The Forest Fruits of Slovakia

Slovakia Post issued the stamp series of the forest fruit on 14th of September 2000. The depicted fruits are billberry on 15 sk, common strawberry on 13 sk, and wild raspberry on 11 sk..

Bilberry - Vaccinium myrtillus L.

The bilberry is a low, densely ramified bush with egg-shaped deciduous leaves, round rosily flowers and black-blue fruits (berries). It grows widely in the submontane to alpine level sour rock beds in forests, mountain pines, on grassless mountains, heathlands and peateries. For healing effects the leaves containing tanning substances and glucokinins, are gathered. They reduce the sugar level in the blood. The fruits - bilberries - belong to the healthiest kinds of fruits with the wide use possibilities. They contain colouring substances — antokyans, C vitamin, B complex and A provitamin.

Common Strawberry - Fragaria vesca L.

The common strawberry largely grows in the entire country in light forests and shrubby hillsides from the lowlands to the sub-alpine level. . The common strawberry is extended in the entire central Europe. Already in the antics the strawberries were gathered as forest fruits suitable for preparation of syrups and jams. The fresh fruits are a healthy and nutritious delicacy. The young leaves are within living memory used for the preparation of a daily tea for the purposes of the folk healing. They contain tanning substances, C vitamin and flavonoids.

Wild raspberry - Rubus idaeus L.

The wild raspberry is a bush, which is widely extended in light forests, in glades, in shrubbery and meadow forests from lowlands to mountain localities. It belongs to the honey-bearing plants, it provides the bees with much nectar and bloom. The seeds were found already in lake neolitic dwellings, what testifies to its old use by a man. The fruits contain fruit acids and sugars, they are processed to syrup. The leaves are used after fermentation for the preparation of tea with a cleaning effect, they are the part of several industrially produced healing tea mixtures. They contain mainly tanning substances, flavones and a smaller quantity of C vitamin.