Wild cherry (Prunus avium)
The cultivated domestic cherry is one of the few fruit trees whose wild-growing ancestors are indigenous to Europe.
It is a medium-sized tree that is easy to spot in forests
and woodland when it blossoms at the end of April. Its flowers are white and numerous and a good source of springtime nectar for bees. The cherry is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). The small fruits of the wild cherry have a tart-sweet taste and are used for making brandy, fruit teas, liqueurs, jams, and so on. Its young leaves and stalks have a medicinal effect. Most prized of all is the tree’s reddish wood, which is highly valued and is also used to make veneers.
Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
The small-leaved lime is very closely related to the large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos), to the extent that in popular usage the two species are sometimes treated as the same tree. The native Slovene names of the two trees, respectively lipovec and lipa, can give the misleading impression that the former is the male plant of the latter species, whereas in fact they are two distinct species. Both are important in apiculture, although the small-leaved lime is more common in the forests of the greater part of Slovenia. Honey derived from the flowers of both species is generally referred to as “lime honey”. Both species have heart-shaped leaves but Tilia cordata has smaller leaves with slightly different venation and more flowers in each cluster. The flowers are also used to make herbal teas. The wood of the small-leaved lime is relatively soft and suitable for carving.
Silver fir (Abies alba)
The silver fir is a conifer that occurs naturally in Slovenia and can grow to a height of up to 50 metres. Its needles can be distinguished from those of the spruce by the two distinctive white stripes on their underside; they have blunt tips, not sharp points. The silver fir is declining in Slovenia’s forests, possibly due to acid rain in the past or perhaps because of drought. Its vulnerability has greatly increased, as evidenced by the widespread growth of fir mistletoe. Bees visit the silver fir to collect honeydew, a sweet substance excreted by certain insects that feed on the tree’s sap. Bees then transform this honeydew into fir honey. The honeydew-producing insects found in trees in Slovenia include three different species of aphids and scale insects. The silver fir has fragrant resins and essential oils, the aromas of which are preserved in fir honey.
Mitja Kaligarič
