Have you ever heard of the Cornus mas? It's a well-known small tree as cornelian cherry or cherry dogwood. The berries are a seeded summer fruit native to the Black Sea region of Turkey. The fruits can be eaten fresh, dried whole, pickled, or used to produce jams and drinks like kompot--and they have been used as such since the time of ancient Hellas.


In Homer time, the plant was known as "Krania" (Ilias, cited by Kavadas,1956) and states that cornelian cherry fruits were given as food for pigs. Theofrastus refers the Cornelian cherry fruit as kranion (Plant history 3, 3,1 and 4,4,5).

Cornelian cherry was an important medicinal plant in old years. The astringency of the fruits is well known since antiquity. The use of edible fruit is used against diarrhea enteritis, not completely ignored by the medicine. Bark, shoots, and roots were used against fever with relative action as Kichone Wood or bark extracts can cure dog itch. The fruit contents a great percentage of vitamin C, other vitamins, antioxidants flavonoids, anthocyanin, iron, and polyphenols. Recent research has showed that these fruits are richer in flavonoids and other nutrients than raspberries and blueberries and nearly the same vitamin C with Rosa canina.

The fine hard wood can be used to obtain different articles of turnery. As ornamental Cornelian cherry (with brilliant leaves and abundant flowers) can be employed with very interesting effect in parks and small gardens.

Fruits of the tree are sweet and sour and are usually made as juices, jams, liqueur, and aromatics.