COMPANIES:
Agostino Leuratti, via Case Gandolfo 111 Pontone di Carpineti, tel. 0522 818165

Azienda agricola Simone Giampellegrini, Maro di Castelnovo ne’ Monti, tel. 0522 611410

MartaMaria Community-Social Cooperative Society Via Maro 28, Castelnovo Monti. Phone 0522 613167

Company Aaricola Agriappennino, fraction Cecciola, Municipality of Ventasso, cell. 333.9525497

Typical Products
Among the species present in the undergrowth and clearings of the beech forests of our Apennines, in addition to the renowned mushrooms, there are:
– blueberry black and red;
-raspberries;
-strawberries;
– blackberries;
– juniper berries.

Blueberry: (family: Ericaceae)
Blueberry moors are natural formations of dwarf shrubs, also called vaccinieti, because they are dominated by the black cranberry (vaccinium myrtillus) and the false blueberry (vaccinium gaultherioides). The leaves are oval-pointed, with a serrated margin, similar to those of myrtle. The fruit is a small edible berry with an excellent taste that ripens at the end of summer and is harvested for direct consumption, to make jams, jellies, syrups and for liqueur use. They are very rich in vitamin C and have astringent properties. The false blueberry is similar in appearance but bland and floury and therefore little appreciated. In the vaccines of the Park also appears the cranberry (vaccinium vitis – idaea), a rare species whose collection, aimed at making jam and preserves, is intense in the alpine valleys but is not part of the traditional activities of our mountaineers, especially for its rarity.
Raspberry: (family: Rosaceae)
The raspberry is a bramble up to 2 meters high, with small weak spines, thin and straight, and with compound leaves. It is widespread in the middle and high mountains of the Apennines, on the edges and in the clears of the most humid beech and oak forests, forming showy colonies in landslides and in the most recently deforested soils. It blooms in June-July and bears fruit after about a month, has a coral red color, plumy and slightly hairy, and a “compound fruit” that is formed by small fruits with a single seed (“drupeole”). When ripe, it detaches easily and is harvested to make jams, syrups, jellies and for liqueur use. It is also used for the preparation of medicines.
Strawberries: (family: Rosaceae)
Wild strawberries are herbaceous seedlings that propagate in colonies, in the clear and sunny edges of the forests of the submontane area up to the limit of forest vegetation. Flowers appear from May to August, depending on the altitude. The fruit is pulpy and bright red, greatly appreciated for its aroma and flavor; It is rich in phosphorus, calcium, iron and salicylic acid and also has considerable medicinal value.
Blackberries: (family:Rosaceae)
Brambles are widespread from the plains to the middle mountains and form patches and hedges at the sunny edges of forests, meadows and fields. The stems are provided with robust spines and hooks. Blackberries, like raspberries, are a compound fruit, ripen from August to October and are rich in vitamins A and C. They contain 4 to 7% sugar and are used to make syrups, jellies and jams.
Juniper berries: (family: Cupressaceae)
Juniper is a conifer widespread throughout the region, from the coast to the highest mountains. The needle-like leaves, up to 15 mm long, are gathered in verticils of three. They have only one pale stripe above and, below, a gray-green color.
The flowers appear in June-July from these are born then the characteristic “berries” of bluish-gray color; Juniper berries contain essential oils and resin. They are harvested to extract the essence, to be used in liqueurs, and to a lesser extent, for medicinal and aromatic uses.