The cornelian cherry has been somewhat forgotten as a fruit tree by the real cherry. This is unfortunate because the fruits contain a lot of vitamin C and are also ecologically very valuable because they bloom early. Interesting facts about cornelian cherries.
What is the cornelian cherry and what properties does it have?
The Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) is a native shrub or small tree that bears golden yellow flowers and produces elongated fruits. It grows 3-8 meters high and blooms from late February to April. The fruits are rich in vitamin C and serve as a food source for bees and bumblebees.
Facts about cornelian cherries
- Botanical name: Cornus mas
- Popular name: Yellow Dogwood, Herlitze, Dürlitze
- Origin: native
- Family: Dogwood family
- Species: various species, many breeding forms
- Distribution: Southern and Central Europe, often occurs wild
- Height: 3 – 8 meters
- Flowers: golden yellow, spherical umbels, hermaphrodite flowers
- Scent: light honey scent
- Leaves: green, occasionally yellow, ovate, smooth-edged. Autumn colors
- Flowering time: end of February to April, long flowering period
- Fruits: elongated, up to 2, occasionally 4 cm, yellow, red, violet, almost black
- Harvest time: end of August, September to October
- Fertilization: cross-pollination by insects
- Propagation: cuttings, planters, rarely by sowing
- Use: Solitary shrub, fruit tree, hedges in gardens and parks
One of the first spring bloomers
The cornelian cherry blooms very early in the year, usually even earlier than the forsythia. The leaves only appear when the tree has faded.
Due to its early flowering, the cornelian cherry is the first source of food for bees and bumblebees after winter.
Cornelian cherries are very he althy
Cornel cherries differ from real cherries primarily in their size and shape. The fruits are elongated and are around two centimeters long in some varieties and up to four centimeters long. Red varieties are very bitter and hardly edible raw, while the taste of the almost black cornelian cherries is similar to that of morello cherries.
Harvesting cornelian cherries
If you want to harvest cornelian cherries for yourself, you have to be faster than the birds. It is best if you put a net over the crown and protect the fruit from the birds. (But you should treat the feathered garden dwellers to a few fruits!)
Harvesting cornelian cherries is not that easy. It's best to wait until the fruit is almost overripe. Place a clean cloth (bed sheet) under the tree and use a stick to knock the fruit from the branches.
Releasing the stones is also very time-consuming. For home use, simply cook the fruit with a stone and then strain the mixture through a sieve.
Tip
In Austria, cornelian cherries are called Dirndl or Dirndlstrauch. Dirndl schnapps is distilled from this, which is very expensive because of the laborious harvest.
