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Polyanika - Prince - Mamura

Low (25-30 cm) perennial herb (Rubus areticus L.) from the family Rosaceae. Ternate leaves with petioles and two stipules with ovate serrated dentate leaves. The flowers are often bright crimson, but can be pale pink, and sometimes almost white, depending on the shape and location of growth. And fruits that look like berries of raspberries (the clearing belongs to the genus of raspberries) is a combined drupe of 25-50 fruits. The color shades of the fruit are also different: from red to lighter tones. The intensity of the color is affected by the illumination.

In the wild, the princess is found in Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the Far East. He likes moist, but sunny places, and therefore grows near marshes, along the banks of rivers and lakes, at the edges of rarefied alder and birch forests. The creeping cord-like root does not lie deep - 10-15 cm from the soil surface.

The plant has not yet been fully studied and introduced into the culture, nevertheless, it is of great interest and, above all, for its frost resistance - it can grow even within the Arctic Circle, as well as for the high bioactive properties of sweet aromatic fruits. From the literature it is known that they contain 200-300 mg% of vitamin C, and in the leaves - almost 400 mg%. Flavonoids, saponins, anthodians, citric and malic acids, tannins - all this is contained in the fruits of the princess and its leaves, which is why they are used for tea.

The prince can grow well and develop everywhere, but the yield is small, so it is important to select more productive forms and engage in hybridization. In Finland, relatively recently, a princess and raspberry hybrid, the so-called nectar berry, was obtained and a variety of Heya was developed.

Recently it has been revealed that mycorrhiza affects the increase in the princess yield. My experience in growing this berry confirms this. I plant the princess in a sunny place in humus-rich, well-fertilized soil, consisting of rotted manure, compost obtained from rotted leaves and grass with the addition of sand (all in equal amounts). From mineral fertilizers I add superphosphate and potassium sulfate, respectively 100 and 40 g per 1 m2. The meadow is well developed on light, breathable soil, if its moderate moisture is maintained.

The princess is reared by the root offspring and seeds. Seeds should be sown in a box and placed under snow or sown immediately after harvesting and the soil should be kept moist at all times, covered with moss. When stored dry, seeds lose their germination capacity.

The ground part of the plant dies annually, dries out, and the perennial root, growing, gives offspring that spread around a dense grassy massif. The prince-polenik is very decorative. Therefore, it can be used for borders of paths and flower beds, in discounts and garden interiors. But do not forget that the nutritional properties of berries are very valuable, and in this sense, you need to experience this interesting plant, observe it.

Krasnika

This perennial shrub from the lingonberry family (Vaccinium praestans L) grows mainly in Sakhalin, as well as on the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, in Primorye and in northern Japan. Its open trunks 8-10 cm high are covered with dense shiny leaves of a wide elliptical or obovate shape (2-2.5 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide). Moreover, in different phases of their development, they change color shades. On Sakhalin, the leaves of the plants are larger, in the fall they do not fall and go green under the snow, but in the spring they die off after the snow has melted, and young fresh leaves will melt in place of the shrunken ones.

The flowers are delicate, transparent, with beautiful pink and white corollas, on an elegantly curved peduncle. Fruits resemble cranberries - red, rounded, 8-12 mm in diameter. In place of the fallen corolla is a small circle with a rim. On the palate, berries containing a lot of vitamin C and benzoic acid are sweet and sour with a peculiar specific aroma. When ripe, they “fall” down, as if hiding among the leaves.

Dye flowers dioecious. Bees love to visit them, but fruits are tied even under an insulator cap, since krasnika is a self-pollinating plant.

It can be propagated by seeds, either by stratifying them, or by sowing in the ground under winter and covering the soil with moss. By dividing the bushes, it is difficult to propagate the dwarf, because it recovers for a long time, lags behind the growth of undeveloped plants in growth and development.

Experience has shown that krasnik can be settled in an amateur garden. Agricultural technology is quite simple, it is to create conditions close to natural, that is, to select illuminated places, moist, slightly acidified, humus and breathable soil.

This interesting beautiful plant, having nutritional and medicinal value, deserves to be introduced into the culture. Local residents of those places where krasnik grows make juice from berries and make jam. It is believed that dye helps lower blood pressure.

Author: A. Frolova