Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) is a common herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Pink family. The definition of "cloudberry" includes edible berries and the plant itself. The name comes from two words: "on the ground" and "mulberry". People can hear how this dwarf shrub is called marsh fire or guard, northern orange, arctic raspberry or royal berry.
The growing area covers all the lands of the Northern Hemisphere. Cloudberry is found in the tundra or forest-tundra regions of central Russia, the Far East and Belarus. The berry grows near mosses in peat bogs in a marsh area. Breeders managed to adapt it for cultural cultivation in order to make sweets for the winter time like jams, juices, marmalades and compotes.
The healing properties of cloudberries have been proven by official medicine. The plant is cultivated in large quantities in the Scandinavian countries and the USA. For example, if you look closely, there is an image of a cloudberry on a Finnish 2 euro coin. It is in this country that research on cultivation in greenhouses is being actively carried out today. The composition of berry raw materials has biologically active substances, due to which cloudberry is of particular value as an effective remedy for the treatment of many diseases. It is equally successfully used in traditional and official medicine.
Description of cloudberry berry
Cloudberry looks like a low shrub. Thin and straight stems are capable of reaching a height of no more than 30 cm. Rhizome is developed and branched. The next five-lobed leaves are attached to the stems with the help of petioles. The color of the leaf blades is pale green, spotted. The crown of the head is decorated with a snow-white flower. Since the inflorescences are unisexual, some of them contain stamens, while others contain pistils. The fruit is a tiny drupe that resembles raspberries. At the beginning of ripening, the color of the fruit is yellow-red, which gradually turns into an orange or amber hue. The ripening period is in July or August.
Planting cloudberries in open ground
There is a seed method or cuttings, which take much longer. The bush is taken in the forest or bought in specialized garden stores, where there are ready-made seedlings. Under natural conditions, the healthiest bush with ripe and large fruits is chosen. Carefully dig out, keeping the earthen ball, and pack the root part in a paper bag. During transplantation, the plant loses its strength, so it is important not to disturb the root system of the bush and handle it with care. The dug out seedling is allowed to be kept in a paper bag for some time, wrapped in plastic wrap to avoid drying out the roots.
The optimal area for growing cloudberries is a moist and nutritious soil with a slightly acidic environment. The site must be well lit. Prepare a pit 50 cm by 50 cm in advance and fill it with a special compound.The walls of the pit are covered with clay, pieces of roofing material or any other waterproofing material, and a film is laid on the bottom, in which small holes are made for water to drain. Then a mixture of forest litter and high-moor peat is poured, where the mycorrhiza necessary for the dwarf shrub are found. The mixture is compacted in volume until 10 cm remains to the top, after which it is watered.
The seedling is lowered into the hole without taking it out of the paper bag. The empty space around the main stem is filled with the prepared substrate in such a way that a small mound is formed above the planting site, and watered abundantly. After the moisture is completely absorbed into the soil, the site is leveled.
Caring for cloudberries in the garden
A bush planted before winter comes to life with the arrival of heat. It must be watered regularly in the evenings, remembering to loosen the soil and remove weeds. For irrigation, use only settled non-chlorinated water. About 5 to 8 buckets of water are consumed per square meter of planting. Periodically, several grams of citric acid are diluted in water. Moisture will better retain and nourish the root system if you take care of mulching the soil around the trunk circle. Then watering can be reduced to 2-3 times a week.
Young immature cloudberry bushes at first need constant loosening and weeding. After the plant has lived in one place for more than 3 years, the weeds will no longer cause it much harm. Flowering occurs in mid or late May. To protect the bushes from late spring frosts, a spunbond shelter is made.
When ovaries begin to form in two-year-old bushes, top dressing is carried out. Dissolve 1 tbsp in a bucket of water. mineral fertilizers. It is not recommended to add organic matter during this period.
Collection and storage of cloudberries
The collection of cloudberry fruits, as a rule, falls in July and lasts about 2 weeks. Ripe but firm berries are harvested. Overripe berries are unusable and creep quickly in the hands. Such fruits are no longer suitable for blanks. Ripe berries look translucent. They are removed from the bush, keeping the sepals, and placed in small buckets. After collecting, the sepals are torn off and dried to be used for medicinal purposes. When transporting, the buckets are covered with a clean scarf or wide leaves. If you cover the container with plastic wrap, the berries will mate and suffocate.
Ripe fruits are not stored for long. Before harvesting, it is better to pre-prepare the sugar syrup so that you can cook the jam later. The compote rolls will last longer if you use unripe berries.
All vegetative parts of the plant, including leaves and roots, are considered medicinal. Harvesting of roots is carried out in October or November.
Popularly, cloudberries are often mistaken for another plant, for example, a princess or a raspberry. However, despite the general external similarity, these representatives belong to different plant groups. Breeders have not yet succeeded in bringing out the garden form of cloudberries for cultivation.
Useful properties of cloudberries
Cloudberry is an amazing plant, rich in a huge amount of nutrients that are of particular value to the body and contains components such as proteins, pectin and tannins, fiber, sugars, phytoncides, sterols, B vitamins, vitamin C, A. Composition of trace elements also quite impressive: potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
The plant has beneficial anti-inflammatory, diuretic and anti-cancer effects. Funds made on the basis of cloudberry components are used for fevers, regeneration, have a wound healing and restorative effect.
All parts of the plant are used in folk medicine to treat diseases of the stomach and intestines, kidneys, and normalize the activity of the cardiovascular system.
Berries are recommended to be included in the diet, as they prevent the risk of fermentation reactions and help restore biochemical processes. Due to this, vitamin deficiency slows down, colds and various rashes on the skin are cured faster, internal bleeding is restrained.
Cloudberry fruit is prescribed for indigestion, cystitis, gout, sore throat and chronic forms of fatigue. The substances contained in the berries have a curative effect on tuberculosis, severe cough, and a strengthening effect on the body as a whole.
Cloudberry is in demand in the cosmetic industry. For example, the popular Lumene company produces unique cosmetic products based on its fruits.
Experts do not recommend using the berries of the plant for stomach diseases, namely, for gastritis, ulcers, when there is high acidity in the body or an exacerbation of the disease is observed. Taking cloudberries can provoke allergic reactions in people with hypersensitivity to this component.
