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6 6 ◆ BOTANY – RED FOR DANGER 1 1 5 5 0 0 ◆ SAFEGUARDING OUR CONTYSIDE 2 2 2 2 ◆ N N PUBLIC TRANSPORT M M 1 1 AND THE NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS U U T T ◆ WYKEHAM FOREST U U A A ◆ E E RABBIT WARRENS ◆ FUNGI – FROM OUT OF NOWHERE U U ◆ CRUNKLY GILL & CARVED HEADS S S ◆ CROSSWORD ◆ HAWKMOTH – NATURE NOTES S S I I ) ) A A S S M M Y Y N N R R ( ( N N O O I I O O T T A A I I C C O O O O S S S S A A S S R R M M O O O O M M E E E E R R I I H H H H S S K K R T R T O O Y Y H H F F T T R R O O N N O O E E H H T T F F E E O O E E N N C C I I Z Z I I A A G G A A O M O M E E H H V T V T NYMA – TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE CHARACTERISTIC BEAUTY OF THE NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS BOTANY RED FOR DANGER – A TRIO OF POISON There are three bright-red attractive and luscious-looking berries that Although animals may eat the leaves, and there are records of young are widespread at this time of the year. But be warned – they are shoots, after soaking, being eaten like asparagus by people (not poisonous! One, the Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies , I am often recommended), the berries are poisonous. They were also used, with asked about as it seems to suddenly appear from nowhere like stalked, care, as an emetic. The rhizomes contain a histamine-like alkaloid and are luminous, red candles in hedge bottoms and gardens, growing just at poisonous but have long been used externally as a rub for skin conditions, the height to attract toddlers! The other two are hedgerow climbers, sores and chilblains but particularly for treating bruising as they dissolve black bryony and honeysuckle , both bringing a splash of colour to congealed blood giving it the rather odd name of ’battered wives’ plant’ late summer and autumn hedgerows with their strings or clusters of in France! glowing red berries. THE HONEYSUCKLE THE CUCKOO PINT The third berry in this poisonous trio is the honeysuckle, Lonicera Cuckoo Pint, Lords and Ladies or Arum maculatum belongs to the periclymenum, of the Caprifoliaceae family and it always comes as a surprise Araceae family and is commonly found in hedge bases, in open to discover that such a beautiful, enchanting and intoxicatingly scented woodlands on damp moist soils, but not on the flower should produce such poisonous berries. high acidic moorlands. The large, stalked, Honeysuckle is common in hedgerows, open arrow-shaped leaves are some of the earliest to scrub and field margins being a twining, draping appear in spring and are usually bright green plant, a true ‘liana’. The stems have opposite, but can be purple-spotted, growing from a oval leaves, joined at the base to form a cup, with white underground tuber. These are soon compact inflorescences of tubular flowers, white, followed by a purple/green bract or spathe that yellow or pink-flushed that mature into a head envelopes the smelly, purple inflorescence of lustrous, attractive red berries. spike or spadix that attracts insects that then Lonicera is named after the German naturalist drop to the base and pollinate the hidden Adam Lonicer, while periclymenum means to flowers. When these have died away, the green twine. While honeysuckle is nowadays the more then red berries develop on a short stalk. common English name, in the past it was more The name Arum or Aron is from the Arabic commonly known as woodbine, a much older ‘ar’ meaning fire, referring to the hot, acrid name used by Shakespeare in A Midsummer taste of the plant, while maculatum means Night’s Dream - “Quite over-canopied with spotted. Amazingly up to ninety local names luscious woodbine.” Other names for this have been recorded for this species, mostly of plant are bindweed and ladies fingers. a sexual nature due to the evocative shape of Honeysuckle has always been a flower the flowers and bract, some bawdier than associated with lovers, but it was also used as a others! Even in the name Cuckoo pint, the defence against witches, evil and sickness, ‘pint’ rhymes with ‘mint’, and derives from especially on May Day when it was the Old English ‘pintle’(for penis). Other traditionally hung above house and dairy doors references to snakes, devils and poison give a to protect the occupants and the butter and direct warning of the plant’s toxic nature. The milk from harm. Although it is represented as plant is acrid and bitter but in the past the Honeysuckle berries gentle and draping, its stems are very woody leaves have been used as a poultice for boils and ulcers though it and tough and can twine round saplings so tightly that the growing wood sometimes caused blisters. The root however contains large amounts becomes deformed and grooved making the timber less valuable; unless of white starch, which if heated or dried loses its poisonous properties that is they result in a regular ‘barley sugar’ effect on young hazel in which and it was eaten as a ‘salep’. But it was more extensively used as a case it is then in great demand as an attractive feature on walking sticks. laundry starch, especially in the Elizabethan age for the huge ruffs that Although the berries are toxic and emetic, the flowers and to a lesser were fashionable in those times, and was known as Portland arrowroot extent the leaves and bark, have been used medicinally. Children love or sago, although it blistered the laundresses’ hands. It was however sucking the flower tube ends for their honey and in infusions they used as a cosmetic white powder and in some herbal treatments. There were used for their cooling and soothing effects, on hot flushes, fevers, are also reports of the tubers being eaten by some birds and mammals sunstroke and urinary track infections as well as for asthma, croup and as an emergency spring food in bad weather. bronchitis. It was also used as a heart tonic and to counter stiff joints, rheumatic complaints etc. The leaves and flaked bark were sometimes BLACK BRYONY made into an infusion but for external use for cooling and healing Black bryony, Tamus communis of the Dioscoreaceae or yam family is wounds or as a gargle for sore mouths, throats and toothache. almost at its northern limit here but can be found climbing up hedges on Of these three very different plants - two are climbers, two produce more fertile or calcareous soils, but is not found on acid uplands. The useful tubers, one with wonderfully sweet-scented flowers - but all long, weak stems twine round hedgerow plants and bear bright green, with a common warning message at this time of the year, especially heart shaped leaves that turn purple and yellow in autumn. It is perennial when we are out picking other hedgerow berries: and dioecious with separate male and female inflorescences of small white/green star shaped flowers. The female flowers ripen to green then RED IS FOR DANGER – red berries that look like exotic necklaces draped over the hedges. It has BEWARE POISONOUS! a long fleshy rootstock, dark outside, yellow within, unlike the strikingly Anne Press pale one of the white bryony, Bryonia dioica that is in the unrelated Cucurbitaceae or cucumber family, and is rarer here. The name bryony WOODBINE SHAKESPEARE derives from the Greek ‘bruo’ to burst or abound, referring to the fleshy root, Tamus is the genus name and communis means common. Other “Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine…” common names such as snake berry and adders poison are clear warning Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream ones and the plant is sometimes referred to as Mandrake. 2 VOICE OF THE MOORS – AUTUMN 2016 CONTENTS BOTANY PAGE 2 RED FOR DANGER – A TRIO OF POISON CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD PAGE 4 ALL CHANGE NYMA Founded 1985 PRESIDENT’S PIECE PAGE 5 Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) SAFEGUARDING OUR CONTRYSIDE Nº 1169240 PUBLIC TRANSPORT PAGE 7 Officers of the Association BUSES AND THE NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS President Ian Carstairs OBE FORESTRY PAGE 8 Vice Presidents WYKEHAM FOREST Professor Allan Patmore Ron Foster MBE Chairman PAGE 10 RABBIT WARRENS Tom Chadwick Vice Chairman FUNGI David Moore PAGE 11 Council Members FROM OUT OF NOWHERE Sue Chadwick Janet Cochrane NYMA WALK PAGE 12 Albert Elliot CRUNKLY GILL AND CARVED HEADS Ann Glass Adrian Leaman Colin Speakman AMANUENSIS PAGE 14 Malcolm Watt CRYPTIC CROSSWORD N o 74 George Winn-Darley Elaine Wisdom HAWKMOTH Association Treasurer PAGE 15 Brian Pearce NATURE NOTES 140 Newton Road Great Ayton Middlesbrough TS9 6DL [email protected] Hon. Secretary “QUOTABLE QUOTES” Janet Cochrane The Forge, Fangdale Beck, BACK TO NATURE . North Yorkshire, TS9 7LE [email protected] “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and Membership Secretary see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. Gerald King I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless 5 Cleveland View, Faceby it was quite necessary.