Fetus. The structure of the fetus. Fruit classification. Juicy and dry fruits. Juicy drupe Non-opening dry fruits

Lecture 8. Fruits, seeds

Fruit.

Fetus.The fetus is a reproductive organ covered seed plants within which seeds are formed. beautiful figurative definition given by American botanist Arthur Eames “The fruit is the mature flower.” Fruit functions: formation, protection and distribution of seeds.

Fruits are characteristic only for flowering plants. The fruit is formed from the flower, usually after fertilization. main role the gynoecium plays a role in the formation of the fetus. The lower part of the pistil - the ovary, containing the ovules, grows and turns into a fruit.

The fruit consists of a pericarp and seeds, the number of which corresponds to the number of ovules. Sometimes other parts of the flower (receptacle, stamens, perianth) also take part in the formation of the fetus.

pericarp, or pericarp- this is the wall of the fruit, developing from the wall of the ovary. As a rule, the pericarp makes up the bulk of the fetus. Three layers are usually distinguished in it (Fig. 53): exocarp- the outer layer of the pericarp, mesocarp- the middle layer of the pericarp, endocarp- the inner layer of the pericarp.

In different fruits, the layers of the pericarp are expressed in different ways. For example, in a drupe (cherry fruit), the exocarp is thin, leathery, the mesocarp is thick, juicy and fleshy, and the endocarp is hard woody (bone). In the hazel nut, the layers of the pericarp are practically indistinguishable.

Fruit classification. There is no generally accepted classification of fruits. Various classifications are built on the basis of various features and are artificial.

If one pistil is involved in the formation of the fruit, regardless of whether it is formed by one or more carpels, this simple fruit (pea, cherry, poppy). If the fruit is formed from several pistils, it is called difficult, or prefabricated(raspberry, blackberry, buttercup). Some plants may form infertility- more or less fused fruits, formed from the flowers of one inflorescence (figs, pineapple, mulberries, sugar beets).

According to the consistency of the pericarp, the fruits are divided into dry- fruits with a dry, woody or leathery pericarp (beans, hazel, henbane) and juicy- fruits in which the entire pericarp or part of it is juicy or fleshy (pear, currant, watermelon). According to the number of seeds, the fruits are divided into single-seeded fruits (plum, wheat) and multi-seeded(gooseberry, melon, tomato).

Dry fruits.

box-shaped fruits(Fig. 54).

Bean- formed by one carpel, more often a multi-seeded fruit (sometimes one-seeded, for example, in clovers), opening simultaneously along the ventral and dorsal sutures, the seeds are attached to the fruit valves along the ventral suture (white acacia, lupine, sweet peas).

Pod, pod- a multi-seeded fruit formed by two carpels, the seeds are located on the partition between the valves (levka, colza, cabbage). The length of the pod is four or more times greater than the width (mustard, cabbage), the length of the pod is two to three times or equal to it.

box- a multi-seeded fruit formed by two or more carpels (tobacco, cotton). Boxes can be single-nested and multi-nested.

Nut-shaped fruits (Fig. 55).

Nut- a fruit with a woody pericarp that does not grow together with the seed peel, formed from two carpels (hazel). In hazelnuts, nuts are enclosed in a plush - a leaf-shaped wrapper that develops from three fused bracts; nut- differs from a nut in smaller sizes (buckwheat, linden).

Lionfish- an achene, the pericarp of which has a wing, formed from scaly bracts and bracts (birch, alder) fused with the pericarp or from segments of the perianth (elm, sorrel) adhering to the pericarp.

Acorn- a fruit with a woody pericarp that does not grow together with the seed, has a cup-shaped cupule formed by modified sterile branches of the inflorescence, is typical for various kinds oak.

Achene- a fruit with a leathery pericarp that does not grow together with the seed, most often formed from two carpels, characteristic of Compositae (aster, dandelion).

Zernovka- a fruit with a thin membranous pericarp, growing together with the seed peel, characteristic of cereals.

Juicy fruits.

Drupe fruits.

drupes- a fruit with a fleshy juicy mesocarp and a woody endocarp (stone) (plum, cherry, sweet cherry), the outer layer of the pericarp, the exocarp is thin, the skin. There is also a dry drupe - the structure of the fruit is similar to a juicy drupe, but when fully ripe, the mesocarp dries up (almonds, walnuts).

Prefabricated drupe consists of many individual drupes, each of which is formed from a separate pistil, and they are all collected on one receptacle.

Berry fruits(Fig. 56).

Berry - as a rule, a multi-seeded fruit with a juicy fleshy endo- and mesocarp, in the pulp of which seeds are immersed, and a thin membranous or leathery exocarp (grapes, tomatoes, lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries).

Pomeranian, or hesperidium - the fruit of citrus plants (orange, lemon). The exocarp is brightly colored, contains a large number of containers of essential oils.

Mesocarp loose, white, spongy, dry and tasteless. Endocarp cells form long-stalked juice sacs filled with cell sap that make up the edible pulp of the fruit;

grenade- a fruit, the pulp of which is formed from the juicy outer layer of the seed coat of numerous seeds. The pericarp of a mature fruit dries up and forms a hard leathery peel.

False fruits -fruits formed not only from the ovary of the pistil, but also from other parts of the flower (more often the receptacle). Usually false fruits develop in plants that have flowers with a lower ovary.

.Apple (Fig. 57) - a multi-seeded false fruit, in which the pulp develops from an overgrown receptacle. The pericarp itself forms the walls of nests with seeds (apple, pear, mountain ash, hawthorn).

pumpkin(Fig. 57) - a multi-seeded false fruit with a hard, hard, lignified or leathery exocarp and a juicy meso- and endocarp. Pumpkin is formed from flowers with a lower ovary; pumpkin, melon, watermelon, and cucumber have pumpkin fruit.

Zemlyanichina, or frag - a false fruit (strawberry, strawberry), formed from a convex juicy receptacle, on which there are real nut fruits.

cinnarodium- also a false fruit, characteristic of wild rose. The goblet-shaped colored receptacle hides the real fruits of the nuts, densely covered with hairs.

Seeds.

Seed – a highly specialized organ of sexual reproduction, settling and experiencing adverse living conditions in seed plants, which usually develops after fertilization from the ovule.

A typical seed consists of an integument (skin), an embryo, and nutritive tissue. The main function of the seed coat is to protect the embryo from drying out and mechanical damage. A peel is formed from the integuments of the ovule, integuments. The seed embryo develops from a fertilized egg, has diploid set chromosomes. The embryo in a rudimentary form has all the main organs of the plant: the germinal root, stalk, bud and the first germinal leaves - cotyledons. Dicots have two cotyledons, monocots have one. The storage tissues of the seed are endosperm, perisperm, the main tissue of the cotyledons. The endosperm develops from the fertilized central nucleus of the embryo sac (has a triploid set of chromosomes), the perisperm develops from the nucellus (has a diploid set of chromosomes). They consist of thin-walled parenchymal cells, usually completely filled with nutrients.

Seed structure dicot plants. Many dicotyledonous plants have endosperm (poppy) reserves, but the presence of endosperm is considered a sign of primitive structure. In addition, many dicotyledonous plants store nutrients in the perisperm. The perisperm is formed from the cells of the female sporangium, the nucellus. There are seeds that contain both endosperm and perisperm (pepper). In evolutionarily more advanced plants, nutrients accumulate in the tissues of the embryo itself - in the root, stalk, cotyledons. In these plants, the reserve nutrients of the endosperm are absorbed by the embryo and deposited in the organs of the embryo. Let us consider the structure of the seed of dicotyledonous plants using the example of a bean seed, which consists of two parts - the seed coat and the embryo.

Seed coat, spermoderm consists of several layers of cells, thin, leathery. On the concave part of the bean seed, on the surface of the seed coat, you can see a small hole - the former seed entrance, or micropyle responsible for respiration, and scar- the place of the former attachment of the ovule in the ovary. germ - the main part of the seed, consisting of a root, a stalk, a bud with leaves and two very large cotyledons (the first embryonic leaves). The nutrient tissue of the endosperm at the very beginning of seed formation is absorbed by the developing embryo, and reserve nutrients are deposited in the embryo itself, in two cotyledons.

Seed types. Depending on the location of reserve nutrients, four types of seeds are distinguished: seeds with endosperm (poppy), seeds with endosperm and perisperm (pepper), seeds with perisperm (cockle), seeds without endosperm and without perisperm (beans).

The structure of the seeds of monocotyledonous plants. Consider the structure of seeds with endosperm using the example of a wheat grain (Fig. 51), but a wheat grain is a fruit whose pericarp is firmly fused with the seed coat. There are three main parts in the caryopsis: the seed coat, fused with the pericarp, the seed embryo and the nutrient tissue - the endosperm, on one side adjacent to the embryo.

The endosperm makes up the bulk of the seed. In the central part of the endosperm are triploid cells with a supply of nutrients in the form of starch grains. On the periphery, the endosperm is surrounded by special cells aleurone layer with storage protein in the form of aleurone grains. The embryo is adjacent to the endosperm. In the embryo, the root, stalk, bud with leaves and one cotyledon, which is transformed into a shield (the second cotyledon is reduced), are clearly distinguishable. The shield ensures the absorption of nutrients from the endosperm during seed germination. The root is covered with a cap - coleorhiza, the kidney is protected by a cap - coleoptile.

conditions for seed germination. Seeds need to germinate certain conditions, the main of which are: the presence of water, oxygen, certain temperature, the living germ of the seed.

Seeds must swell before germination. In this case, the seeds absorb a large amount of water. This is necessary for the activation of enzymes that convert the reserve substances of the seed into a form that is easily digestible and accessible to the embryo. The seeds of some plants need scarification. Scarification - mechanical damage to the waterproof covers of the seed. It can be carried out manually or with the help of special mechanisms.

Germinating seeds breathe more intensively, while generating more heat. Raw grain collected in a pile "burns", the temperature inside quickly rises, which leads to the death of the embryos. Therefore, seeds should be stored dry, in well-ventilated areas.

Temperature is of great importance for seed germination, since the course of biochemical processes of synthesis and decomposition in germinating seeds depends on it. Seeds of many plants are able to germinate in a fairly wide range of temperatures. However, for each species there are certain upper and lower limits. For most plants minimum value temperatures - 0-5°C, and the maximum - 45-48°C.

The optimum temperature for seed germination of many plants is 25-35°C. Seeds of many plants of temperate and cold climatic zones do not germinate without freezing. Therefore, in agricultural practice, stratification- soaking seeds in wet sand low temperatures. This technique accelerates the germination of seeds of many plants.

Types of seed germination. There are two types of seed germination - aboveground and underground. With above-ground germination (beans), the cotyledons are pulled out to the surface of the earth, turn green, but the nutrients from them are quickly absorbed and they dry out. Such seeds should not be planted too deeply into the soil when sowing. With underground germination, the cotyledons remain underground (peas, oak). The internode between the root and the cotyledons is called the hypocotyl, and between the cotyledons and the first true leaves is called the epicotyl.

Development of seeds and fruits without fertilization. In some plants, fruits and seeds develop without fertilization, this phenomenon is called apomixis (no mixing). The development of an egg without fertilization is called parthenogenesis and is typical, for example, for such plants as hawkweed, dandelion. The embryo can also be formed from synergids or antipodes. In citrus fruits, the embryo is formed from nucellus cells without the formation of spores (aposporia).

Parthenocarpy- the formation of fruits devoid of seeds. This phenomenon is of great economic importance and is known in plants such as grapes, banana, pear, orange, tangerine. These plants are propagated vegetatively.

Seed composition . All substances of the seed can be divided into two groups: inorganic and organic. Not organic matter seeds are represented by water and minerals. Even the driest-looking seeds contain 7 to 12% water. This can be verified by heating the seeds in a test tube. In this case, drops of water will form on the walls of the test tube. When seeds are burned, ash remains, which is a mixture of various mineral salts.

The seeds of all plants contain organic substances - proteins, fats and carbohydrates. However, their percentage in seeds various plants not the same. In the seeds of some plants, a large amount of starch accumulates (in wheat 66%), in others - fats (in castor beans up to 70%), in others - proteins (in soybeans - 34-45%). In any case, the seeds contain all organic matter in greater or lesser quantities.

After fertilization, a seed is formed from the seed primordia, and the flower turns into a fruit. The integuments turn into the skin of the seeds. Nucellus is consumed in most plants during the formation of the embryo as nutrient. Sometimes it can turn into a nutrient.

The flower turns into a fruit. The wall of the ovary changes and forms pericarp . The pericarp surrounds the seed. If the pericarp is formed only by the walls of the ovary, such a fruit is called hereby (for cherries, plums, etc.). In many plant species, the fruit is also formed with the help of other parts of the flower (the bases of the stamens, receptacle, sepals, petals). Such fruits are called false (for example, an apple tree).

The fruit is made up of pericarp or pericarp (from Greek. peri near, around karpos fruit) and seeds. In the pericarp, they distinguish: the skin, or the outer thin part - exocarp ; medium, which can be either juicy or dry - mesocarp ; inner leathery, membranous, sometimes lignified, - endocarp (called a bone). The most typical structure is the fruit of the drupe type.

In the process of ripening, sugars, vitamins, fats and other substances accumulate in the pericarp.

Functions of the pericarp: protects the seed from adverse environmental factors, promotes the spread of seeds.

Fruits are distinguished by the nature of education: real, false, prefabricated (complex) , formed from several pistils of one flower (for blackberries, raspberries, etc.). Several fruits, which were formed from a single flower each, can grow together and form infertility (in mulberry, pineapple).

According to the state of the pericarp, fruits are distinguished dry having a dry, lignified pericarp, and juicy having a fleshy, juicy pericarp.

Juicy fruits

drupes - a fruit in which all three layers of the pericarp are well distinguished. Endocarp hard, lignified (stone). Mesocarp - juicy (plum, cherry, sweet cherry), fibrous (coconut) or almost dry (almond).

Apple - This is a multi-seeded fruit formed by an overgrown juicy receptacle (apple, pear, mountain ash, quince).

Berry - This is a multi-seeded fruit that has juicy mesocarps and endocarps (grapes, gooseberries, currants, etc.). The exocarp is leathery.

pumpkin - This juicy fruit, which has succulent mesocarp and endocarp. Exocarp colored, hard (pumpkin, melon, cucumber, etc.).

dry fruits

Distinguish between opening and non-opening. Opening predominantly multi-seeded fruits , non-opening - have one seed.

Opening dry fruits:

Bean - opens from top to bottom along the top and bottom seams. Seeds are attached to the halves of the pericarp (beans, peas, soybeans).

Pod - dry fruit, which is opened from the base to the top along two seams. Consists of two fused carpels. Seeds are contained inside the fruit on a membrane membrane (radish, cabbage, mustard). The length exceeds the width by 1.5–2 times.

Pod - shorter and wider than the pod (camelina, rolls, etc.) - the length is equal to the width.

box - an opening fruit. Can be opened different ways: poppy - teeth on top; in henbane, plantain - with a lid; in dope, St. John's wort, tobacco, milkweed, violets, etc. - numerous longitudinal slits.

Non-opening dry fruits:

Zernovka It is an indehiscent one-seeded fruit. The thin pericarp adheres very tightly to the seed coat, grows together with it (cereals).

Leaflet - a multi-seeded fruit formed by one carpel, which opens on one side along the seam (peony).

multi-leaflet (magnolia) has many carpels.

Nut - has a hard lignified pericarp. The seed lies freely inside (hazel, beech).

Achene – indehiscent fetus formed by two carpels. Contains one seed. The pericarp is leathery, does not adhere to the seed, does not grow together with it (sunflower, calendula).

Lionfish It is a dry indehiscent fruit. Along the edges of the pericarp, a thin border is formed in the form of a wing (elm, hornbeam, ash, birch).

Nut - dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit. The pericarp is leathery or lignified. If it consists of many nuts, then it is called multi-nut . In a fleshy receptacle, nuts are found in strawberries, strawberries.

This classification is artificial, as it is based only on morphological features fruits.

Juicy drupe

Juicy drupe, a fruit having a thin skin, juicy pulp and a hard stone containing a single seed. Examples of such a fruit are cherry, peach, plum, olive, almond.

Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary.

See what "Juicy Bone" is in other dictionaries:

- (drupa), a juicy fruit with a sharp differentiation of the layers of the pericarp: a thin leathery extracarp, a juicy intercarp and a lignified intracarp containing the seed and forming a stone. K. can be apocarpous from one carpel (cherry, plum ...

A fleshy plant fruit with a hard, woody pit and a juicy (plum, cherry) or large or small dry (almond) and fibrous (coconut) outer layer. Distinguish between a single-drupe (for example, plum, almond) and a multi-drupe ... ...

This term has other meanings, see Fruit (meanings) ... Wikipedia

- (Cerasus), a genus of shrubs and trees of the family. pink. High from 2 to 30 m. Leaves entire, flowers in umbellate or racemose inflorescences, sometimes solitary or two. The fruit is a juicy drupe. OK. 150 species, in temperate and subtropical. belts of the North ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

- (Prunus spinosa), a plant of the plum genus. thorn bush, less often tree height. 4 8 m. Leaves obovate, crenately serrated; flowers solitary, white; the fruit is black with a bluish coating, a juicy drupe with sweet and sour pulp. Blooms until... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

common peach- Persica vulgaris Mill. Rosaceae family. A tree 3-8 m high with outstretched branches forming a wide crown. The bark of the trunk and old branches is reddish brown, rough, and scaly. Old branches open and drooping, young ones - ... ... Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants

Cherry (Cerasus), genus woody plants rosaceae family. The leaves are alternate. The flowers are white or pink, collected in small inflorescences - umbrellas. The fruit is a juicy drupe with a spherical stone (intracarpel), contains one seed. 150 are known ... ... Big soviet encyclopedia

- (Laurocerasus) genus evergreen trees or shrubs of the Rosaceae family. The leaves are petiolate, mostly leathery, serrated, serrated or entire. The flowers are small, white, in narrow racemes. The fruit is a juicy drupe, the pulp is sweet ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Melia) a genus of deciduous or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs of the meliaceae family. Leaves alternate, pinnate. Flowers in panicles. The fruit is a dry or juicy drupe. Up to 25 species, in tropical and subtropical areas of the Old World. M... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Persica) a genus of woody plants of the Rosaceae family. 5 species are known: P. ordinary (P. vulgaris), P. gansunsky (P. kansuensis), P. David (P. dawidiana), P. Potanin (P. potanini), P. amazing (P. mira). Homeland Central and ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The range of the genus covers a significant part of the Northern Hemisphere (mainly zones with a temperate and subtropical climate), as well as Australia.

Most representatives of the genus are shrubs or small trees, much less often perennial grasses (for example, grassy elderberry). Elderberry branches are very brittle. This is due to the fact that a significant part of the volume is occupied by a loose core.

The leaves are opposite, pinnate, composed of five to seven leaflets. Leaflets are serrate-toothed, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, with a strong characteristic bad smell. Young leaves are often dark red or purple.

The flowers are small, bisexual, with a double five-membered perianth, with greenish-yellow or yellowish-white, wheel-shaped corollas, odorous, collected in dense oblong ovate or conical-shaped paniculate inflorescences up to 20 cm in diameter. Flowering occurs in May-June simultaneously with the blooming of leaves, annually and abundantly, for 15 days.

Some species are used as medicinal plants; elderberry (especially red and black) is used in beekeeping as a source of pollen and nectar, as well as a means to control mice. Some species are cultivated as ornamental plants.

Elderberry red, or Elderberry ordinary, or Elderberry racemose (lat. Sambúcus racemósa) - deciduous shrub or small tree, a species of the genus Elderberry (Sambucus) of the Adoxaceae family (previously this genus was included in the Honeysuckle family or was isolated in a separate Elderberry family).

The range of the genus is the temperate regions of Eurasia from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, as well as North America.

The Latin specific epithet (lat. racemosa) can be translated as “racemose”, “bunch-shaped”, “branched” (from lat. racemus - “grape brush”, “bunch of grapes”).

The red elderberry is widespread in Eurasia and North America. The Western European part of the range covers the Mediterranean countries and countries Central Europe. In Russia, the plant is distributed from the western borders to the Pacific Ocean. The plant is found in China, Korea and Japan, as well as in Canada and the USA (including Alaska).

For the European part of Russia, the red elderberry is an alien plant. It has been cultivated since ancient times in decorative purposes in gardens and parks, with plants often becoming naturalized. Within settlements, the plant grows in wastelands, ruins of buildings, and often on the roofs of houses. In nature, red elderberry is found most often in ravines, on the edges of deciduous and mixed forests; according to other sources - most often in pine forests.

Shrub from one and a half to three and a half (five) meters high with erect stems.

The bark of young plants is smooth, while that of old plants is flaky. On the surface of the stems there are whitish tubercles (the so-called "lentils"); they consist of loose tissue through which air can pass, and serve as vents in the corky cover - living tissues of the branches breathe through them.

Elderberry branches are very brittle. This is due to the fact that there is very little wood in them: a significant part of the volume is occupied by a loose core (compared to other shrubs found in the European part of Russia, the red elder has the largest percentage of the core).

Kidneys are large, ovoid. The leaves are opposite, pinnate, composed of five to seven leaflets. Leaflets are serrate-toothed, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 5 to 10 cm long, with a strong characteristic unpleasant odor. Young leaves often have a dark red or purple color - this is due to the high content of anthocyanin; this pigment has the ability to convert light energy into heat, which is important for plant development in early spring.

The flowers are small, bisexual, with a double five-membered perianth, with greenish-yellow or yellowish-white, wheel-shaped corollas, odorous, collected in dense oblong ovate or conical paniculate inflorescences up to 20 cm across. There are five stamens. Flowering occurs in May-June at the same time as the leaves bloom, annually and abundantly, for 15 days.

Pollen grains are trifurrow-oroid, ellipsoidal in shape. The length of the polar axis is 17.5-18.8 microns, the equatorial diameter is 12.2-14.5 microns. In outline from the pole they are slightly three-lobed, from the equator they are broadly elliptical. The furrows are narrow, long, with uneven edges, with blunt ends, almost converging at the poles. Oras (additional apertures - thin or perforated areas of the upper layer of the pollen grain shell) are not clearly expressed. Exine 1-1.2 µm thick. The sculpture is thin, fine-meshed; grid cells at the equator are angular, 0.5 μm in diameter, and very small at the poles. The rods at the poles are thin, erect, with blunt ends, the epidermis is thin. The color of the pollen is yellow.

The fruit is a red drupe. The fruits ripen in July-August; have an unpleasant smell and taste (unlike the fruits of another type of elderberry common in Europe - black elderberry). The fruits of the red elderberry are readily eaten by birds - with their help, seeds are mainly distributed.

Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’

The elderberry has long been used as an ornamental plant to decorate gardens and parks.

Several varieties have been bred:

‘Plumosa Aurea’ - a plant about two meters high with deeply dissected golden leaves and cone inflorescences with yellowish flowers;

‘Tenuifolia’ - a plant with arcuate shoots; fern-shaped leaves (Latin tenuifolia - “thin-leaved”).

For growing elderberry in the garden (this applies to both red elderberry and black elderberry), any soil is suitable, including clay soil. In early spring it is recommended to cut out some of the old shoots. Reproduction - lignified cuttings in the open field in late autumn.

AT folk medicine use the flowers and fruits of the plant. During treatment colds, bronchial asthma, headache and rheumatism drink an infusion of flowers. An infusion of flowers as an external agent is used for rinsing with angina and inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. As a laxative, jelly made from fruits is used.

Fresh fruits are used to clean copper utensils from dark plaque. It is believed that mice do not like elderberry and where it grows, there are no mice.

Honey plant (although in other sources it is stated that the flowers of the red elderberry do not emit nectar, and the bees collect only pollen from the flowers, and in the third - that the bees visit the elderberry to collect pollen and partially nectar). Beekeepers use the branches of this shrub in winter quarters to scare away mice.

Previously, the genus Elderberry was considered as the only genus of the Adox subfamily of the Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) or as the only genus of the independent Adox family. According to the APG II (2003) classification system, the composition of the family Adoxaceae of the order Pileaceae has been expanded; together in adoxa, the genera Buzina, Kalina and Synadoxa were assigned to this family.

Black elderberry (lat. Sambúcus nígra)- deciduous shrub, a species of the genus Elderberry (Sambucus) of the Adoxaceae family (previously this genus was included in the Honeysuckle family or isolated in a separate Elderberry family).

natural area- Macaronesia (Azores and Madeira), North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia), the temperate zone in Asia (western and northern Iran, Turkey), almost all of Europe, Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus. Introduced and established in New Zealand.

In Russia, it grows in the south of the European part.

It grows as an undergrowth in coniferous and deciduous forests, forming thickets in places. Easily runs wild and spreads along roads, in cemeteries, in settlements, in the wastelands.

Black elderberry is a shrub reaching a height of 4-6 meters (rarely up to 10 meters). The stems are branched, have a thin woody shell and a porous soft core.

The leaves are opposite, large, 10-30 cm long, pinnate, consist of 3-7 oblong-ovate leaflets.

The flowers are yellowish-white (some flowers are white), 5-8 mm in diameter, five-petalled, collected in large inflorescences 10-25 cm in diameter.

The fruit is a black-violet, berry-like, juicy drupe, 5-7 mm in diameter.

Blossoms in May-June, fruits ripen in August-September.

For medicinal purposes, flowers and fruits of elderberry are harvested. In a well-ventilated and dry room, elderberry raw materials remain suitable for 2-3 years.

Flower buds of elderberry are harvested in phase full bloom, in May-June. The collected inflorescences are dried in attics, in sheds, in good weather - in the open air. Then the flowers are separated from the pedicels by rubbing the inflorescences through large sieves. Dried flowers have a faint aroma and a sweetish taste.

The fruits are harvested in the period of full ripeness, in August-September, dried in dryers or in ovens at a temperature of 60-65 °, in sunny weather - in the open air. Dry fruits are odorless, have a sour-sweet taste.

AT different parts plants contain biologically active substances:

in flowers - glycosides (sambunigrin and others), essential oil(0.27-0.32%, terpenes are an essential part of it), choline, rutin; alkaloids coniine and sanguinarine; carotene; acids: ascorbic, acetic, malic, chlorogenic, coffee, valeric, etc.; rutin, tannins, mucus, pentosans, resins, mineral salts.

the fruits contain anthocyanins, ascorbic acid (10-49 mg%), carotene, rutin, sambucin, chrysanthemum, tannins (0.29-0.34%), carboxylic acids and amino acids (tyrosine), sugars, traces of essential oils.

in the seeds - fatty oil and sambunigrin.

in leaves: in dry raw materials - sambunigrin (0.11%), resins with laxative properties, a small amount of essential oil. Fresh leaves contain ascorbic acid 200-280 mg%, carotene.

in the roots - saponins, tannins and bitter substances,

in the bark - essential oil, choline, triterpene compounds, ursolic acid methyl ester, betulin, α-amirin, β-sitosterol, ceryl alcohol, choline, phytosterols, sugars, organic acids, pectin and tannins.

The plant is moderately poisonous to mammals.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, with the exception of flowers, shells and pulp. ripe berries(but including the ripe seeds themselves); toxicity is due to the content of glycoside sambunigrin C14H17NO6 (CAS number 99-19-4)), which removes hydrogen cyanide, benzaldehyde and glucose during hydrolysis. The bark contains calcium oxalate crystals.

Preparations from the flowers of black elderberry have a diaphoretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant effect. They are used in the form of infusions, steams, decoctions, for colds, flu, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, kidneys and bladder, for rinsing the mouth. In gynecology, infusions and decoctions of black elderberry flowers are used for microclysters, douches and baths for inflammatory diseases of the vagina. Elder bark also has diuretic properties, which is confirmed by clinical observations. For constipation, they drink jelly made from fresh or dried elderberries. An infusion of flowers is used for rinsing with inflammatory diseases of the mouth and throat, for compresses and poultices.

In folk medicine, decoctions of elderberry flowers are taken for kidney diseases, rheumatism, gout and inflammation of the joints. Young elderberry leaves boiled in milk are used externally as an anti-inflammatory agent for burns, boils, diaper rash, inflammation of hemorrhoids. Sick joints are also recommended to be covered with a mixture of elderberry and chamomile flowers poured with boiling water, taken equally (emollient collection). Decoctions of elderberry roots are recommended for diabetes, although there is no convincing evidence of the effectiveness of such treatment.

Jam, jam, jelly are occasionally made from black elderberry berries. In England, inflorescences are traditionally harvested in spring and Elderflower cordial is prepared, which is also produced industrially. Sometimes berries are boiled together with apples for a traditional apple pie. Swiss manufacturer Biotta AG makes a freshly squeezed juice from hand-picked, sun-ripened elderberries, enhancing the juice's action with elderflower extract.

Young elderberry blossoms are sometimes added to grape must to improve the aroma and taste of wine.

From ripe fruits, a harmless dye used in the food industry can be obtained.

ornamental plant, often grown in gardens and parks. Notable for ornamental foliage, lacy inflorescences with fragrant flowers, elegant fruits.

Numerous varieties have been bred. Among them are Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’ with pink-black carved leaves and pink flowers(the plant is better known under the trade name Black Lace Elderberry).

The berry and drupe are two of the several basic forms of the fruit. They are formed from a modified flower after the process of double fertilization Navashina and are reproductive organs. It is in them that the seeds of the future plant are formed and “packed”.

Definition

Berry- This is a multi-seeded and juicy fruit. A typical example berries are currants, grapes, tomato and even eggplant.

drupes- This is a one-seeded fruit, it can be juicy or dry. Typical representatives of juicy drupes are cherries, sweet cherries, peaches, apricots. An ideal example of a dry drupe is a walnut.

Comparison

The berry has many seeds with a hard intracarp - the seed peel. In addition to the “main” component, the berry contains a juicy intercarp and a thin leathery exocarp, it is also an extracarp, it is also a peel.

Currant. Berry

A drupe has one or many seeds. It is distinguished by a sharply defined border of the layers of the pericarp. In this type of fruit, a hard bone is formed, surrounded by a fleshy intercarp and a thin leathery exocarp, an exocarp-peel. If we are talking about a dry drupe, then its intracarp turns into a lignified substance. A prime example such a metamorphosis is the walnut.

The fruit of the berry is cenocarpous. This means that it is formed from several fused carpels of the pistil of one flower. The berry can develop from the upper or lower ovary with the preservation of the dried perianth at the top.

The fruit of the drupe can be cenocarpous, formed from fused carpels, and apocarpous. That is, one that was formed from a number of independent carpels. An example of an apocarpous fruit is cherry and peach. An example of a cenocarp fruit is raspberry, blackberry or viburnum.

Walnut. drupes

Findings site

1. A berry is an exclusively multi-seeded fruit, and a drupe is a single-seeded or multi-seeded fruit.
2. The berry is always juicy, the drupe can have both juicy and dry pericarp.
3. The seed of the drupe is covered with a hard, “petrified” bone, and the seed of the berry is covered with a seed peel.