European Cornel
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| European Cornel | ||||||||||||||||
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 Branch with fruit
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| Cornus mas L. |
The European Cornel (Cornus mas) is a species of dogwood native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. In North America, the plant is known by the common name of "Cornelian Cherry."
It is a medium to large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5-12 m tall, with dark brown branches and greenish twigs. The leaves are opposite, 4-10 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin. The flowers are small (5-10 mm diameter), with four yellow petals, produced in clusters of 10-25 together in the late winter, well before the leaves appear. The fruit is an oblong red drupe 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter, containing a single seed.
The fruit is edible, but astringent when fresh, and is best used cooked, with an acidic flavour which is best described as a mixture of cranberry and sour cherry; it is mainly used for making jam, makes an excellent sauce similar to cranberry sauce when pitted and then boiled with sugar and orange, but also can be eaten dried. In Armenia, the fruit is used for distilling vodka. In Turkey it is eaten with salt as a snack in summer. Cultivars selected for fruit production in the Ukraine have fruit up to 4 cm long. The berries when ripe on the plant bear a resemblance to coffee berries, and ripen in mid to late summer. The species is also grown as an ornamental plant for its late winter flowers, which open earlier than those of forsythia, and, while not as large and vibrant as those of the forsythia, the entire plant can be used for a similar effect in the landscape.
Its wood is denser than water[citation needed], meaning it does not float. A dye can be produced from its bark and tannin is produced from its leaves.
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