Other names: Sweet Coltsfoot, butter dock, dog rhubarb, exwort
I sow, I sow,
Then come, my own dear,
Come here, come here,
And mow, and mow.
To find her husband, a young maid sows Butturbur before the sunrise upon a Friday morn.
Her man will appear with a scythe in his hand, yet if her nerve should fail she may say ‘have mercy on me’ and so the vision departs.
do read on….
Plantago lanceolata and Plantago major
Folk names: Way bread, Lord of the ways, Wodan’s Herb, Slan-lus (plant of healing)
The flower heads of ribwort are used as ammunition by children and adults alike.
A very common wild plant, it likes to grow on compacted soil and is always found around human habitation. It grows abundantly on tracks and by foot paths hence it’s title of “Lord of the Ways” and “Way Bread”.
It is resilient and resistant in its character.
Rosebay Willowherb
Epilobium angustifolium
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Folk Names
Fireweed, ranting widow, apple pie,
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Rosebay Willowherb is an adaptable friend. Most parts of the plant are edible, medicinal and have other fantastic properties. In recent eastern adventures, Ed found it growing in abundance through Southern Siberia all the way to Mongolia. This is a good plant to know.
Rosebay, growing beside fields
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Food
Its not the best food, but being so abundant can be very useful. In the Springtime the young shoots and leaves can be eaten raw, and as they get older need to be steamed or boiled for 10 minutes. Treat the shoots like asparagus.
The root can be cooked as a vegetable, added to stews.
If you split the stem you can scrape out the sweet pith as a cucumber-like snack, though this can be quite astringent..
The flower stalks when in bud can be snacked upon raw and added to soups for flavour.
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Medicine
Peel the roots, gently pound them and use as a poultice for skin damage such as burns, sores, swellings, boils and other similar hindrances.
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The leaves as a tea act as a tonic for the whole system, helping digestion and inflammation, but don’t drink too much because they’re also a laxative (unless you need loosening).
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Practical
In autumn the downy seed hairs can be used as fast lighting tinder (similar to thistle down), very effective with flint and striker. Make sure you have a secondary tinder ready as the down burns away quickly.
The down was also used to stuff mattresses and mixed with cotton or fur to produce warm clothing.
The pith when dried and powdered can be applied to hands and face for protection against the cold.
The fibre from the outer stem is used as a cordage material.
A very good source of nectar for bees. Bee keepers sometimes move to newly opened forestry land where the plant is quick to colonize.
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Lore
Margaret Baker warns that the Willowherb “will cause the death of the mother of any child who picks it”. So perhaps this is a plant for grown-ups to gather.
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Other Details
Fireweed likes to grow on freshly cleared ground : woodland clearings, at the edge of the wood, waste places (including towns), scree slopes and rubbish tips (though best not to use plants from such places).
Fireweed is tall, pink flowered with willow-like leaves. It does not normally grow alone.
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Sources:
Brown, Tom.Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants. (Berkley Books, 1985)
Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Britain and Northern Europe. (Hamlyn, 1981)
Mears, Ray and Hillman, Gordon. Wild Food. (Hodder and Stoughton, 2007)
Baker, Margaret. Discovering the Folklore of Plants. (Shire Publications, 1969)
Hatfield, Gabrielle. Hatfield’s Herbal. (Penguin Books, 2007)
Shepherd’s Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris
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Folk Names
Mother’s heart, pickpocket, witches’ pouches.
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Food
The young leaves can be eaten raw in spring and cooked as the year and their bitterness progress. The tops of flower stalks can be snacked upon and put in stews (though rather stringy).
As autumn arrives you can collect the heart shaped seeds and dry them over a few days in the sunshine (put them away somewhere dry at night or in rain). When powdered, the dried seeds can be sprinkled onto food for a bit of spice.
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Medicine
Shepherd’s Purse works with the blood. A strong infusion is used to slow and stop bleeding from a wound, and is a good anti-septic.
As a leaf tea it constricts the blood vessels and controls high blood pressure in an emergency.
Tea is taken as a tonic when feeling ill or when you need to stimulate your bowels (don’t drink regularly for more than one week).
The plant’s seeds resemble kidneys and are said to help the kidney function.
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Lore
The name Pickpocket came from farmers claiming the plant ‘took the heart from their land’.
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Other Details
You will find the plant growing in fields, on waysides and on any type of wasteland throughout Britain.
St John’s wort, St John’s wort
My envy whosoever has thee
I will pluck thee with my right hand
I will preserve thee with my left hand
Whoso findeth thee in the cattle field
Shall never be without kine.
Gaelic Names
Achlasan Chaluimchille (armpit package of Columba)
Allas Muire (image of Mary), lus na Maighdinn Muire (Virgin Mary’s Herb)
Folk Names
Balm of the warrior’s wound, Aaron’s beard
Medicine
St.John’s Wort brings sunshine to the nerves. Calming anxiety, tension, menstruation, depression and extreme emotional states, it sedates you somewhat and reduces pain by calming the nervous system. Dry out the whole plant above ground and use it in tea.
When you put the plant in oil it turns the liquid bright red. This oil can be used for sunburn, bruises and mild burns. A skin rub is made by adding melted beeswax to the warmed oil. When cold this is applied to wounds, bruises and burns.
HERE is how to make the oil.
At this time of year there are the skeletons of teasel plants gracing us with their silhouettes.
We have been wondering what its uses are for quite a time. We recently found some of its story.
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Teasel
Dipsacus fullonum (D.Sylvestris)
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Folk Names
Card Weed, Barber’s brush, Gypsy’s Comb
Teasel close up
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Medicine
Teasel is a good plant for walkers. It helps injuries to your joints and tendons. It eases muscle pain and inflammation, weakness of legs, knees and lower back. It is the root that is used. Crush it as an external poultice or make a weak decoction (brew).
It strengthens the nerves and eases chronic fatigue.
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Practical
Taesan is the Anglo-Saxon name for ‘cleaning cloth’. Fuller’s Teasel is used to raise nap in freshly-made wool without breaking the cloth.
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Lore
The Bath of Venus is rainwater collecting in cups where the leaves surround the stem. This water is said to be a great cleanser, good as an eye wash, for beautiful skin and getting rid of warts.
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Sources:
Brunton-Seal, Julie, Seal, Mathew. Hedgerow Medicine. (Merlin Unwin Books, 2008)
