Almudena Alvarez | Castrillo de Villavega (Palencia) (EFE).- It is not a feline or a sports brand. The “puma”, in feminine, is also a local shrub that has practically disappeared and the fruit it produces, a currant with very interesting nutritional properties, which survives in a testimonial way in some areas of Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, País Basque, Navarra and La Rioja.
“Pumas, pubas or umas (Ribes uva-crispa) are also known as prickly, agraz, arganzon or aciguembre grapes in other areas of Spain,” explains agricultural technical engineer Aurelio Robles, who has been working in the plant for years. recovery of the agro-genetic heritage of Castilla y León in what he calls “safeguard orchard” located in Castrillo de Villavega (Palencia).
Aurelio Robles has been working for two decades to prevent the total disappearance of this fruit and after several years of prospecting, with the essential help of the people of the towns, he has recovered specimens of this fruit shrub, mostly in the municipalities of Castrillo de Villavega. , Barcena de Campos, Villasarracino and Villasila, all in the province of Palencia, but also in other towns in Burgos, Navarra, La Rioja and the Basque Country.
“In Castrillo de Villavega they know it as pumas, in Villasila de Valdavia the elders speak of umas and in Bárcena de Campos they refer to this fruit as pubas,” says Aurelio Robles, who plans to carry out prospecting in other areas of Castilla y León. Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia to “recover the greatest possible genetic diversity”.
But, whatever the name by which it is known, what is a puma?
Robles explains that the puma, in feminine, is a small thorny shrub that occurs naturally and produces an edible berry-like currant. This fruit, also called puma, has a rounded shape, about two centimeters in diameter, which has different colors ranging from yellowish-green to pink, or reddish to dark purple, and has a unique and pleasant bittersweet flavor on its maturation state.
“These shrubs that were once widely cultivated in our towns were located mainly on the margins of the hawthorns or on the stone walls that delimit the linares,” says the engineer, while lamenting that this unique fruit, which has formed part of the landscape and food in another time, is today practically disappeared due to the progressive abandonment of rural areas and land consolidation.
In fact, as he comments, “formerly it was common in many orchards, but today it has practically disappeared and the majority of the population is unaware of it.”
Beneficial health properties
In addition, Robles underlines “the singular medicinal properties of this small fruit”, with a Vitamin C content twenty times higher than that of the orange, in addition to other surprising medicinal properties collected in a recent study by pharmaceutical biochemist Beatriz Riberon.
Among others, Riberon highlights that these currants contain essential nutrients, such as vitamin A, folate (B9), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), thiamine (B1), E and minerals such as calcium and magnesium that prevent osteoporosis; in addition to flavones and anthocyanins with numerous benefits for health, against cancer, aging, inflammation and neurological diseases.
“According to this biochemistry, a study showed that currants block breast cancer cell growth and the potential for metastasis in vitro,” says Robles, who also highlights the antioxidant properties of the polyphenols and vitamin C of these currants because they “favor and boost immunity, help slow down the aging process and keep skin and hair healthy.”
Recovery and conservation of pumas
Aurelio Robles has spent two decades working on the recovery of this and other fruit species and has been able to verify that a large number of these shrubs have irreversibly disappeared, but in some cases, thanks to people who have maintained and cared for them for many years, he has been able to recover some extremely valuable specimens of pumas, “the majority in a state of drowning by the undergrowth and close to their disappearance,” he explains.
To ensure the conservation of the localized shrubs, the first thing this agronomist did was multiply them in the “Huerto de Salvaguarda” that he has in Castrillo de Villavega, where he preserves specimens of pumas from 16 different origins, and studies their agronomic behavior, evaluating the characteristics of the fruits of each recovered ecotype, and their resistance or sensitivity to pests and diseases.
He assures that in this “Safeguarda Orchard” he preserves a great diversity of pumas, all of them of great genetic value, which show fruits of different sizes and colors and with different behaviors and sensitivities.
In fact, it has verified that some specimens “show excellent agronomic behavior, with good resistance against pests and diseases and an excellent annual production of good-sized fruits with an exquisite flavour, which are undoubtedly the result of the selection carried out for generations by our ancestors”.
The potential of our agrogenetic resources
The objective of this recovery work is to try to prevent the disappearance of this local shrub and its fruit, and that the abandonment of rural areas and the forgetfulness of the new generations does not destroy part of the natural heritage of our towns.
“We must not forget that this bush is part of our local heritage, a type of living heritage, bequeathed by our ancestors,” Robles insisted, calling for the conservation of the specimens that still remain.
“Perhaps, without knowing it, we have among us a local fruit of interest as an alternative crop,” he insists, considering its optimal adaptation to the natural environment, its organoleptic characteristics and its nutritional benefits. A fruit that could be eaten fresh, when it ripens in the months of June and July, and also used to make ice creams, jams, juices, wines and liqueurs. EFE