Cloudberry (Rubus Chamaemorus) - amazing. It is found in the northern regions: in Belarus, in the Far East, in Siberia. Cloudberry grows in abundance in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. She loves to grow in swamps, is found in the tundra, where the soil is acidic, while being hardy, although demanding on the weather: she does not tolerate rain and wind, frosts for cloudberries are completely fatal.
Did you know? It is called moss currant, northern orange, arctic raspberry, royal berry, marsh amber, marsh eyes, marsh guard.
Or northern royal orange- perennial of the Pink family, genus Raspberry. Semi-shrub small, up to 30 cm in height. The berries are easy to spot, they grow one by one on vertical stems. Flowering begins in June, cloudberries ripen by July.
Cloudberry is a very curious berry, its description is different from others. The berry really looks like. During the ripening period, it changes color several times - unripe berries are red in color, mature ones resemble yellow-transparent amber. 
Cloudberry is valued not only for taste, it has exceptionally useful properties. Being a storehouse of various useful substances, royal orange has been used since ancient times, and all parts of the plant are used: roots, stems, leaves, berries, flowers.
Did you know? Arctic raspberry flowers are divided into male and female. Interestingly, male berries appear much more often.
The chemical composition of cloudberries
Swamp amber contains a large number of elements that are important and necessary for humans:
- Citric and malic acid;
- pectin substances;
- Tannins;
- Carbohydrates;
- Proteins;
- in an amount several times higher than that in citrus fruits;
- in an amount exceeding the content of that in;
- Phytoncides;
- Bactericidal substances that remain in the juice for about a month;
- Tocopherols are substances necessary for the intrauterine development of babies, which is why cloudberries are so useful during pregnancy;
- Fatty acids omega-3, omega-6;
- Aluminum;
- Iron.
On average, a 100-gram handful of fresh cloudberries accounts for:
- 0.6-0.8 g of proteins;
- 0 g fat;
- 5-6 g of carbohydrates;
- 1-2 g pectin;
- 3-4 g fiber;
- 1 g organic acids;
- 7 g of carotene substances;
- 75-85 ml.
Medicinal properties
The cloudberry plant has numerous beneficial properties.
- Leaves and roots have a pronounced diuretic property;
- If an infusion is prepared from the leaves, it can be used as an astringent, it also has a hemostatic and blood-purifying, wound healing and anti-inflammatory effect.
- Berries have an antimicrobial, diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic effect.
- Juice has bactericidal property.
Collection, preparation and storage of medicinal raw materials
All parts of the plant have medicinal properties: leaves, roots, berries, flowers and sepals. 
Collecting and harvesting cloudberry leaves
Cloudberry leaves should be harvested when the bud is formed and during flowering, so that they retain their beneficial properties. Before flowering, this should not be done, since the leaves play a large role in the nutrition of the plant. Leaves are taken at the root, lower and in the middle of the stem, but so that the mass of the collected raw materials does not exceed one third of the total. Young leaves at the top should not be taken, they do not contain a sufficient amount of valuable elements.
Harvesting is done early in the morning in dry weather after the dew has dried. Leaves are collected without flaws, without tamping tightly, and delivered as soon as possible to where they will be dried.
Important! The leaves of medicinal plants should be dried, protected from light, in a shaded room where there is good circulation.
Leaves can be dried in three ways.
Collection and preparation of roots
The roots are harvested after fruiting is over, and the plant is ready to rest. This usually happens in September and October - the north is fleeting.
At 10 cm from the stem, a shovel is directed into the ground at an angle to the soil, the cut is expanded with several rotational movements and a clod of earth with a root is removed.
At the place of collection, it is shaken off the ground, rid of everything dried, dead, washed with cold water and cut off the basal neck and small roots. If the roots are thick, they are cut along, if long - across.
Drying of the roots is done in an oven or oven, given that at this time of the year the sun in the north is not an assistant in this matter. Drying temperature should not exceed 80 degrees to avoid oxidation contained in all parts of the plant.
Important! It is believed that drying is over if the root does not bend when bent, but breaks, making a characteristic crack.
Collection and harvesting of flowers, berries and sepals of cloudberries
The flowering of the royal berry occurs in May and June, it ripens in forty days, in July and August, respectively. 
flowers. As already mentioned, traditional medicine uses all parts of this plant, including flowers, which are collected and dried using the same technology as the leaves.
The time for picking berries cannot be missed. It is a mistake to take it when it is colored bright red, which means it is immature. An unripe royal berry does not come off the branches well. When ripe, the moss currant acquires an orange color and transparency. However, there is also a danger here: it can overripe and turn into a soft mass, suitable only for eating raw and preferably on the spot, because in a few hours an overripe berry can ferment and turn into mash.
Did you know? Due to bactericidal properties, cloudberry berries collected on time can be stored for three months under proper conditions. Berries are taken early in the morning after the dew has disappeared, not in rainy weather. Having planned the collection of cloudberries, you should free yourself from other things, because this is a slow and painstaking business.
For drying, fruits are harvested that have not yet completely changed color from red to yellow, plucking them together with sepals and putting them in a bucket or can.
sepals when sorting, the raw materials are separated and dried using the same technology as the leaves.
During the harvest, the berry mass sags, compacting, and space is made for new batches. 
Important! The container during collection should be protected from the sun with leaves, grass or cloth, but not with cellophane.
Cloudberry berries should be dried in a shaded room with sufficient air circulation, stirring occasionally to preserve their beneficial properties. You can do this in the oven, then the temperature should not exceed 50 degrees and the door must be opened. Dried cloudberries are used to make decoctions.
Storage of dried raw materials
Like any dried medicinal raw material, cloudberries should be stored under simple conditions. Dried parts of the plant are poured into glass containers, paper bags or cardboard boxes and stored in dark, dry places where there is no dust and. The container must be marked with the date of packaging. Respect storage times:
- Flowers, leaves, sepals, berries - from 1 to 2 years;
- Roots - from 3 to 5 years.
Use in folk medicine: cloudberry treatment
All parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. The medicinal properties of cloudberries are widely used: they have anti-inflammatory, diuretic and diaphoretic effects, and also, due to the high content of vitamin C, are able to treat scurvy.
tea for colds
A tablespoon of leaves is brewed into a glass of boiling water, infused until chilled, filtered and taken 50 ml four times a day. 
cough tea
Cloudberry is very effective for cough. 3 tablespoons of dry sepals are brewed per liter of water in a thermos, infused for three hours, consumed after a glass.
The juice
The anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect of cloudberry juice is widely used in folk medicine. It is so powerful that the juice is even used in the treatment of scabies.
Freshly squeezed juice diluted with water (2 tablespoons per 50 ml) is used as an astringent with food.
Decoction of leaves and roots
A decoction of the leaves and roots of the plant, which are used in it in a ratio of 1: 1, is very useful.
With edema, cardiovascular diseases
For half a liter of boiling water, 3 tablespoons of raw materials are brewed, a quarter of an hour is boiled in a water bath, the wrapped dishes with a decoction are set aside for infusion for an hour. Strained remedy is used three times a day before meals for 30 minutes. 
With hypertension
For 700 ml of boiling water, 5 tablespoons of raw materials are brewed, covered with a lid and the wrapped product is infused for several hours. Used in between meals, 100 ml. Improvements will be noticeable within a week.
To normalize metabolism
50 g of raw materials are brewed per liter of boiling water, boiled in a water bath for 20 minutes, cooled and filtered. Consumed a few minutes before meals.
leaf infusion
With urolithiasis
A tablespoon of crushed leaves is brewed into a glass of boiling water. Strained infusion is consumed half an hour before meals.
For festering wounds
A purulent wound is sprinkled with powder from crushed dry leaves.
Did you know? Fresh cloudberry leaves should be applied to the damaged area for burns and skin injuries. For gout
3 tablespoons of leaves are brewed per liter of boiling water, infused for 4-5 hours. Used 50 ml daily.
How is it used in cosmetology
Swamp berry is used in the preparation of cosmetics. Its extract is a part of gels, shampoos. Its regenerative properties improve the appearance of skin and nails. 
Cloudberry is added to hair products. Thanks to its regenerative properties, it moisturizes and nourishes the skin, restores and improves the appearance of even heavily colored hair.
Possible contraindications
- Hypertension, since cloudberries have the ability to increase blood pressure;
- Tendency to thrombophlebitis, because cloudberries promote blood clotting;
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract associated with high acidity;
- on a plant is a rare, but quite possible phenomenon.
