Botanical name: Cherry plum, or spreading plum (Prunus nodivaricata Ldb), or cherry-like plum, a species of fruit trees from the genus Plum of the Rosaceae family, the most valuable representative of wild plums, the original form of domestic plum.

Homeland of cherry plum: Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Iran.

Lighting: photophilous.

The soil: any soil neutral reaction.

Watering: drought-resistant.

Maximum tree height: 13 m.

Average lifespan of a tree: 45 years, some specimens - up to 60 years.

Landing: propagated by seeds, layering and grafting.

Biological description of the cherry plum fruit in the photo

A fruit tree, branched, with one or several trunks, in the southern regions reaches a height of 15 m, in the northern regions it grows no higher than 4-5 m, sometimes it looks like a large shrub.

The trunk of the cherry plum tree is about 50 cm thick, the shoots are reddish-brown, prickly, the crown is spherical-spreading, less often pyramidal, thickened in most varieties.

The root system is superficial, powerful, on loose soils it penetrates to a depth of up to 12 m, on denser soils – up to 2 m, and spreads laterally up to 10 m, going beyond the crown. Root shoots rarely develop, only when the roots are damaged.

The leaves are simple, oval or oblong, with a pointed tip, up to 4 cm long, dark green in summer, yellow in autumn. The culture is characterized by a high degree of bud awakening, due to which overgrowing branches appear even on skeletal branches.

Cherry plum tree blooms

Cherry plum flowers (see photo below) are white and light pink, with yellow or orange anthers, with a diameter of 20 to 40 mm, located on long stalks of 1, less often 2 pieces. They appear in large numbers on annual and overgrowing shoots, simultaneously and sometimes even before foliage; during this period the trees are very decorative. Cherry plum blooms in early May for 7-11 days, sometimes in the fall there is a weak re-bloom.

The crop is distinguished by its exceptional precocity, it begins to bear fruit 3 years after planting, and some varieties lay flower buds in the nursery. The fruits are a round or elongated, sometimes flattened drupe with a slight longitudinal groove, weighing from 3-6 g in wild varieties, up to 60 g in cultivated varieties. The pulp of the fruit is green, yellow or pink, watery or gristly consistency, with a sweet and sour taste. The color of the peel can be green-yellow, yellow, red, purple and even black, depending on the variety; the fruits have a white waxy coating and a seed that is difficult to separate from the pulp; they ripen in August-September.

Use of cherry plum in culture

In the wild, the tree grows not only in Transcaucasia, which is traditionally considered the birthplace of culture, but over a vast territory from the foothills of the Alps to the northern foothills of the Himalayas. Found in undergrowth and bushes along river banks. It has long been cultivated in gardens; cherry plum was used as a fruit for food back in the 1st-3rd centuries.

Until the middle of the last century, due to insufficient frost resistance, it was grown only in warm regions, but now, thanks to the selection work carried out, new varieties have appeared that feel good in Central Russia, the Moscow region and the more northern Leningrad region; they have begun to be grown even in the Far East . Winter-hardy forms were obtained mainly by crossing cherry plum with a related species, Chinese plum, the wood of which can withstand temperatures down to -50 ° C.

The plant is valued for its healthy and tasty fruits, which are consumed fresh, as well as in the form of compotes, jams, marmalades and marshmallows; various sauces and seasonings are prepared from them; dried cherry plum completely replaces prunes. There are decorative forms with variegated or red foliage, as well as with a weeping or pyramidal crown, from which alleys, hedges and borders are formed. In addition, green cherry plum is used for the industrial production of citric acid, which is not only found in large quantities in unripe fruits (up to 14% of dry weight), but can also be easily and cheaply extracted.

The advantages of the crop include unpretentiousness to soils, drought resistance, early fruiting and high annual yield, up to 300 kg per mature tree. The plant has a long lifespan, up to 45-60 years, while it actively bears fruit for 20-25 years.

Cherry plum also has a number of disadvantages, the main one of which is still insufficient winter hardiness. At low temperatures in winter, damage to wood is possible; a short period of dormancy causes the beginning of the growing season during prolonged warming, which leads to damage to the awakened buds when cold weather returns. In addition, most varieties are self-sterile, so for successful pollination there should be at least 2-3 of them in gardens.

Varieties of cherry plum in the photo

As mentioned above, cherry plum has two scientific names, plum, spread and cherry-like plum, while among taxonomists it is customary to use the first name for wild-growing ones, and the second for cultivated forms of the plant.

In addition, the species is divided into three significantly different subspecies or varieties: typical, or Caucasian wild, oriental, or Central Asian wild, and large-fruited. The first two subspecies include the wild cherry plum, which grows in the Balkans, Asia Minor and the Caucasus (typical or Caucasian cherry plum), or in Iran and Afghanistan (eastern cherry plum).

Large-fruited cherry plum includes all cultivated forms of the plant grown in gardens. In turn, this subspecies is also conventionally divided into a number of varieties characteristic of a particular cultivation region. A distinction is made between Georgian, Crimean, Iranian, Armenian, Tauride and red-leaved cherry plum (pissarda), and recently some experts have proposed separately considering the Balkan and Indian forms.

This division is due to significant differences between plants caused by different purposes of their cultivation in different regions. For example, the Georgian subspecies, or the tkemali group, is mainly red cherry plum with a tart and sour taste, intended for making hot sauces, and when growing the Crimean variety, emphasis was placed on large fruit and dessert taste.

Cherry plum pissard with pink and red leaves, flowers and fruits is used as an ornamental plant, although it has a number of forms with large fruits of good taste.

Most domestic large-fruited varieties were created on the basis of Crimean cherry plum. Among them there are trees with yellow, red, orange, purple and even black fruits. Interestingly, the color of the fruit has a significant impact on its chemical composition.

Thus, yellow cherry plum contains many carotenoids, sugars and citric acid, it contains practically no pectins, chokeberry, on the contrary, is rich in pectins, as well as anthocyanins, which protect the body from cancer and atherosclerosis.

Among modern promising developments, it is necessary to note the columnar cherry plum, created by the domestic breeder G. B. Eremin. This compact form is characterized by the fact that the fruits grow along the trunk and there are practically no branches.

Such a tree takes up little space, does not require pruning, is easy to treat with chemicals, and harvesting is also easy. The fruits of this cherry plum are large, up to 40 g, burgundy, with tasty yellow pulp, and the form is frost-resistant.

Finally, one cannot fail to mention such an important feature of the culture as the ability to cross with plants of related genera, thereby producing fertile offspring. Thus, it has been established that the well-known nectarine is a natural intergeneric hybrid of cherry plum and peach, Fergana plum, growing in the Tien Shan and Pamirs, is a natural hybrid of cherry plum and almond, etc. This property of cherry plum provides breeders with ample opportunities to create various cultural interspecific hybrids.

Cherry plum has several names, for example, spreading plum or cherry plum. The life form is a tree or shrub; there are both cultivated varieties and wild species. The fruits are fleshy, up to 3-4 cm in diameter, with a seed inside. The color of cherry plum at full maturity can range from yellow-green to red-orange, purple and almost black.

Green cherry plum at the moment of full maturity can have either a rich green color or a pink or yellow blush on top of the main color. The fruits of green cherry plum are useful because they are sources of vitamins:

• group B;

A decoction of green cherry plum is used:

• with acute lack of vitamin C;
• for rinsing gums to reduce their bleeding and looseness;
• for various inflammations of the respiratory system;
• to increase appetite;
• as an antipyretic.

Green cherry plum is used to make a seasoning with the addition of salt, which promotes faster digestion of meat and fatty foods.

Juice and decoction of cherry plum can be used not only internally, but also externally. Green cherry plum pulp, included in cosmetic masks, relieves inflammation, tightens pores, and removes age spots.

Green cherry plum and dishes made from it should be excluded from the diet of people suffering from stomach ulcers and gastritis with high acidity.

Video on the topic:

The benefits and harms of Azerbaijani cherry plum

On the territory of Azerbaijan there are both wild and cultivated cherry plums. Depending on the region of growth, the fruits may differ slightly, but, as a rule, they have thin skin and delicate flesh, are quite large (up to 40 - 45 mm in diameter) and very juicy. They can perfectly satisfy not only hunger, but also thirst: the water content in cherry plum juice reaches 89-90%.

The benefit of Azerbaijani cherry plum, first of all, is that its low sugar content allows the fruit to be included in the diet of patients with diabetes, both in fresh and processed form, if no sugar was added to the final product.

The minimal amount of light-colored tannins in cherry plum makes it useful for digestive disorders. Various sauces can be prepared from the fruits of Azerbaijani cherry plum, which have a positive effect on digestion and reduce harm from fatty foods.

People with stomach and duodenal ulcers and individual intolerance will have to give up cherry plum.

Harm and benefits of red cherry plum

Red-colored cherry plum fruits differ from yellow ones in their high content of anthocyanins. It is anthocyanins that give fruits their red or purple color. By their chemical nature, cherry plum anthocyanins belong to plant glycosides. They have a beneficial effect on:

• digestion due to excess fat consumption;
• relieving inflammation from the intestines and improving its functioning;
• discharge of bile.

Polyphenols and vitamin C, which red cherry plum contains, perfectly cleanse blood vessels and increase blood clotting.

Red cherry plum decoctions are good at thinning mucus and calming the nervous system. They can also be used externally to relieve inflammation from the skin of the face and to lighten it.

It is harmful to eat cherry plum for people with gout, heartburn and high acidity.

"According to scientific classification. One of the representatives of the domestic plum family, it is one of those rare fruits that practically do not lose their beneficial properties during processing.
The first thing that comes to mind, perhaps, when you mention such a fruit as cherry plum is tkemali sauce. This Georgian sauce is made from sour cherry plum varieties, and it is very suitable as a seasoning for fish and meat, promoting digestion. In addition, cherry plum is also a raw material for various types of jam, jam, marmalade, jams and jellies. Few people know that cherry plums are also used to make juices, kvass and even wine.

This amazing fruit has a unique, sweet and sour taste even in its raw form. The riper the cherry plum fruits, the sweeter they are. However, unripe fruits are also used, albeit in a more prosaic, but very important area. Green cherry plum is very rich in citric acid - up to 15%, and it is quite easy to extract.

Composition and beneficial properties of cherry plum

Ripe cherry plum fruits contain up to 5% sugar, organic acids, pectin and numerous vitamins, in particular vitamin C. All these substances create a very successful combination, due to which both fresh cherry plum and various seasonings prepared from its fruits promote the absorption of meat and fat . Calorie content fresh cherry plum fruit is 34 kcal per 100 grams. The nutritional value: proteins - 0.3 g, fats - 0.1 g, carbohydrates - 7.9 g.

Cherry plum seeds also bring considerable benefits. Oil is extracted from them, which is similar in composition to almond oil (the seed makes up up to 43% of the weight of the fruit). Cherry plum oil, like almond oil, contains the glycoside amygdalin, which has the ability to decompose into hydrocyanic acid, glucose and benzoaldehyde in the presence of the emulsin enzyme and water. However, cherry plum oil has found its main use in the production of perfumes and medicinal soaps.

Cherry plum can be considered a completely waste-free product, since the meal remaining after oil production consists 73% protein and is an excellent raw material for the production of casein. The shells of cherry plum seeds are also used for production. So, back in the 30s they began to make from it activated carbon, used for cleaning various food industry products (sugar, vodka and others).

Cherry plum in treatment

Cherry plum– an excellent dietary remedy. Its fruits are useful both in dried form and in the form of compotes, jams, jelly, jam, and juice. Cherry plum juice quenches thirst, tones and refreshes. It is used for vitamin deficiencies, scurvy, acute respiratory diseases, stomach diseases and as a mild laxative. This juice, slightly diluted with water and mixed with camphor, is an excellent wound healing agent.

Cherry plum contains relatively little sugar, and thus it can be included in the diet of patients with diabetes. The dried pulp of this fruit retains its taste and all its dietary properties for a long time.

However, cherry plum also has contraindications. Due to the fact that its fruits contain a significant amount of organic acids, it is not recommended for patients with gastritis, high acidity of gastric juice, stomach or duodenal ulcers. In all other respects, cherry plum fruits do not have any drawbacks, and will be useful to every lover of tasty and healthy fruits.

Sergey Korotya

cherry plum photo

Cherry plum contains many useful substances:

1. pectins;
2. carbohydrates;
3. vitamin C;
4. organic acids;
5. B vitamins;
6. potassium;
7. provitamin A;
8. iron;
9. magnesium;
10. phosphorus;
11. calcium.

It is the composition of this plant that determines the color of its fruits: yellow cherry plum is distinguished by the presence of a large amount of sugar and citric acid, and it also contains practically no tannins. And the chokeberry variety Opal contains a lot of pectin. Its calorie content is 34 kcal.
Cherry plum is an excellent medicinal and dietary fruit. The substances contained in the fruit have a diuretic, blood purifying, mild laxative and anti-inflammatory effect, so it is recommended to eat it when:

• chronic inflammation of the biliary tract and liver;
• colds;
• kidney diseases;
• impotence;
• irregular bowel movements;
• vitamin deficiency.

Due to its beneficial properties, cherry plum is also recommended for scurvy, night blindness and to increase appetite.

Video: Cherry plum

Distribution of cherry plum

One of the varieties of plums is cherry plum. It grows either in the form of a very thorny tree or a bush from one and a half to fifteen meters high. The fruits of the cherry plum are round and juicy, have a yellow, red, purple or black color with a slight waxy coating and a weak longitudinal groove. It is also called tkemali, mirabelle or cherry plum.
There are such types of cherry plum as Rubinovaya, Shater, Granit, Evgenia, Gek and many others, each of which differs in terms of ripening, growing conditions, taste of the berries, but all of them are very useful for humans. Even the best varieties of cherry plum are very unpretentious and productive; up to 100 kg can be harvested from one tree. fruits Each fruit has a seed, which is difficult to separate from the juicy and fleshy pulp.
Cherry plum is an ancient plant. Traces of its distribution were found in excavations in Western Asia and Transcaucasia, where its beneficial properties were known even before our era. Today, a large number of it grows in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Crimea, but its close and distant “relatives” are found in almost all corners of the world.
You can grow this type of tree at home; they do not require special conditions, but they prefer warm, sunny places and moist areas, so its yield increases noticeably. Pruning of cherry plums, budding and fertilization are carried out once a year, in the fall.

Application

decoctions are prepared from green cherry plum for chronic colitis

The fruits of the cherry plum are eaten raw and baked. Cooks all over the world make compotes, marmalades, preserves from them, and add them to the preparation of marmalades. Hybrid cherry plum will perfectly quench your thirst if you make juice from it. Also, a drink made from it is effective as a tonic and refreshing drink.
If you add a little camphor to cherry plum juice and dilute it with water, you can make lotions that have a wound-healing effect. Decoctions and infusions from it are used to gargle a sore throat during ARVI. The beneficial properties of this plant will help treat coughs, and since it is a good natural expectorant, it is used in the treatment of viral infections of the respiratory tract.
To prepare the infusion, you will need dried cherry plum. You need to take 1 tablespoon of dried fruits, pour 200 ml of them. hot water and leave in a thermos for 5 hours. After this, the resulting infusion must be filtered through cheesecloth. Take it 60-70 ml. three times a day on an empty stomach.

In folk medicine for chronic colitis, not only a decoction of the fruit is used, but also an infusion of the leaves and flowers of this type of plant, such as green cherry plum. To prepare it you need to pour 30 grams. flowers and leaves with 2 cups of hot water, leave for 3-4 hours, and then strain. Take it 100 ml. three times a day before meals.
Peach plum is used in the form of decoctions and tinctures as a diaphoretic and antipyretic, and gum, a clear liquid that flows from a tree if it is “injured,” is recommended by doctors to be taken as an antitussive drug.
Columnar and mountain cherry plum perfectly stimulates intestinal peristalsis. For impotence, kidney and liver diseases, a tincture of its flowers in water is used. The remedy, which is prepared from the gum mucus of these plants, is used in the fight against stomach ulcers.
Fruits of this type, such as royal cherry plum, contain a large amount of pectin and natural fibers, which makes it possible to use it to remove radionuclides from the human body. The seeds of these fruits are also beneficial. From them they produce oil, which in its composition resembles almond oil. If you do not count the shell, the oil content of cherry plum seeds is up to 43%. It contains amygdalin - a substance that, in the presence of emulsin and water, can be converted into glucose, benzoic aldehyde and hydrocyanic acid. Cherry plum oil is also widely used in the production of medicinal soaps and in the perfume industry.
This plant is practically waste-free, since the shells of cherry plum seeds are used in the production of activated carbon, but not ordinary carbon, but the kind that is used to purify food industry products (for example, sugar and vodka).
Large-fruited cherry plum is an excellent dietary product. Its fruits contain a small amount of sugar, so it can even be included in the diet of patients with diabetes.

Cherry plum in cosmetology

to strengthen your hair, rinse it with cherry plum decoction

For representatives of the fair sex who have oily facial skin, an infusion of cherry plum wash (50 grams of ripe and crushed fruits, pour 0.1 liter of warm purified water overnight) will help restore the dullness of the skin.
The following technique will help in the fight against uninvited guests: take fresh cherry plum and rub the problem area of ​​the skin well with the berry. By morning you will see that the rash has dried up.
A 20-minute mask made from pulp and crushed cherry plum seeds will rejuvenate the skin of the face, neck and décolleté. You can strengthen your hair roots and give them shine by rinsing with a decoction of 100 grams. crushed berries and 0.5 l. water.

Cherry plum in cooking

tkemali sauce made from cherry plum is popular in cooking

The first thing that comes to mind when you mention cherry plum in cooking is tkemali sauce. It is excellent as a seasoning for fatty meats, as it helps digestion.
To prepare this Georgian cherry plum sauce, you will need 700 gr. fruits that need to be put in a saucepan and filled with water. Pour water so that it just covers the cherry plums and cook until they are softened. Then drain the liquid and rub everything through a sieve, dilute it a little with the broth, add 200 grams each. crushed cilantro and dill, 160 gr. bitter capsicum, 120 gr. garlic and salt to taste. Bring all ingredients to a boil again. All! The cherry plum sauce should cool down and it is ready to eat.
Kvass and wine are also made from the fruits of this plant. Kvass is prepared from 1 kg. cherry plum, 10 l. water, 100 gr. sugar or honey, 25 gr. yeast and mint infusion. Boneless fruits are boiled for 40-50 minutes, other ingredients are added to it and left to ferment. Afterwards it is filtered, bottled and stored in the refrigerator.
Dessert cherry plum is suitable for making wine. Its fruits must be thoroughly washed and placed in a container specially prepared for fermentation. Water is poured there at the rate of 1 kg. cherry plums for 0.5 l. water and diluted yeast (3% of the resulting volume). The future wine for fermentation is left in a dark place where the air temperature does not exceed 25 degrees for at least 10 weeks. The finished wine is filtered and bottled.