SUBFAMILY PRUNOIDEAE
A shrub or small tree with white fragrant flowers collected in long racemes. The fruit is a black spherical drupe about 8 mm in diameter, with one large stone; the pulp is strongly astringent and sweet to the taste. When chewing the seed, a bitter almond flavor and smell can be detected.
Cherry bird is a plant widely distributed in the forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part, the mountains of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Western Siberia. It is often cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant. In Eastern Siberia and the Far East, it is replaced by a related species — Asian cherry bird — Padus asiatica Kdm.
The fruits of cherry bird — Fructus Padi (Fructus Pruni Padi) — are collected in August and dried in ovens.
The fruits contain tannins, sugar, malic acid, and citric acid in the pulp, while the seeds contain fatty oil and the glycoside amygdalin.
It is used internally as an astringent for intestinal disorders by brewing whole fruits as tea, either alone or mixed with dried blueberries. When brewed, tannins are extracted from the pulp, while the stones must remain intact to avoid extracting amygdalin.
Fresh fruits, flowers, and leaves have phytoncidal properties.