100 stories from the hiking route

1960 – a spindletree plantation is established on the bank of the Mustjõgi River

Information

Topic

People and nature

Coordinates

Long-Lat WGS 84

Latitude: 57.596220

Longitude: 26.325863

L-EST 97

x: 6386173.3
y: 639066.5

Location

Ähijärve-Aegviidu Hiking route

August Wilhelm Hupel was the first person to mention the occurrence of the common spindle in Livonia in literature. The species grows naturally in Estonia, as it is on the northern border of its distribution area. Spindle seeds are dispersed by birds: robins, magpies, ouzels and starlings.
Eduard Viirok studied the natural habitats of the common spindle on the banks of rivers Koiva and Mustjõgi in 1931. According to him, spindle shrubs grew on the Estonian bank of the Koiva River and about five kilometres upriver from where the Mustjõgi River flows into the Koiva River in the area around the Mustjõgi River.
Valdek Ritslaid began studying the natural habitats of the spindle in 1956. According to his research, spindles naturally grow on the floodplain of rivers Koiva, Mustjõgi and Peetri in an area that is about 30 km in length.
The bark on the roots of the spindle contains a rubber-like substance called gutta-percha. A plantation was established on the bank of Mustjõgi River in the 1960s in order to explore the possibilities of producing gutta-perch. The testing was conducted at the Tartu State University. The main components of the gutta-perch found in the bark of the roots of the spindle are gutta and resin. The higher the content of gutta in the rootbark, the more valuable the raw material. The average content of gutta in the spindles used in the research was 9.1%. Gutta-perch was used as a rubber-like substance in, for example, medicine as an insulation material and as a glue ingredient.

Sources: 
Kasesalu, H. 2015. Valdek Ritslaid, Eesti kikkapuude uurija. Eesti Loodus edition no. 10
Ritslaid, V. 1961. Eesti NSV kikkapuude gutapertšisisalduse uurimine.
Sander, H. 2015. Kikkapuu Eestis: looduslikud ja metsistunud leiukohad läbisegi. Eesti Loodus edition no. 10