In Russia, cherry plum is called cherry plum, in Western Europe - mirabelle, and in the Caucasus - splayed plum. It is often bred not only as a fruit tree, but also as an ornamental tree. Why is the healthy and tasty cherry plum called that way, and what is the notorious spreading plum?
Spread tree
Caucasians call the cherry plum a spread-out plum because of the shape of its tree, the branches of which really have a slightly spread-out shape, which gives the cherry plum crown an extraordinary splendor. In addition to Russia, cherry plum grows in the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, Iran, as well as in the Kopet-Dag, Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai mountains. The splayed plum grows best and produces abundant harvests on fertile river soils. In some villages, gum is especially valued, which is collected from the bark of the cherry plum and chewed to soften the cough.
The spread-out plum reproduces well as shoots and can live for about 120 years. Cherry plum fruits are rich in sugar, acids, pectin substances, as well as vitamin C and provitamin A. They are eaten raw or delicious jams, preserves and compotes are cooked from them. Strong dark-red cherry plum wood does not remain idle either - small turning and joinery products are made from it. Often spreading plum trees are used as decorative landscaping - the red-leaved cherry plum, which grows in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Crimea and Central Asia, has a particularly decorative look.
Cherry plum features
Externally, the splayed plum looks like a multi-stemmed tree of the Rosaceae family with a spreading crown. Cherry plum trees often reach 10-15 meters in height. The ripe fruits of the splayed plum are green, dark purple or pink in color, and their seeds are difficult to separate from the pulp. The sour or sweet-sour taste of cherry plum fruits is given by malic and citric acids in their composition, as well as sugar, the amount of which ranges from 4.2% to 9.9%. Also in the composition of the fruits of the splayed plum there are nitrogenous, mineral and tannins.
The pectins contained in cherry plum make it possible to use it for making aromatic golden jelly. In addition, it is often used to make wines, liqueurs, soft drinks, and is also widely used in cooking - for example, tkemali (a local variety of cherry plums) is very popular in Georgia. The fruits of the spread-out plum, boiled and wiped through a sieve, are the raw material for making lavash cakes, which are used in folk medicine for scurvy. Cherry plum has also proven itself well as a wound healing agent - its juice diluted with water and a small amount of camphor is excellent for wounds that do not heal well.
