Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)

by Marta Trobitz, translated by Charlie Hart

 

The Cornelian cherry or dogwood is a spontaneous shrub belonging to the Cornaceae family. Its name derives from the Latin: cornus = horn, for the shiny and hard wood like the horn and mas = male, perhaps to distinguish it from the dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), formerly called Cornus femina.

Cornelian cherries are broadleaved and deciduous shrubs, which are up to 5-6 metres high and equally wide. The branches are red-brown, characterized by scaly bark. They are long-lived plants, which may be centuries-old and grow very slowly. This species prefers calcareous soils, and lives in small groups in the clearings of the deciduous forests, among the shrubs and in the hedges of the plain up to 1500 – 1600 metres above sea level. It blooms between February and March before the foliation phase. The flowers are yellow and small in size (approximately 5mm).

The fruit of the dogwood is an edible drupe (fleshy fruit), which looks like a small and scarlet olive or oblong cherry with a slightly sour taste. It ripens in August and is particularly appreciated by bears in the period of hyperphagia, when they must feed abundantly in view of the hibernation period. The drupes contain a single bone seed, recognizable within the excrements of the animals that feed on it.

The Romans used the robust wood of the Cornelian cherry for the construction of darts and berries for food use, cultivating this shrub even in their gardens. A legend tells that Romulus, the founder of Rome, threw his dogwood javelin towards the Palatine to mark the boundary of the future city. The dogwood handle, sticking into the ground, rooted and flourished to symbolize the future power of Rome.

Today their fruits are used in cuisine for excellent jams and in herbal medicine as strong astringents and antioxidants, which are also rich, as well as dog rose, with a large percentage of vitamin C. A fire oil is obtained from the seeds, and the whole plant has yellow dyeing properties.

Fioritura di corniolo. Flowering of cornelian cherry	I fiori di corniolo si trasformano in frutti. The cornelian cherry flowers turn into fruits.
Drupe di corniolo. Cornelian cherry drupes.	Corniolo con frutti maturi. Cornelian cherry with riped fruits.

European Plum

by Marta Trobitz, translated by Charlie Hart

 

The European plum (Prunus domestica) is a species of tree in the Rosaceae family well known for its fruits known as plums. The origin of the word plum is somewhat uncertain: it probably derives from the Indo-European root prus, meaning burnt, from which also the Greek pyrsòs derives, meaning vivid red colour.

It originates from Asia, but the Romans first introduced it to the Mediterranean around 150 BC. It is then believed that the Knights of the First Crusade brought it across Europe around 1200 AD, first to France, then to Germany and other regions.

The plum tree has the typical umbrella shaped canopy with a height ranging from 3-8m, depending on the variety and the climatic conditions. It prefers fresh, deep soils and it is possible to find it up to 1,000 meters above sea level. Sometimes with gnarled bark, usually it presents white flowers that bloom in the early spring, typically before the leaves of the tree have sprouted. The oval or spherical fruits reach a size up to 8 cm.

Depending on the variety, plums ripen between June and September and can be different colours, yellow, red or bluish. The Marsican brown bear is very fond of them and will never miss an opportunity to taste these sugary fruits, which are available during its period of hyperphagia when it must consume large amounts of food.

The plum tree does not live too long and yields fruit for about 20 years.

In the past, the plum was used as a lucky charm to wish for a happy marriage, to cure the sick or soothe the irritable. In China, there is curious tradition for girls to count the ripe plums left on a tree, in order to calculate how long it would take them to find a husband.

The plum is used widely in herbal medicine because of the high vitamin content (A, B1, B2 and C) and the mineral content such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium.

Fioritura di pruno. European plum in blossom	Pruno in fase vegetativa. European plum in vegetative phase.
Susine mature. Riped plums.	Un orso marsicano presso un susino A Marsican bear by a plum tree

Ramno (Rhamnus alpina)

by Marta Trobitz, translated by Charlie Hart

 

The alpine buckthorn is a bushy shrub of the Rhamnaceae family that in the Central Apennines usually lives between 800 and 2,000 meters above sea level and which can reach a maximum height of 2-3 meters.

It lives preferably on rocky slopes with a fair degree of humidity. It loves the sun and the wind. It is defined as “pioneer” because is able to settle in environments which are almost impossible for any other plants.

It blooms in the months of May – June. Its fruits, the drupes, ripen between August and September.

The drupes have a diameter of about 5 mm, fleshy pulp and sweetish taste. They have laxative and purifying properties. The bears are fond of them and, during the period of maturation, they assiduously frequent the buckthorn shrublands, which therefore hikers must avoid not to disturb the feeding animals. Through the feces, the bears spread the small seeds of the alpine buckthorn (zoochory) facilitating the dissemination and genetic variability of this plant.

In the past the alpine buckthorn was included amongst the human pharmaceutical treatments. Today its fruits are considered too energetic laxatives and only a small part of the bark has been chosen to use for regulatory and purifying herbal teas.

The leaves have a silver underside. In winter they fall showing the intricate and fascinating group of branches that compose the alpine buckthorn, which is considered as an ornamental plant.

 

Orsi si alimentano su ramno a fine estate Bears while feeding on the alpine buckthorn at the end of summer	Escremento di orso contenente ramno A bear's excrement containing alpine buckthorn
Bacche di ramno mature Ripe berries of alpine buckthorn	Le piante di ramno vivono in alta quota The alpine buckthorn plants live at high altitude
Tipico ambiente roccioso e di alta quota favorevole al ramno Typical rocky and high-altitude environment favorable for the alpine buckthorn

Wild cherry (Prunus avium)

by Marta Trobitz, translated by Patrizia Grigolo

 

The wild cherry, also known as the “bird cherry”, is a tree in the Rosaceae family.

Its scientific name derives from the way the plant propagates: very often, in fact, the birds that feed on drupes can crack open the core with their powerful gastric juices and then disperse the seeds through their droppings.

Prunus avium grows to 15-32 meters high, with an erect bearing and a rounded crown. Its smooth purple-brown bark is often interspersed with elongated and horizontal cellular formations (lenticels) of a grey-brown colour. The tree exudes a resin from its wounds, called “cherry gum”, that is often used in flavoring candies and sweets.The wild cherry has a particularly robust root system, with deep and extended roots. It is a not very long-living tree, reaching a maximum age of about 100 years. It lives well in the woods, especially at the edge of clearings, up to 1,600 meters above sea level.

The cherry blossoms, which precede the appearance of the leaves, have 5 pure white petals, and are usually borne in small bundles called corymbs (of two to six together).

Its fruits are drupes or cherries, slightly smaller than the cultivar species and have different hues of colour, from red to purple and even black.

Bees and many other pollinating insects feed on early flowering. Badgers, martens, foxes, stone martens and other small rodents of the woods feed on the fallen fruits. The bear, being an excellent climber, feeds directly on the tree, carefully selecting the best and sweetest drupes.

Wild cherry, of Asian origin, seems to have been imported to Rome in 73 BC. Its name derives from Cerasunte, a city on the Black Sea. However, the seeds of a certain number of species of cherries have been found throughout Europe in archaeological sites from the Bronze Age, from Roman times and in the ruins of a village of stilts in the Lombardy area.

Some beliefs say that during Christmas time, farmers used to tie a rope around the tree trunks, as a threat to those trees that had not yielded enough fruits the previous year. In 17^th century France, some regulations required respecting wild cherry trees, so that the poor could eat their fruits.

The cherry wood is light pink to yellowish brown in color. It is sought after by the furniture industry, both in logs and beams and for the construction of musical instruments.

In Greek mythology, the cherry tree was sacred to Venus and its fruits were thought to bring luck to lovers. In Sicily it is believed that declaring one’s love under a cherry tree would always bring good luck.

Wild cherry is used in herbal medicine in the form of decoctions and herbal teas, given its high content of vitamin C. It has diuretic, uricolytic, laxative, refreshing, aromatic, anti-gout, astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. Cherry peduncles are also utilized in popular medicine as renown diuretics.

 

Albero di ciliegio selvatico. Wild cherry tree.	I fiori già senza petali, che si trasformeranno in frutti. The flowers already without petals, which will turn into fruits.
Dettaglio della corteccia del ciliegio selvatico, con le tipiche "lenticelle". Detail of the wild cherry tree cortex, with the typical "lenticels".	La resina prodotta dal ciliegio selvatico è detta "gomma". The resin produced by the wild cherry tree is called "cherry's gum".
Escremento di orso con ciliegie selvatiche all'interno. Bear excrement with wild cherries inside.

Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

by Marta Trobitz

 

The wild strawberry is an herbaceous plant in the rose family and known for its extremely sweet and fragrant fruits.

In fact, its name fragaria is apparently connected to the Sanskrit word ghra which means, precisely, “fragrance.”

Wild strawberry fruits have been valued and consumed by humans since ancient times. It seems that about 10,000 years ago, this plant started to spread in American, European and Asian woodlands, and in the Neolithic humans began to feed on it and then learned to grow it.

Fragaria vesca is widely spread in the entire European continent. It is a plant that prefers the soft soil and the partial shade of the underbrush.

Its trifoliate leaves are grouped in small stems which between April and July produce small white flowers made up of 4 or 6 petals. Its accessory fruit, the strawberry, contains the actual fruit, composed of small yellow seeds found on the surface.

There’s a myth that recounts how Mars became a boar and, during a hunting trip, gored the handsome Adonis with his tusks out of jealousy of his love for Venus. The goddes wept over her loved one and, where her tears fell, beautiful heart-shaped red wild strawberry plants sprouted.

Wild strawberries, thus, have been cherished since ancient times and have always represented the fruit of love due to their shape and vivid color. They were consumed in great quantities during the Adonia, a Greek spring festival sacred to Adonis and to love. In the Middle Ages, strawberries became a sinful fruit because they were deemed an aphrodisiac.

For the Marsican brown bear, wild strawberries are a true integrator of salts and vitamins which allow them to better tackle the summer period. In fact, their accessory fruits are extremely rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, fatty acids and minerals, and are widely used in phytoalimurgia.

Young undamaged leaves are perfect for concocting refreshing infusions with intense diuretic and cleansing effects.

 

Fragola Wild strawberry

Fiore Flower

Oak trees (Quercus)

by Marta Trobitz

 

Quercus is a plant genus which belongs to the Fagaceae family, which includes the tree commonly known as oak.

In Italy, this genus includes different kinds of spontaneous species of trees with impressive habits and some shrubby species.

Oaks usually grow in forests, reaching an altitude of up to 800-1,000 meters (2,600-3,300 feet). Oaks can easily adjust to different kinds of soils, especially deep and clayey ones. They can endure harsh winters as well as scorching summers.

Oaks may present sometimes lobed, sometimes serrated leaves, and the same plant may exhibit different kinds of leaves depending on its age. Oaks are monoecious plants and thus a single plant produces both male and female flowers. Male flowers are clustered in yellow catkins, and female flowers in green ones.

Oaks bloom and leaf out between April and May. Their fruits, achenes, are known as acorns. They are smooth and about 4 cm (1.5 in) long and have a wrinkly and squamous cupule which covers about a quarter of the fruit. As the fruit matures, the color of the acorns goes from green to brown.

In Italy, there are several species of oak. In montainous regions, the most common and widely found types of oak are the pedunculate or common oak (Quercus robur), the Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) and the downy oak (Quercus pubescens). In some mountainous areas near the Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise National Park, we can also find a different species of oak: the holm or holly oak (Quercus ilex), usually present in hills and areas with temperate climates. In the area of Casali d’Aschi in Gioia dei Marsi, it resists higher altitudes, a reminiscence of a time when the area was milder thanks to the waters of the Fucino Lake. The holm is the only evergreen oak.

Oak forests are always vibrant with life. The cupule-shaped open foliage of oaks allows light to pass through and reach the ground, thus enabling bushes like the Cornelian cherry, hazel, the ash tree and other herbal plants to grow.

In mythology, oaks boast a noteworthy attribute: they can host not one but two nymphs, two tree spirits. One of these nymphs, the dryads, were capable of leaving the tree. That was the reason why, before logging any tree, it was mandatory to have a priest perform a ritual to urge them to abandon the tree. The other nymphs, the hamadryads, lived and died with the same oak, so whenever a tree was in danger, the whole forest would overflow with their lament.

Another myth tells us about the contentious relationship between God and the devil. In fact, the latter, exasperated by God’s great powers over living creatures, one day requested the Almighty full control over the forest at least during the winter. Upon hearing such a request, the trees stiffened their leaves, trusting God’s common sense. God however agreed to the devil’s request and granted him full control over the forest only when all plants had shed their every leaf. The animals and plants, shaken by God’s decision, turned to the great oak for advice. The wise tree promised to lose its dry leaves only when at least one bush, tree or plant had already started leafing out again.

Back in Ancient Greece, the oak was the tree sacred to Zeus. The Romans used to award a crown made of oak branches to those who had proved their worth in battle, saving a citizen from death.

Oak wood is widely used as fuel and for the manufacturing of furniture. In phytotherapy, the oak is also very practical due to its astringent and haemostatic properties. Its acorns are sweet and, apart from being a popular pig feed, they were also used by humans during times of famine and the post-war period as flour to bake acorn bread or piadina. Acorns mature between September and October, when the Marsican brown bear is at the height of hyperphagia and feeds abundantly on them.

 

Quercia Oak	Foglia e chiocciola Leave and snail
Foglie di roverella in inverno Leaves of Quercus pubescens in winter

Wild apple tree (Malus sylvestris)

by Marta Trobitz

 

The wild apple tree (Malus sylvestris) is a plant belonging to the Rosaceae family. It mainly grows as a shrub or small tree, but, in optimal conditions, can exceed 10 m in height.

It’s Latin attribute sylvestris indicates a “plant of the forest”.

It presents a gray bark, smooth in the early years and in plates at a more mature age, it grows in sandy and well-drained soils up to 1,400 meters above sea level. The wild apple tree has a relatively short lifespan (up to about 80 years) and grows in a slender structure.

The soft pink flowers are built on a beautiful five-petaled corolla. Its false fruits (apples), similar to those of the domestic apple but smaller, have an intense aroma and a very sour taste due to the high content of tannins. The apples ripen between July and October, just in conjunction with the onset of the Marsican brown bear hyperphagia and they feast on apples before the winter hibernation.

In ancient mythology, the legend of the apple tree recurs several times. It was a tree sacred to Hera, wife of Zeus, which produces golden fruits, symbolizing saving knowledge and immortality. Also, the golden apple given by Paris to Aphrodite in change of the love of the most beautiful woman in the world have contributed to our vision of apples as a symbol of feminine beauty and carnality.

Alexander the Great is said to have brought wild apple trees from Kazakhstan as spoils of his conquests. The Romans used to cultivate over thirty different varieties of apple trees, preferring those that ripened in autumn, so as they were able to keep the fruit throughout the winter. In the Middle Ages, sour fruits were used to preserve food and to flavor salads.

Multiple testimonies from prehistoric times confirm that the wild apple tree was well known and appreciated since the origins of man and that it has been cultivated in numerous varieties because of the remarkable beneficial properties of the fruit.

Apples become edible after the first autumn frosts and can be used to prepare jellies or infused in alcohol (“pomino”). Today this plant is used as a rootstock for the cultivation of Malus domestica varieties.

Many craftsmen made watch gears, yokes, wheels, mechanisms, and screws from the hard wood of the shell. The most beautiful logs were steam treated and used to produce veneers used to cover and decorate fine furniture.

Thanks to their dense branching, wild apple trees often offer shelter and hiding places for many small animals. Several species of bird nest in the hollows of the trunk, which are also used as daytime shelter by bats.

 

Pianta di melo selvatico. Plant of wild apple tree.	Frutto. (Ph. Siro Baliva) Fruit.
Pomi. Apples.	Escrementi di orso con semi di mela. Bear scat with apple seeds.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

by Marta Trobitz

 

The dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) or common dandelion is a plant belonging to the family Asteracee.

It grows spontaneously in meadows, uncultivated places and along roads up to 2,000 meters above the sea level.

The dandelion is an herbaceous and perennial plant. Its height varies between 10 and 30 cm. It has a large tap root from which a basal rosette of leaves develops at the ground level. The stem evolves after the birth of the leaves and it is hollow, hairless and milky. On top of the stem is   the inflorescence characterized by ligulate and dense yellow petals.

Flowering occurs in spring, usually between April and May but can last until autumn. From each flower develops an achene with the characteristic pappus. The pappus is made on a tuft of white hair, originating from the modified calix. Acting like a parachute, it facilitates the dispersion of the seed with the wind.

In mythology it is said that Theseus, under the advice of Hekate, ate only dandelions for 30 days in a row to become strong enough and defeat the Minotaur. In the popular tradition, you can make a wish while blowing on the pappus: if with a single breath all the seeds fly away, the wish will come true soon.

This plant, rich in flavonoids, potassium salts and other minerals, it is an exceptional supplement for the bear in the summer period.

In phytotherapy, every part of the dandelion is used for its digestive, diuretic, purifying and mildly anti-inflammatory properties. Leaves, flowers and roots are also widely used in cooking to replace capers, make salads, pesto and much more.

The dandelion flowers, much appreciated by bees, are often used for making syrups or jellies.

 

Fioritura di tarassaco. Flowers of dandelion.

Tarassaco. Dandelion.

Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillius)

by Marta Trobitz, translated by Mario Cipollone and reviewed by Danny Thorpe and Martin Mudoy-Deverlanges

 

The European blueberry is a shrub of the Ericaceae family, whose fruit is classified among the berries.

This shrub has an expansive shape and a height of between 20-60 cm. It grows in mountainous areas up to 2,000 meters above sea level.

Its white flowers have the shape of an overturned jar and bloom in May.

The blueberry fruits, bluish in colour, are pseudo berries that ripen in the summer months. They reach their maximum maturity in August, but it is possible to collect and find them on the plant until late September.

Their sour and brown pulp contains many small crescent-shaped seeds. The pseudo berries have a round shape with the typical annular circular scar on the apical part.

Blueberries are widely used in the preparation of juices, jams, jellies and liqueurs.

In fact, the fruits are very rich in anthocyanins and anti-inflammatory substances. It explains its wide use in medicine since the middle age. In the 16th century it was used for the treatment of bladder stones, scurvy, coughs, and pulmonary tuberculosis.

The most abundant patches of blueberries distributed throughout the area of the Marsican bear are found on the Monti della Laga, in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, where the predominantly marly-clay soil is suitable for the growth of this shrub.

In today’s medicine they are widely used in the treatment of dysentery, oropharyngeal inflammation, and eye disorders.

Blueberries, like blackberries or raspberries, have historically been among the best excuses for gathering and going singing to the mountains. In the summer tradition of the mountains, there was “blueberry Sunday”, a day dedicated to frivolity, when the young men and women, equipped with buckets, instead of picking the fruits, just went for flirting and dancing. In the end, their mothers picked the blueberries in their stead, and made the jam.

 

 

Mirtilli. Foto: Giampiero Cammerini. Blueberry. Photo: Giampiero Cammerini.

Brughiera di mirtilli. Foto: Giampiero Cammerini. Blueberry heat. Photo: Giampiero Cammerini.

The Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

written by Marta Trobitz and translated by Mara Pitari and Kari Guthrie

 

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is a fruits shrub belonging to the Rosaceae family and to the Rubus genus.

The term Rubus comes from rúbeo, meaning red: the colour of this plant’s fruits.

The Raspberry grows on hilly or mountainous lands up to about 2,000 meters above sea level. It colonizes open spaces inside a forest or parts of a forest that have been burned or cut.

Green or red brown, this shrub can reach 2 metres in height. Its leaves, that are slightly hairy, have a toothed margin, with a whitish coloured underside.

The raspberry is a biennial plant that blooms between May and June, producing in late summer composite fruits, made up of a collection of fruits (drupes).

Dioscorides (1st century) called the raspberry “bush of Mount Ida”. As a spontaneous plant, it was already known in Asia and Europe. It is assumed that the plant was also cultivated by the Romans, who most likely spread it throughout the Empire. The raspberries often appear in medieval art as a symbol of kindness. Perhaps this is due to the blood red colour of the juice, associated with the concepts of energy and nutrition. In Greece and Italy, the cultivation of raspberry began around 1.500.

According to legend, Zeus became angry with the nymph Ida. She went to collect a basket of raspberries to put him back in a good mood. The fruits had been white until that time, but she turned them into red fruits.

The Marsican brown bear eats raspberries in spring and in summer, taking vitamin C and tannins.

Raspberries, in fact, contain good amounts of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B9, A and C, minerals such as potassium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, calcium and zinc. They are rich in fibre, especially pectin.

Raspberry is a melliferous plant and collected by bees. It can be used as a diuretic and cholagogue. Infusion of leaves is useful against diarrhoea. In the last months of pregnancy, the leaves and buds are used to tone the muscles of the uterus and to improve contractions.