Our review of the plants that are part of the bear’s diet continues. Today we dedicate a space to the Cornelian cherry or dogwood (Cornus mas), a spontaneous shrub belonging to the Cornaceae family. It blooms between February and March before the foliation phase. The flowers are yellow and small in size (approximately 5mm).
The fruit of the dogwood is an edible drupe (fleshy fruit), which looks like a small and scarlet olive or oblong cherry with a slightly sour taste. It ripens in August and is particularly appreciated by bears in the period of hyperphagia, when they must feed abundantly in view of the hibernation period. The drupes contain a single bone seed, recognizable within the excrements of the animals that feed on it.
https://www.salviamolorso.it/en/what-it-eats/
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