Interesting facts about the red berries (Viburnum)

Are the fruits of the snowball bush edible?

In the raw state, the fruits of the snowball bush are also slightly poisonous like the other parts of the plant. However, the toxins lose their effect when they are cooked, so you can make a very tasty jam from the fruits of the common snowball, for example.

Winter garden decoration

The fruits of the snowball and some other species ripen from around August to November and then stay well into the winter hang in the bush. It looks very decorative, especially when there is hoar frost or light snowfall. Then the bright red fruits can be seen from afar. In addition to being decorative, they are also an important food source for some native bird species.

Is the snowball also used medicinally?

In homeopathy the Snowball (Viburnum) is mainly used for a wide variety of menstrual cramps; as a herbal remedy, it is not necessarily suitable for self-medication because of its toxicity. While the toxins are probably also broken down by frost, for this reason previous literature recommended collecting after the first frost, you should not take any chances.

The effective ingredients of snowball include tannins, glycosides, bitter substances and pectin. The snowball should have a diuretic, calming and antispasmodic effect. In its raw state, however, it also leads to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The essentials in brief:

• sterile flowers do not produce fruit
• raw fruits are (slightly) poisonous
• Snowball fruits are suitable for cooking jam
• Fruits of native species are used as winter food for birds