Wolfberry On The City Streets

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

In recent years, shrubs have become a popular decoration of city streets, boulevards, parks, on the branches of which cute berries appear by the end of summer, beckoning passers-by to taste them. They stay on the bushes for a long time, increasing the terms of temptation. Of course, today people have become more informed, however, there are still those who ask the question: “What kind of berry is this? Is it edible? If it is edible, what can be prepared from it?"

The city's attractive berries pose a particular danger to curious children who experience our wonderful world by taste testing. Although, oddly enough, some adults do not know about the dangers either. It was the question of one casual passer-by, not too young, addressed to me, that prompted me to write this article. Looking at the abundance of white berries on the low bushes along the paved footpath, she asked me, “What is this berry? Is it edible? If it is edible, what can be prepared from it? " It was one of the types of plants popularly called the "Wolf berry". This name hides plants completely different in terms of botanical criteria, having various scientific Latin names, delighting the world with fruits of various colors (white, black, red, blue …). They are united among the people under one name for the insidiousness of their fruits, toxic or poisonous, posing a threat to human health or healing from ailments, depending on the dosage of their consumption.

Wolfberry - Snowberry

It was the white fruits of this bush that interested my casual fellow traveler in the city. Miniature bunches of white berries were abundantly scattered over twigs, entangled with flexible shoots of the ubiquitous bindweed. Personally, these white balls of appetite did not arouse my appetite. They looked more like smooth foam balls, useful for decoration, but not for food.

This deciduous shrub with the Latin name "Symphoricarpos" is called Snezhnik, the Snow Berry. Its snow-white fruits, which, from a botanical point of view, are not berries at all, but "juicy drupes", are not suitable for homemade preparations for the winter, since they contain poisonous substances. Of course, having tried a couple of berries, a person will not cause much damage to his health, but from two or three eaten paint brushes, you can get dizziness or vomiting.

It would seem, why plant dangerous plants in public places? The answer is quite simple: along with picturesqueness, the Snowberry is a very unpretentious plant that does not require fertile soil, regular watering in the summer, grows successfully even in the shade, and most importantly, it calmly “digests” the dustiness and gas pollution of Russian cities. Therefore, designers willingly use it in urban plantings, hoping that our people are literate, and therefore will not feast on snow-white drupes.

Elderberry or Red elderberry

The Latin name of this plant species from the genus Elderberry sounds like "Sambucus racemosa", which in translation into Russian gives the name - Elderberry cyst. It is also popularly called the Wolf's Berry, which does not prevent designers from decorating city parks with spectacular bushes, abundantly covered by red bunches of berries by autumn. Although, like Snezhnik, Elderberry fruits are drupes, not berries.

An urban man, far from the intricacies of the science of "botany", may well confuse the bright brushes of Elderberry with the brushes of Rowan red. However, plants can be easily distinguished by their leaf shape. In the photo on the left, the leaves of Elderberry are red, and on the right are the leaves of the Rowanberry red:

Unlike the pleasantly smelling leaves and berries of Rowan red, the spectacular leaves and fruits of Red Elderberry have an unpleasant odor, which may well stop a person's desire to feast on bright berries.

The unsuitability of Elderberry fruits for food does not negate their healing abilities, used by humans since ancient times. They say that Elderberry branches can be used to brave mice that love to use the stocks of vegetables in the cellars. If copper dishes have been preserved in your household, then the fresh fruits of Red Elderberry will help rid it of dark bloom.