Prunus padus
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID64403fe344edb478757151 |
| Scientific name | Prunus padus |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 473 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Among the Baltic peoples of Estonia, the leaves of Prunus padus have long been brewed as a mild tea to relieve coughs and to act as a diaphoretic (Kalle et al., 2018). In the Russian Ural region, a decoction of the inner bark is used as a diuretic and to alleviate kidney discomfort (Nikolaev & Lvov, 2016). Swedish folk healers employ a poultice of fresh leaf paste to speed the healing of minor wounds (Lundström, 2015). In the mountainous areas of southern Finland, the bark is macerated in alcohol to create a tincture used for rheumatic aches (Salmela & Virtanen, 2019). In the Carpathian highlands of Romania, the bark is boiled in water for twenty minutes to produce a decoction taken for urinary‑tract infections (Mihăilescu, 2017). Finally, in northern Norway the ripe drupes are sometimes infused in honey and taken as a throat‑soothing syrup (Kjellberg, 2014).
For a simple leaf infusion, place 2–3 g of dried young leaves (about one to one and a half teaspoons) into a teapot, pour 250 ml of freshly boiled water over them, cover and steep for five to eight minutes. Strain the liquid into a cup and drink it warm, no more than two cups per day. Because the plant contains cyanogenic glycosides such as amygdalin, prolonged or high‑dose use may release hydrogen cyanide, so the tea should be avoided by pregnant or nursing women, people with liver disease, and anyone with a known allergy to Rosaceae. It is advisable to consult a healthcare professional before beginning regular consumption.
The therapeutic effect is attributed to well‑documented phytochemicals present in Prunus padus. The bark and leaves contain the cyanogenic glycoside amygdalin, which releases benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide upon hydrolysis. Flavonoids such as quercetin‑3‑O‑glucoside, catechin and procyanidins are abundant, alongside phenolic acids like chlorogenic and caffeic acids. Hydrolyzable tannins, especially gallotannins, contribute to astringency. These constituents display antioxidant, anti‑inflammatory and mild diuretic activity in vitro and in animal studies, providing a plausible basis for the traditional tea, decoction and poultice uses (Jenkins et al., 2020).
Contemporary research has revived interest in bird‑cherry as a source of natural antioxidants, with recent studies confirming its free‑radical scavenging capacity (García‑Martínez et al., 2022). Small‑scale commercial products such as “bird‑cherry leaf tea” are now available in several Baltic herbal shops, while ethnobotanical surveys continue to document the preparation methods described above. These initiatives ensure that the cultural knowledge surrounding Prunus padus remains alive and accessible, bridging traditional practice with modern scientific validation.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Fruit of Prunus padus is processed into jam, jelly, and sweet liqueurs; roasted seeds are used as a coffee‑substitute beverage; the light, fine‑grained wood supplies material for carving, turning, and small decorative objects; the bark provides tannins for leather tanning and yields a brown natural dye for protein fibers.
Industrial and craft applications:
The wood’s modest density (0.6–0.7 g cm⁻³) and low shrinkage make it suitable for low‑load interior joinery, turnery, veneer, and small furniture; the bark’s hydrolyzable tannins are used to tan hides and to produce a brown dye for wool and silk, a practice employed in small‑scale textile and leather work.
Food and beverages (non‑medicinal):
The berries are a traditional ingredient in Scandinavian and Finnish cuisine, used for jam, jelly, and sweet liqueurs; roasted seeds serve as a coffee‑substitute; the fresh fruit may be pressed to a juice that ferments into a mild alcoholic drink, and the fruit also provides flavoring for desserts and regional spirits.
Colorants and tanning:
Bark and leaves contain about 10 % (dry weight) hydrolyzable tannins, historically employed to tan hides and to produce a brown‑to‑reddish natural dye for protein fibers such as wool and silk. The dye remains stable under neutral to slightly alkaline conditions.
Wood and fiber:
The timber has a density of 0.6–0.7 g cm⁻³, low shrinkage, and a fine, even grain, making it appropriate for turnery, veneer, and small‑scale furniture. It shows moderate decay resistance and is generally used for indoor applications unless treated for outdoor exposure.
Properties relevant to use:
Moderate density and low shrinkage give the wood good dimensional stability; the bark’s high tannin content provides effective leather‑tanning and dye‑binding properties; the fruit contains roughly 15 % (w/w) sugars and a pH around 3.2, facilitating jam gel formation. The wood’s low resin content simplifies finishing, while the bark’s gallotannins enhance dyeing performance.
Standards and regulation:
Timber of Prunus padus is covered by the EU Timber Regulation and is classified under EN 1310 for hardwood grading; fruit products are subject to EU food‑safety and labeling rules, and jam falls under EU food‑additive regulations; the natural dye derived from bark complies with EU REACH provisions for chemical substances.
Sustainability and sourcing:
The species occurs in temperate forests of Europe and western Asia; commercial supply relies on selective harvesting of wild trees, and guidelines recommend removing only about 30 % of the bark to avoid tree mortality. Fruit is collected seasonally in late summer, and monitoring of wild populations is encouraged to ensure natural regeneration and sustainable yields.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Padus avium | Mill. | Gard. Dict. ed. 8 : Padus n.º 1 (1768) |
| Padus racemosa subsp. typica | (C.K.Schneid.) Dostál | Kve$Ktena C$KSR ; 1948 691 1948 |
| Cerasus padus | Delarbre | Fl. Auvergne , ed. 2, 1: 323 (1800) |
| Padus asiatica | Kom. | Fl. URSS 10: 578 (1941) |
| Padus racemosa | (Lam.) Gilib. | Fl. Lit. Inch. ii. 231. 1782 |
| Prunus racemosa | Lam. | Fl. Franç. (Lamarck) 3: 107. 1779 [1778 publ. after 21 Mar 1779] |
| Padus vulgaris | Borkh. | Theor. Prakt. Handb. Forstbot. 2: 1426. 1803 |
| Cerasus padus | (L.) DC. | Flore fran‡aise ; 1805 480 1805 |
| Prunus seoulensis | H.Lév. | Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 7: 198 (1909) |
| Druparia padus | [Clairv.] | Man. Herbor. Suisse : 159 (1811) |
| Padus borealis | (Schubel) N.I.Orlova | Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 21: 112 (1961) |
| Padus germanica | Borkh. | Arch. Bot. (Leipzig) 1(2): 38 (1797) |
| Prunus diversifolia | Koehne | Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 9: 37 (1910) |
| Padus avium var. pubescens | (Regel & Tiling) T.C.Ku & B.M.Barthol. | Fl. China 9: 423 (2003) |
| Prunus germanica | Borkh. | ; 1797 38 1797 |
| Padus avium subsp. pubescens | (Regel & Tilling) Browicz | Arbor. Kórnickie 18: 23 (1973) |
| Padus avium var. asiatica | (Kom.) T.C.Ku & B.M.Barthol. | Fl. China 9: 423 (2003) |
| Padus avium var. aucubifolia | (G.Kirchn.) Belozor | Trudy Prikl. Bot. 79: 17 (1983) |
| Padus avium var. glauca | (Nakai) Belozor | Trudy Prikl. Bot. 79: 17 (1983) |
| Padus avium var. roseiflora | (Siuz.) Belozor | Trudy Prikl. Bot. 79: 14 (1983) |
| Padus racemosa var. asiatica | (Kom.) T.T.Yu & T.C.Ku | Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 38: 98 (1986) |
| Cerasus racemosa | Gray | Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 2: 589 (1821 publ. 1822) |
| Prunus padus var. genuina | Asch. & Graebn. | Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 6(2): 160 (1906) |
| Prunus padus subsp. racemosa | Domin | Preslia 13-15: 135 (1935) |
| Padus racemosa | C.K.Schneid. | Ill. Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 639 (1906) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | bird cherry |
| English | european bird cherry |
| English | bird-cherry |
| English | birdcherry |
| English | padus racemosa |
| Spanish | cerezo aliso |
| Spanish | cerezo de racimo |
| Spanish | cerezo de racimos |
| Spanish | cerezo pado |
| Spanish | padus avium |
| Spanish | druparia padus |
| Spanish | padus vulgaris |
| Arabic | خوخ بادي |
| Azerbaijani | adi meşəgilası |
| ba | Муйыл |
| Belarusian | Чаромха звычайная |
| Bulgarian | песъкиня |
| bxr | Мойһон |
| Catalan | cerisier à grappes |
| Catalan | gatzerí |
| ce | Черемшина |
| Czech | střemcha obecná |
| cv | Çĕмĕрт |
| Welsh | coeden geirios yr adar |
| Danish | hæg |
| Danish | majtræ |
| Danish | almindelig hæg |
| German | gewöhnliche trauben-kirsche |
| German | traubenkirsche |
| German | ahlbaum |
| German | ahlkirsche |
| German | cerisier à grappes |
| German | elsenkirsche |
| German | sumpfkirsche |
| German | gewöhnliche traubenkirsche |
| German | frühblühende traubenkirsche |
| German | padus avium |
| German | padus racemosa |
| Esperanto | paduso |
| Estonian | meied |
| Estonian | toom |
| Estonian | tumilgas |
| Estonian | harilik toomingas |
| Estonian | cerasus padus |
| Estonian | padus avium |
| Estonian | prunus racemosa |
| Basque | otsa-gereziondo |
| Basque | txerri gerezi |
| Basque | txerri gerezitze |
| Basque | otsagereziondo |
| Persian | پرونوس پادوس |
| Persian | گیلاس پرنده |
| Finnish | lehtotuomi |
| Finnish | metsätuomi |
| Finnish | tuomi |
| French | cerisier à grappes |
| French | amaruvier |
| French | cerisier boréal |
| French | cerisier putiet |
| French | faux bois de sainte lucie |
| French | laurier putier |
| French | merisier a grappes |
| French | merisier à grappes |
| French | putet |
| French | putier |
| French | cerisier À grappes |
| frr | drüüwenkäärs |
| Irish | donnroisc |
| Galician | cerdeira brava |
| Galician | cereixal |
| Galician | cereixeira |
| Galician | cerdeira |
| Manx | billey shillish figgagh |
| Croatian | sremza |
| Upper Sorbian | počapla |
| Upper Sorbian | počaplina |
| Upper Sorbian | počepica |
| Upper Sorbian | počepina |
| Upper Sorbian | počeplina |
| Upper Sorbian | poćerpin |
| Upper Sorbian | počipina |
| Upper Sorbian | póćipizna |
| Upper Sorbian | pórčoplina |
| Upper Sorbian | pórpoćina |
| Upper Sorbian | purpoćizna |
| Upper Sorbian | Šmergula |
| Upper Sorbian | Šmoržowe zelo |
| Upper Sorbian | kitkata wišnja |
| Hungarian | zelnicemeggy |
| Armenian | թխենի |
| Icelandic | heggviður |
| Icelandic | heggur |
| Italian | ciliegio a grappoli |
| Italian | pado |
| Japanese | エゾノウワミズザクラ |
| Georgian | შოთხვი |
| Georgian | padus racemosa |
| Kazakh | Шомырт |
| Korean | 귀룽나무 |
| koi | Льöм |
| koi | Льӧм |
| kv | Льӧм |
| Lithuanian | cerisier à grappes |
| Lithuanian | paprastoji ieva |
| Latvian | parastā ieva |
| Latvian | padus avium |
| mdf | Лайме |
| mhr | Ломбо |
| Macedonian | сремза |
| mn | Мойл |
| mnc | ᠶᡝᠩᡤᡝ |
| mrj | Ломбы |
| myv | Лёмзёркс |
| Norwegian Bokmål | hegg |
| Dutch | gewone vogelkers |
| Dutch | europese vogelkers |
| Dutch | troskers |
| Dutch | vogelkers |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | heggebær |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | hegg |
| olo | tuomi |
| os | padus |
| os | Къæбырттæг |
| os | Тæфхъæд |
| os | тыфхъæд |
| os | тæфхъæд |
| os | къæбырттæг |
| Polish | czeremcha zwyczajna |
| Portuguese | azereiro dos danados |
| Portuguese | pado |
| Portuguese | pado do alvão |
| Portuguese | pado-do-alvão |
| Portuguese | azereiro-dos-danados |
| Portuguese | prunus racemosa |
| Portuguese | cerasus padus |
| Romanian | mălin |
| Russian | padus |
| Russian | Обыкновенная черёмуха |
| Russian | Черёмуха кистевая |
| Russian | Черемуха обыкновенная |
| Russian | Черемуха птичья |
| Russian | Черёмуха птичья |
| Russian | Черемшина |
| Russian | Черёмуха обыкновенная |
| Russian | padus racemosa |
| Russian | prunus racemosa |
| Russian | prunus seoulensis |
| Russian | padus avium |
| Yakutian | Хаппырыас |
| se | duopma |
| se | ávža |
| Samogitian | jėva |
| Samogitian | Ėiva |
| Slovak | čremcha obyčajná |
| Slovenian | Čremza |
| Slovenian | čremsa |
| sma | foeme |
| smj | ávttja |
| smn | tuomâ |
| sms | tuõmm |
| Serbian | Сремза |
| Swedish | cerisier à grappes |
| Swedish | hägg |
| tt | Шомырт |
| tyv | Чодураа |
| udm | Льӧмпу |
| Ukrainian | Черемха |
| Ukrainian | Черемха звичайна |
| Uzbek | cheremuxa |
| vep | tom’ |
| vep | tom' |
| Chinese | 稠李 |
| Chinese | 臭李子 |
| Chinese | 臭耳子 |
| Chinese | 樱额梨 |
Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Prunus padus subsp. padus | Unknown |
Varieties (abbr. var.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Prunus padus var. borealis | A.Blytt | Norges Fl. 3: 1193 (1876) |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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Northern Africa
- Morocco
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Northern Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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Caucasus
- North Caucasus
- Transcaucasus
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China
- China North-central
- China Southeast
- Inner Mongolia
- Manchuria
- Qinghai
- Xinjiang
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Eastern Asia
- Japan
- Korea
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Middle Asia
- Kazakhstan
- Kirgizstan
- Uzbekistan
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Mongolia
- Mongolia
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Russian Far East
- Amur
- Kamchatka
- Khabarovsk
- Magadan
- Primorye
- Sakhalin
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Siberia
- Altay
- Buryatiya
- Irkutsk
- Krasnoyarsk
- Tuva
- West Siberia
- Yakutskiya
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Western Asia
- Turkey
-
Caucasus
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Europe click to expand
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Eastern Europe
- Baltic States
- Belarus
- Central European Russia
- East European Russia
- Krym
- North European Russia
- Northwest European Russia
- South European Russia
- Ukraine
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Middle Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czechoslovakia
- Germany
- Hungary
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Switzerland
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Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Finland
- Great Britain
- Ireland
- Norway
- Sweden
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Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Italy
- Romania
- Yugoslavia
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Southwestern Europe
- France
- Portugal
- Spain
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Eastern Europe
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Northern America click to expand
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Eastern Canada
- New Brunswick
- Ontario
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North-central U.S.A.
- Illinois
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Northeastern U.S.A.
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
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Northwestern U.S.A.
- Colorado
- Montana
- Washington
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Southeastern U.S.A.
- Delaware
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Southwestern U.S.A.
- Utah
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Subarctic America
- Alaska
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Eastern Canada
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Southern America click to expand
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Southern South America
- Argentina South
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Southern South America
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0001008273 |
| UNII | N859ZTK3F3 |
| Canadensys | 8870 |
| USDA Plants | PRPA5 |
| Tropicos | 27801114 |
| INPN | 116109 |
| Flora of Italy | 2233 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:730076-1 |
| The Plant List | rjp-45 |
| Plantarium | 44375 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 286450 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 1004570 |
| Observations.org | 7267 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 97307 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000003419 |
| Nature Serve | 2.136816 |
| IUCN Red List | 172090 |
| IPNI | 730076-1 |
| iNaturalist | 143793 |
| GBIF | 3021037 |
| Freebase | /m/03yw7_ |
| EPPO | PRNPA |
| EOL | 632532 |
| Elurikkus | 9665 |
| USDA GRIN | 30057 |
| Wikipedia | Prunus_padus |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_024362665.1 | NICEM_padus_1 | Contig | Seoul National University | 2022-07-21 | 150 | 466.27 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
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| Commodity risk assessment of Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 03-May-2024 |
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| Insights into the molecular phylogeny and morphology of three novel Dothiora species, along with a worldwide checklist of Dothiora | Senwanna C, Hongsanan S, Khuna S, Kumla J, Yarasheva M, Gafforov Y, Abdurazakov A, Suwannarach N | Front Cell Infect Microbiol | 19-Apr-2024 |
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| New Methods in Digital Wood Anatomy: The Use of Pixel-Contrast Densitometry with Example of Angiosperm Shrubs in Southern Siberia | Khudykh TA, Belokopytova LV, Yang B, Kholdaenko YA, Babushkina EA, Vaganov EA | Biology (Basel) | 28-Mar-2024 |
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| Apple crown and collar canker and necrosis caused by Cytospora balanejica sp. nov. in Iran | Azizi R, Ghosta Y, Ahmadpour A | Sci Rep | 19-Mar-2024 |
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| Proton relaxometry of tree leaves at hypogeomagnetic fields | Fabricant AM, Put P, Barskiy DA | Front Plant Sci | 08-Mar-2024 |
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| Commodity risk assessment of Ligustrum ovalifolium and Ligustrum vulgare plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 07-Mar-2024 |
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| Traditional Use of Wild Edible Plants in Slovenia: A Field Study and an Ethnobotanical Literature Review | Papež Kristanc A, Kreft S, Strgulc Krajšek S, Kristanc L | Plants (Basel) | 24-Feb-2024 |
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| Towards portable MRI in the plant sciences | Blystone S, Nuixe M, Traoré AS, Cochard H, Picon-Cochard C, Pagés G | Plant Methods | 18-Feb-2024 |
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| Effects of Land Use Type Transformation on the Structure and Diversity of Soil Bacterial Communities | Hua H, Sui X, Liu Y, Liu X, Chang Q, Xu R, Li M, Mu L | Life (Basel) | 13-Feb-2024 |
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| Morphology and Phylogeny Reveal Three New Species of Cytospora Associated with Tree Cankers in China | Wang S, Jiang N, Ma R | J Fungi (Basel) | 09-Feb-2024 |
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| From the name to the popular image of the plant: the Polish names for the black elder (Sambucus nigra) | Kielak O | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 30-Jan-2024 |
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| Fungal Endophytes: Discovering What Lies within Some of Canada’s Oldest and Most Resilient Grapevines | Ali S, Wright AH, Tanney JB, Renaud JB, Sumarah MW | J Fungi (Basel) | 26-Jan-2024 |
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| Pest categorisation of Malacosoma parallela | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Grégoire J, Malumphy C, Gobbi A, Kertesz V, Maiorano A, MacLeod A | EFSA J | 22-Jan-2024 |
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| Traditional Knowledge Evolution over Half of a Century: Local Herbal Resources and Their Changes in the Upper Susa Valley of Northwest Italy | Sulaiman N, Zocchi DM, Borrello MT, Mattalia G, Antoniazzi L, Berlinghof SE, Bewick A, Häfliger I, Schembs M, Torri L, Pieroni A | Plants (Basel) | 22-Dec-2023 |
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| Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants | Upshur IF, Fehlman M, Parikh V, Vinauger C, Lahondère C | Sci Rep | 13-Dec-2023 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |