Appearance, properties and use

What do the rose hip fruits look like?

Like strawberries, the rose hips are so-called collective fruits. They look different depending on the species. Yet everyone's rose hips Wild rose species combine these features:

• coral red
• smooth-skinned
• hanging on green stems
• old sepals of the flowers are often still clinging

The rose hips can be round, oblong-narrow, egg-shaped or, as in the case of the potato rose, round and flattened. They become between 1.5 and 2.5 cm long. Under the shell lies a red fruit pulp in which numerous white-yellow nuts are embedded.

Edible, tasty and healthy

If you like rose hip tea from the tea bag, you will love rose hip tea made from fresh rose hips! The fruits can be easily collected and processed into tea. They can be used both fresh and dried. It is enough to cut the fruit in half and pour hot water into a teapot. Let go and enjoy. The tea has a diuretic and laxative effect, among other things.

You can also use the rose hips to make jam. To do this, however, the nuts contained should be scraped out. Then the fruits are boiled down and if necessary in addition to their pleasant natural sweetness.

Rose hips also taste very tasty on their own. The later they are picked, the sweeter they are. For pure, raw consumption, however, they should be soft and glassy. The red fruit pulp, which has mostly become soft due to frost, is pressed out at the end of the stem with your thumb and forefinger. Try it!

As decoration and bird food

These fruits are extremely rich in vitamin C and are popular with animals. Birds and other small animals appreciate this source of food in winter. They like to sit with relish in the hedge and feast on the rose hips. Furthermore, the fruits can serve as a decoration in autumn. Simply cut off a fruit-bearing branch and place it in a vase.