Occurrence of black mulberry trees in Pukanec's
surroundings
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| Fruit of the black mulberry
tree in the process of maturing, a detail. |
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| Two wonderful examples of the
black mulberry tree. |
The surroundings of the village Pukanec is distinctive with
the rich occurrence of the black mulberry tree. In the region
of Slovakia rather small area (predominantly in the south) is
dedicated to growing this type of tree. The highest concentration
of black mulberry trees can be found on the southern slopes
of the tiavnické Mts., namely in Pukanec and surroundings.
Even here the growth and prosperity of mulberry trees are connected
with the type of soil in the vineyards - seldom it is found
in other places.
In 2001 and 2002 an extensive survey of black mulberry trees
has been performed in this area. Every single tree has been
recorded in the map - 420 pieces were located in Pukanec.
| Bátovce |
40 |
| Bohunice |
40 |
| Čajkov |
20 |
| Devičany |
50 |
| Jabloňovce |
80 |
| Pečenice |
15 |
| Pukanec |
420 |
| Rybník nad Hronom |
20 |
| Tekovská Nová Ves |
30 |
| Together |
715 |
As for the location, most of these trees (347) grow on meadows
or in the neighbourhood of cottages, i.e. in well-kept environment
with grassy ground and no succession. Majority of them can
be found in the neighbourhood of vineyards, 24 pieces grow
right in the vineyards.
Fruit of the black mulberry tree can be processed in many
different ways. First of all it is the direct consummation
of ripe fruit that is rich in vitamins. Ancient Romans made
it into wine - vinum moratum. In present time it is also possible
to use mulberries this way. Mulberry wine does not contain
alcohol, thus it is not "real" wine. Another favourite
product is mulberry juice usually mixed with sugar and lemon
sap.
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| Cracked mulberry tree continues
in living and giving fruit. |
In Pukanec fruit of mulberry trees is made into jam, syrup
or simply conserved. Yet the most typical way of processing
mulberries is distillation. The spirit has intensive flavouring
and it can be used as a medicine (especially against sore
throat or digestion problems) as well.
For its undoubted qualities Morus nigra deserves special
kind of protection. Unfortunately, it does not belong to the
list of protected plants. As Morus nigra is quite a rare type
of tree, it surely deserves our attention. It was and still
is grown in certain territories and many people do not know
it at all. And that is certainly a loss.
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| Ripe fruit of the black mulberry
tree. |
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| Blossom of the black mulberry
tree. |
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