Guelder rose seeds «Roseum»

Guelder-rose or guelder rose  «Roseum» / Viburnum opulus - is a species of shrubs of the Adox family, with a grayish-brown bark, 1.5 - 4 meters high. The leaves are opposite, broadly ovate or rounded, 5-10 cm long, dark green above, grayish green below, three-five-lobed, with a rounded wedge-shaped, shallow heart-shaped base, slightly wrinkled; lobes unevenly toothed, petioles stellate, 4-5 times shorter than blades.

The flowers are five-petal, white or white-pink; marginal 4-5 times larger than internal, barren; median - fertile, on very short pedicels, small. Inflorescences are located on the tops of young branches, flat, umbrella-shaped. The fruits are an oval or spherical red drupe with a large flattened stone. Juicy, but have a bitter astringent taste, after the first frost the bitterness disappears or becomes less. Blooms in May-July. The fruits ripen in August-September.

Viburnum «Roseum» is undemanding to conditions, easily tolerates drought and frost, however, it is most common in the temperate climate of Europe and Asia.

The bark contains viburnin glycoside, tannins, resins (up to 6.5%), flobafen, myricyl alcohol, organic acids (valeric, formic, acetic, butyric, caprylic, linolenic, cerotinic). The fruits contain invert sugar (up to 32%), pectin and tannins, organic acids (isovaleric and acetic acids), ascorbic acid (up to 0.09%), carotene, vitamin P; in seeds - up to 20% fatty oil.

Kalina is grown in gardens and parks as an ornamental plant. It is valued in reclamation plantations as a soil-protective plant. Honey plant.

The fruits have a peculiar aromatic bouquet and a bitter aftertaste, which disappears after freezing. Berries are used to make juices, liqueurs, tinctures, wines, jelly, extracts that have a sharp sour taste. They are also used to prepare stuffing for pies, seasonings for meat dishes. Due to the high content of pectins, the fruits are used to make marmalade. Vinegar is made from juice. The seeds have a tonic effect and are sometimes used as a coffee substitute. The fruits of Kalina are a weak diuretic; due to the high content of ascorbic acid, they are used as a vitamin remedy. Fresh fruit juice was used to remove freckles and acne, to whiten the skin. Preparations from the bark (with the addition of flowers and fruits) were used in veterinary medicine for the treatment of foot and mouth disease in cattle.