20 Graines Sorbier des oiseaux, Sorbus aucuparia

Sorbier of birds, sorbier of birds, sorbus noneparia |

The Sorbier of the Birds or Sorbier des Birds (Sorbus NuParia L.) is a small tree which can reach 15 meters high . He lives mainly on the edge of forests ofspruces. The Sorbier is cousin with Cormier. Its leaves are composed of 17 or 15 Leaflets lanceolate doubly toothed linked to the Petiole.

20 seeds - Frois stratification3/4 months before sowing

The branches are smooth, grayish. The leaves are pinned, at 5 or 7 pairs of finely toothed leaflets, green on both sides, slightly fluffy on the reverse. The white flowers, with 5 petals, are grouped in Corymbes. They have a strong, unpleasant smell. The fruits, the sorbes, are berries orange red very appreciated by the birds, in particular the Grives.

The tree rarely exceeds 7 meters. It grows in woods, forests and hedges, in the moors and rocky places, often at altitude (in the middle mountain), on light soil. Flowering in May-June, fruit at maturity at the end of summer. These fruits persist for a long time on the tree in winter, which gives it an undeniable decorative interest, and above all constitutes a reserve of food for birds.

He can live 120 years.

Frequent tree in rural areas (it once used to attract chiefs in autumn, hence its name) and more and more frequently planted in urban gardens where we appreciate its reduced size which makes it space -saving. The nuclei contain traces ofamygdaloside (cyanogenetic heteroside). Sorbs can be consumed raw but their harsh and tart taste discourages human picking. Fresh and before maturity The fruits are tasty : they then serve to prepare frozen and Jams1. They are astringent and can serve, in decoction, as a natural drug against arrows and votes extinctions.

In autumn, the sorbier produces berries (false Drupes) Red spherical () or yellow (ornamental varieties), more or less persisters.

These fruits are eaten by birds. Crus and cooked, they are edible for humans but in small quantities, because they have a certain toxicity due to the presence of parasorbic acid (Sorbier acid) with harsh and bitter taste, which can cause vomiting ; While the seeds containamygdaloside, a heteroside  cyanogen. The parasorbic acid is neutralized by prolonged cooking, which makes it possible to make frosts, jams, alcoholic preparations and other traditional dishes from the Bays of Sorbier, especially in Northern Europe. These same bays naturally contain Sorbitol, which takes its name from the plant ; It is a no FermentScible and a purgative. 

Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA license 3.0. Source : Article Sorbus NuParia by Wikipedia in French (Authors)