.

• Rowan. In Russia, it is not customary to harvest the mountain ash, and in cooking it is rarely used because of its special taste. But in folk medicine you can find many recipes with the use of this orange-red berries.

• Bird cherry Currently, bird cherry is very popular in the manufacture of various cheesecakes, pies and other culinary goodies. Jam from this black berry is also very tasty. In order to avoid problems with bones, it is finely ground using a blender or a food processor.
• Hawthorn. Medicinal plant that is not afraid of frost, no shade or drought. With it, they treat many ailments, ranging from mental disorders to rheumatism and sclerosis.

• Blue Honeysuckle. Pay attention that it is about blue. The yellow and red subspecies are poisonous. Honeysuckle tastes a bit like blueberries. A shrub grows in the undergrowth of coniferous forests. It can be recognized by the matte gray-blue color and bluish bloom on the berries.

• Lingonberry Many attribute it to deciduous plants.But by nature it is a shrub, only very small. Refers to medicinal plants. Use not only the berries themselves, but the rest of the plant.
• Cranberry. Who among us does not like refreshing cranberry juice? Spending time searching and harvesting, you will provide yourself with vitamins for the whole winter. Cranberries make jam, compote, it is also dried. You can find a plant in a swampy and wet area, because the culture loves water and does not tolerate drought.

• Blueberries Everyone knows its beneficial effect on vision. That is why it is recommended to use for children and adults who have problems in this area. Berry is able to lower blood sugar levels, which is extremely important for those who have diabetes.
• Blueberry. In appearance is very similar to blueberries. You can distinguish it by lighter stems. To the taste you will never mix up these two berries. Blueberry has a clear juice and a dull taste, so it is rarely used in desserts as the only berry. To give the dish a rich flavor, it must be seasoned with other berries: blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries.

In Siberia, you can also find a lot of wild berries. If we talk about their range, it is almost similar to the variety, as in the Urals. In addition to cranberries, lingonberries, wild rose hips, blueberries, grouse, blueberries, bird cherry trees, viburnum, raspberries, shadberries and others, you can also find blackberries here. Very tasty berry, having a dark color and an incredible similarity in shape with raspberries.

Among the berries that you can find in the forests near Moscow, the most common strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, lingonberry and cranberry. The best time to pick these berries will be morning or evening. If you gather for them in the morning, then wait until the dew dries. It is not recommended to pick berries on a hot afternoon. Such a crop will quickly lose moisture, which will not in the best way affect its appearance.

As for the harvest site, you can go to the Sergiev Posad district. It is famous for its ecology and such a rare berry as blueberries. Lingonberry can only be found in dry forests, raspberries are the same everywhere, because it will be difficult not to notice. Do not forget to protect your hands, as the bushes are pretty prickly.

In addition to delicious and juicy berries, in the forest you can find those that are fraught with mortal danger. Sometimes three little berries are enough to get a serious poisoning. Therefore, going to the forest, you need to know the "enemy" in person. Below we have presented a description of the most dangerous types of poisonous berries. Try to remember them and never eat.

• Belladonna. Round shaped berries with black skin. It may taste you even pleasant, but their small amount can cause paralysis and cardiac arrest.
• Wolf's hook Their second name is wolfberry. The berries are red, slightly elongated. Very dangerous plant, which should not even come close, especially during the flowering period.
• Nightshade bitter. It has a round, cute orange-red fruit. All parts of the plant are poisonous, but traditional medicine sometimes uses them in their recipes.
• Nightshade black. Inedible are considered immature fruits of this species. When the berry is fully ripe, then you can even make jam from it.

• Koupena fragrant. A small plant (up to 65 cm) with black round fruits.When eating the following symptoms are inevitable: dizziness, headache, indigestion.
• Raven eye. It is very simple to recognize it: on one trunk only one black berry matures, for which the bush got its name. All parts are dangerous for human health. Symptoms of poisoning are as follows: respiratory arrest, irregular heartbeat, gastrointestinal upset and diarrhea.
• May lily of the valley. Such a tender and airy flower, like lily of the valley, has poisonous orange fruits. And although folk healers successfully use it in their practice, self-treatment is strictly prohibited.
• The bog is marsh. On a large sheet is located immediately a bunch of red berries. The plant prefers marshland.

• Forest Honeysuckle. The berries are small, look like red currants. Do not rely on the fact that they peck birds. For them, the fruits are not dangerous, but human health can be harmful.
• Euonymus. Due to its unusual shape of the berries and the seed box, it is often used as an ornamental plant. Admire this beautiful shrub is not prohibited, but you can not eat its fruit.
• Voronets spiky. Round black berries, collected in inflorescences (almost like a currant), can cause harm only with one of their touch. It will be especially dangerous for mucous eyes and mouth.
• Elderberry herb Large white inflorescences to fall into huge clusters of small black berries. Intoxication with toxic substances contained in them may be fatal.

• Buckthorn fragile. Very similar to bird cherry, and also has a bone inside. Use is fraught with strong vomiting, in folk medicine it is used in recipes for constipation.
• Berry yew. It can often be found as an ornamental plant and in hedges. But biologists do not recommend upgrading their site, because in addition to the attractive appearance, it also has toxic properties. Moreover, even the extract from the needles is a danger to the body, not to mention the berries themselves.
• Aronnik spotted. A very attractive plant that looks like a lollipop with a lot of small red berries. The fact is that its leaves at the end of summer are showered, and only the stem, adorned with a dense bunch of fruits, remains. If time does not provide medical care to a person who has eaten this berry, death is possible.

The main useful property of wild berries is their environmental friendliness. They grow without human intervention, which means that they are not processed by various chemicals and questionable additives. It is difficult to name the general beneficial properties for all berries. After all, each of them is unique, as is the effect that it has on our body. Therefore, in brief, we shall write out the main useful properties of the most popular species.

• Lingonberry It is used for colds and high body temperature. Also known for its therapeutic properties in the fight against ischemia, rheumatism. Able to lower the high acidity of the stomach. Products made from berries reduce blood sugar levels.
• Raspberries. It is recommended to use with anemia and atherosclerosis. The medicinal properties of raspberries for colds and acute respiratory viral infections are widely known. The main advantage is the ability to retain all the useful qualities after heat treatment. Thus, raspberries will be useful both fresh and in the form of jam.
• Viburnum. From it make medicinal infusions, teas, syrups, dried for the winter. Tincture is used for problems with pressure, but the syrup is recommended for ailments of the lungs and bronchi. Also from viburnum prepare funds to combat diabetes and skin tumors. Tea is an excellent general tonic for overwork.

• Blackberry. It can rightly be considered natural aspirin.Substances in its composition have antipyretic and anti-inflammatory properties. Infusions of the leaves are used externally for skin problems. Leaf tea helps to cope with poor digestion, gastritis and dysentery.
• Blackberry Rowan. It has an extensive beneficial effect on the heart and the entire cardiovascular system. The berry knitting in the mouth also helps with toxicosis in pregnant women. Raises immunity and eliminates inflammatory processes in the body. In folk medicine, it is used to improve vision and fight diarrhea.
• Strawberries. This small berry is able to slow down the aging process due to ridding the body of free radicals. If the child has a bad appetite, then offer him these fruits. Despite their sweetness, they are also beneficial for diabetes. It is also recommended to include them in your diet for people with asthma.
• Blueberry. This berry is very fond of beauticians, because thanks to it collagen forms in the body, which is responsible for the youth of the skin. But on the vessels this element acts in the same way: it strengthens their walls, increasing elasticity. Blueberry is useful for schoolchildren during severe mental stress, as it actively nourishes the brain, improving memory.

• Stone berry. It has a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effect. It is actively used to improve all metabolic processes in the body. For people suffering from excess cholesterol, this berry will also be very useful. It is used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and colds.
• Cloudberry. Possesses the strongest bactericidal and antimicrobial action. Due to this, it is capable of killing harmful and pathogenic microorganisms in the intestine. Strengthens the immune system due to the high content of vitamins and trace elements. Beneficial effect on the respiratory system, therefore recommended for smokers. It is a powerful antioxidant.
• Currant. Indispensable for colds. You can brew tea from the leaves or eat fresh (frozen) form. For people who want to lose weight, help get rid of excess fluid in the body. A good cure for constipation, to improve immunity, improve digestion.

The main danger that awaits lovers to collect wild berries is the possibility of poisoning. The main reason is ignorance and inability to distinguish poisonous fruits from edible ones. In nature, there are many plants that are similar to each other, but have opposite properties.

Another danger lies in the existing characteristics of the individual. If you are allergic to any kind of berries or to a whole range, even a small dose can lead to undesirable consequences. Many people, eating the berry for the first time, may not even suspect the presence of intolerance. Therefore, before you pounce on the basket of new fruits, eat a few berries and watch the reaction.

If you are seriously thinking about harvesting a forest harvest, then you should know the timing of the harvest and the particular collection.

Already in June on the forest edges you can find ripe fragrant strawberries. To find it, you have to consider the lower part of the bushes. Bright fruits are well hidden under the leaves, one has only to find the place of their clusters. Usually they grow in whole families, so you can get a decent harvest from one meadow.

In July, it is time for blueberries, princesses, bone-trees, cloudberries and blueberries. Blueberries - a very unpretentious plant, so you can meet it anywhere, but most often it is a swamp area. You can find the princess in the coniferous mossy forests. It looks very much like raspberries or blackberries, only its berries are smaller.

The richest autumn and summer months for the harvest are August and September. This is a real expanse for those who like to pick berries. In August, you can stock up on blueberries, crows, lingonberries, strawberries, cranberries, redberries and blueberries.

Compotes, juices, preserves and jams are made from various kinds of berries. Often they are added fresh or frozen to various pastries. The use of berries in cooking is quite wide. And all this thanks to their unusual taste and aesthetic appearance. Modern pastry chefs often prepare chic desserts and cocktails with the addition of multi-colored fruits.

In folk medicine, there are many recipes with herbs and berries. To list them all is simply impossible. But you can independently determine the beneficial effect on the body, having studied the information above.

Cosmetologists also do not bypass these gifts of nature. Based on them, masks are made for rejuvenation, elasticity and moisturizing of the skin. Berry peels show themselves from the best side due to the presence of acids and vitamins in the fruit composition. Cosmetic companies add marc from their berries in their creams, masks and other products.

On the benefits and harms of wild berries in the diet, see below.