Y a r r o M w C e ©

o Wild flowers of love

a Lung disorders and coughs were m d Wild larder - food from the meadows P o l m Yarrow ( Achillea millefolium ) was traditionally a most important a

w just two ailments treated n o s t Many delicious edible wild plant species grow in Scotland. This natural The summer song The wonder of nettles n w traditionally with nettles. plant for finding lovers. Young girls cut Yarrow on a May morning, l i N f e e e

e W larder has the great benefit of being free and organic. with their eyes shut, reciting a verse and placing the plant t t t

© l a

e under their pillows the following night. Their dreams, or what they t L © e Nettles have long been eaten as a Edible members of the goosefoot family, such as Fat-hen ( Chenopodium o r r Sweetly scented thy wreath In Scotland there is archaeological evidence L first saw when they opened their eyes, would reveal their sweetheart. n M vegetable in Scotland. Extremely o e

album ), Common Orache ( Atriplex patula ) and Good-King-Henry r

of nettles being used to make rope for n i G Good morrow, good morrow n e

i nutritious, they contain calcium,

(Chenopodium bonus-henricus ), all common weeds of waste areas and l t G l many years. The German army used nettle © To thee, braw yarrow. i S

potassium, iron, manganese and vitamins l

P l field margins, are delicious lightly boiled and buttered. Archaeological Meadow-sweet of the cairns N fibres extensively for uniforms in the First The wild and wonderful world of l S

a H And thrice good morrow to thee.

n A and C. Make them into soup, add cream N tl i evidence shows they have been eaten in Scotland since prehistoric times. World War, processing some 2,500 tonnes H fe and sherry and you are in culinary heaven! I pray thee tell me today or tomorrow, Adventurous salad makers use Water Mint ( Mentha aquatica ), Wild Chives In round brindeld clusters per year. What is my true lover to be? (Allium schoenoprasum ), Lady’s Smock ( Cardamine pratensis ), Chickweed From Flora Celtica (Stellaria media ), Sorrel ( Oxalis spp. ) and Dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ). Although easily collected from Nettles feed many insects, for example “If they wud drink nettles in March And muggons in May S Small Tortoiseshell butterfly caterpillars p the wild, Sorrel is often in over-packaged, overpriced salad mixtures on our supermarket shelves. And softly fringed tresses e Sco tland’s Wild Flowers Sae mony braw maidens a feed only on nettles. The Order of the Thistle r T

In the past, scurvy-plagued seafarers ate certain seaside plants as a vital source of vitamin C. Wadna gang to the clay” h i

This is the highest honour awarded in Scotland. Its motto, Nemo me impune s t l The most famous, scurvy grass ( Cochlearia spp ), is not a grass at all but a relative of cabbage, Beautiful and graceful Nettles were cut as a nutritious cattle fodder From a traditional Scottish folk tale, lacessit (nobody attacks me with impunity), was adopted in the 17th century e ©

and makes an excellent ‘hot’ addition to salads. Woo on Hebridean islands and were even thought this is a mermaid's lament as she and is an obvious reference to vicious prickles! L d a ru watches a funeral procession on the u f to be a bovine aphrodisiac! Some Orkney r f The most romantic explanation for adopting the Spear Thistle ( Cirsium vulgare ) i Creamy flowered, ringleted, high e © P banks of the Clyde. The ‘muggons’ C la farmers still value these plants for fattening as a national symbol dates back to when Danish longships harried the Scottish a Find your n t recommended for maidens was m Smelling good! l pigs and improving their condition. i f coast. According to legend, the association began when a careless Viking raider p e Mugwort. b Around sheltered hillocks e sweetheart In times when hygiene was less highly regarded, the collective stepped on a thistle as his party attempted a surprise attack on some unwary l l reek when people crammed together, such as in church, could Scots. His yell of pain alerted the defenders and the attack was beaten off. with Yarrow be overwhelming! Aromatic wild plants like Woodruff ( Galium

Where the wood sorrel grows. ©

odoratum ) were planted in churchyards to combat this, and P l

Parasitic plants a n

congregations would pluck and crush a few leaves on the way in. Navigating by flowers t Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair 1738 l Animal par asites, like fleas and ticks, are well known, but plants can i f be parasites too. Grassland on basalt rock in Scotland is rich in “In the old days when the men used to go to the far haaf (fishing) they rowed out or sailed e Wild Thyme ( Thymus polytrichus ) on which the scarce Thyme Broomrape out to the fishing grounds beyond Foula ... and they could always find their way back if darkness fell or if mist came down. When the wind or breeze is laying off the land the scent of clover is (Orobanche alba ) is parasitic. Stealing chlorophyll from its host,

D wafted across the sea and this was how the men in the old days used to find their way back.”

o it doesn’t need leaves for photosynthesis.

g Looking good! Highland beauty treatments Stella Shepherd, Papa Stour (Scottish Life Archive) V

i o According to old Gaelic texts, Caledonian ladies made themselves irresistible © l One in four wild plants e Thyme Broomrape ©Philip Goddard H t

to men by anointing their faces with an infusion of violets in goat’s milk. a © z

L e

o l r Burry Man n T

in Scotland today is e e Dan G del r ill io In August the Burry Man, a local man chosen each year for the role, parades the streets of South r S n y NH © L Queensferry, frightening children and fascinating adults. His name reflects his curious outfit, a s o It's all in the name g r n threatened with extinction. u e costume completely covered with hooked Burdock fruits or ‘burrs’ from local shale spoil heaps, L G i y Medieval doctors believed that l l where they grow abundantly. Some say he is the pagan spirit of vegetation and fertility – a spiny d s S d r plants with parts resembling N u a H green man! Others say he tours the town like walking Velcro, cleaning up evil spirits. C -y ’s E elements of human anatomy nke healed ailments in that body Join Plantlife today Do part. Bloody Crane’s-bill Wild 'Singerweed' and memories (Geranium sanguineum ), or in flower Gaelic ‘creachlach dearg’ of the Clydeside blitz (red wound healer), has red medicine Dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ), This booklet was written and produced by Plantlife Scotland. In the Second World War the Singer sewing machine factory on veins on the petals resembling chest whose common Scottish names Plantlife Scotland would like to thank William Milliken and Clydebank switched to weapon production, making it a target for S

blood vessels, include ‘pee-the-bed’, is an c B Sam Bridgewater for their wonderful book, Flora Celtica , the blitz. The factory survived, but its timber yard burned to the

o l

so was used o effective and well known diuretic which provided inspiration and information for this publication. o ground, and a profusion of Rosebay Willowherb ( Chamaenerion to heal d t y and was once widely used in the angustifolium ) sprang up among the ashes. The plant has since Rosebay Willowherb t

C Keeping those wounds. ISBN: 978-1-907141-49-2 ©Andrew Gagg / Plantlife r treatment of urinary disorders. been known locally as ‘Singerweed’. i a © n C s e a pesky midges away r ’ l s e h Until recently, parents in Scotland often n -b © October 2011 Feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium ) was thought to V i i ll g © dosed children with vile medicine, made o w Lo Plantlife Scotland, Balallan House, Allan Park, Stirling FK8 2QG Lu cky char ms? rne G H repel midges and other pests and was worn in ! ill SN from wild plants with offensive flavours, i re Tel +44 (0)1786 478509 buttonholes to keep them at bay. A few people still Wild plants were thought to protect us and speedwell ( Veronica spp ) was said to keep travellers l wa ts Juice made from wild iris roots was to drive worms from their guts. An d e an Email scotland @plantlife.org.uk put Bog-myrtle ( Myrica gale ) or wild mint ( Mentha from harm. This led to the melancholy tale of Lieutenant-Colonel John Cameron, who carried s b pl sucked up through the nose to cure al lie us infusion of fumitory flowers in water www.plantlife.org.uk spp. ) in their windows or larders in summer to a charm into battle made from a silken packet of speedwell seeds, pebbles and a miniature pines F ro toothache, a common rural ailment. was one such concoction. padlock. The Colonel was killed at the battle of Quatre Bras in Belgium in 1815. ivo Plantlife International – The Wild Plant Conservation Charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee. keep out flies. rn Highland Midge ©Laurie Campbell a Registered Charity Number: 1059559 Charity registered in Scotland Number: SC038951 C Registered Company Number: 3166339, registered in England. Germander Speedwell ©Andrew Gagg / Plantlife P u r

p Thrift Armeria maritima © Where did all the forests go? l P e Also known as Sea Pink, this familiar seaside plant la Some wild flowers n t O l i Ever since humans began to make their mark around 5000 years flowers abundantly in spring and summer on coastal f e

x Spectacular habitats

y rocks, pastures and saltmarshes all round Scottish

t ago by using and removing trees, the commonest plants in r Besides individual species, some plant communities coasts and the hardy flowers can tolerate submergence o you might see in Scotland... p in seawater. Thrift also thrives on mountain tops, Scotland have become those adapted to man-made habitats such as i © s And in Scotland are also internationally important. Foxglove Digitalis purpurea re where it is well adapted to the wind-blasted summits. © pasture or arable land. Nevertheless, Scotland still has plants like © © w P G L a L la a This familiar flower grows commonly in woods, heaths n g u a g Spring and summer r Alpine Blue-sow-thistle ( Cicerbita alpina ), a tall, mountain forest t / i u l i P e and rocky places, particularly in woodland clearings and f l r e a C

i n a e m flower common in Norway but rare in the Scottish Highlands, left as t Wood Crane’s-bill burned moors. It has at least 20 Scottish names, such l p i b C f e e ll a Geranium sylvaticum m The wild and romantic bog as Witches’ Thimbles and Bloody Bells. In the Borders, a relic of a once much more extensive cover of sub-alpine woodland .

p the leaves were put in newborn babies’ cradles to keep Widespread in upland Harebell Campanula rotundifolia b

e Our oceanic climate is especially favourable for the meadows, hedgebanks, woods With its nodding, blue, broadly bell-shaped l them from being bewitched and witches were thought l development of our windswept and atmospheric to wear Foxglove flowers on their fingertips. and mountain ledges in the flowers, this delicate perennial is often called the Scottish Borders and Central Highlands, Bluebell in Scotland. It grows in dry grassland, sand Alpine Blue-sow-thistle Summer blanket bogs. The Flow Country of Caithness and this striking flower stands dunes, machair and rock ledges throughout Scotland. © Andrew Gagg / Plantlife © Lo White Water-lil y Sutherland is one of the finest examples of this rn about 50cm tall, flowering e Mid to late summer G ©Laurie Campbell i abundantly in June and July. type of habitat in the world. Take time to look ll S N Chickweed-wintergreen Trientalis europaea © H E m Summer closely at our Scottish bogs and you will see This delicate relative of the Primrose is found scattered through the o rs Highlands and northern islands, in pinewoods and open mossy moors ga Primrose some incredibly beautiful te S up to 1,000 metres. It is the Plantlife County Flower of Nairnshire. eeds Primula vulgaris All colours of specialist bog plants. This familiar pale yellow Summer Round-leaved Sundew Bog Asphodel © flower is found throughout Common Cottongrass ©Lorne Gill SNH P the rainbow... Drosera rotundifolia la Narthecium ossifragum © Common Knapweed n Scotland, growing in Bog Rosemary ©Laurie Campbell t l L i

Remarkable carnivorous plants of bogs f a ©Lorne Gill SNH These dense, striking spikes e woodlands and open dyeing with plants u r

Our unique Scottish wild plants and wet peaty places, sundews have i of yellow flowers grow in grassy places including e C

reddish leaf hairs exuding dew-like bogs and wet moors across sea cliffs. Often named Scotland has a strong history of dyeing a m

© drops of sweet juice to which small Scotland. The orange, p

'Spinkies' in Scotland, they b The magic of the machair P with wild plants. White Water-lily la e insects stick. The leaf hairs then bend l spindle shaped fruit capsules n were traditionally used to l tl Mountain Avens Dryas octopetala over, trapping the small struggling remain on twiggy stems ife (Nymphaea alba ), a showy perennial © treat abscesses, coughs This beautiful creeping shrub forms dense patches of L We might grumble that Scotland’s cool, wet and windy climate brings out Visit the Hebrides and the west coast of the Scottish mainland to see a insects which are digested to provide and colds. with floating flowers, grows abundantly u Summer r glossy, dark green, deeply-veined leaves, lobed like oak ie nutrients. spectacular machair, a stunning natural sea of wildflowers which C Spring in nutrient-poor lochs and ponds our umbrellas and woolly jumpers, but our unique weather also brings our leaves. The pretty white flowers appear on hairy stems in am pb Summer wonderful displays of wild flowers. Our climate, together with the incredible changes from beautiful blues and yellows in early summer early summer. It grows in base-rich grasslands in Highland ell throughout Scotland, except Orkney. to pinks and purples as autumn approaches. mountains, in rich heathland near sea level in the north Ragged Robin It was used to make black or dark mix of mostly acidic rocks and soils, and the way we manage our land, has west and on cliffs and grassy banks along the west coast Lychnis flos-cuculi brown dye in the Harris Tweed industry. given us a very special set of plant communities. Wet, coastal, westerly gales have blown sea shell fragments and islands. This beautiful and delicate flower Early summer of marshland, wet meadows and On Barra, newly knitted socks were © inland, creating a lime rich soil with 8 0–90% shell content. Lo pastures has deeply cut petals, r Purple Saxifrage ...and some rare plants you probably won't see boiled with the dye, resulting in thick n e Grazing by cattle and sheep keeps the short, springy grass G giving the ‘ragged’ appearance. i Saxifraga oppositifolia and hardwearing, if small, footwear! The beautiful Scottish Primrose (Primula scotica ) is found ll S down and when little or no chemicals are used, the machair Great for wildlife, it attracts a N Flowering profusely as soon

l H © l only in Scotland. This tiny jewel nestles in damp, sea as snows melt, this creeping, variety of butterflies, long tailed e flowers thrive. P l b a bees and hoverflies.

e n p mat-forming plant grows on f t i sprayed, grazed turf and maritime heath immediately li l m fe Young’s Helleborine © Twinflower

t Cows, milk and flowers P a damp, stony and rocky ground Summer l n Machair is one of the rarest habitats in Europe, found only © a C n a L Epipactis youngiana Linnaea borealis l behind steep coastal slopes on our northern coast. o t

e on mountains, up to altitudes l i i r f P Bogbean ( Menyanthes trifoliata ) was given to sick calves in the 19th century. n e r in the north and west of Britain and Ireland. Almost half of e Devil’s-bit Scabious © u G of 1215 metres. This newly evolving species of Native pinewoods, such as It is only found between Cape Wrath and Dunnet il © a l S

w N L L Scottish machair occurs in the Outer Hebrides. H Succisa pratensis o orchid is found only in Scotland those in the Cairngorms, o Butterwort is so called as it was used in butter making for curdling milk. r Early spring r © n The dark purplish-blue r Head and in scattered locations on the Orkney e and northern Northumberland, in are where this beautiful w a G i The enzyme it uses to break down and ‘eat’ flies also breaks down milk. Y e ll flowers of this tall plant can the industrial heartland, where it and scarce plant grows.

, S d Islands. N y H n

b be seen in meadows, woods It has names like badan measgan (butter mixer) in Gaelic or ostin girse

u is adapting to the unusual soils of a Summer © S

R and marshland throughout Ice Age survivors and our ‘Scottish Alps’ Tormentil Potentilla erecta coal mining spoil heaps. L d l a (cheese plant) in Shetland. e e Scotland. The characteristic u v r a This common yellow flower can be ie a Summer h In same way that Arctic Char fish still inhabit some Scottish lochs, rare plants C e c constriction at the top of the a l i Shetland Mouse-ear found in grassland, heaths, woods, m “In summertime ... when you were milking you would taste the wild flowers - p

M b d like Norwegian Mugwort ( Artemisia norvegica ), Arctic Diapensia ( Diapensia root is said to have been bitten el

. bogs and mountainsides throughout l n © J on the milk ... very strong and the cream would be yellow, so yellow.” u (Cerastium nigrescens ) P Bogbean ©Lorne Gill SNH Scotland. The tannins in its roots off by the Devil out of spite for l o © lapponica ) and Iceland-purslane ( Koenigia islandica ), more common in the an © R tl n the root’s herbal powers. if Kate Anne MacLellan, North Uist

i e , is also ‘endemic’, as in were used in the leather tanning P Oysterplant Pipewort e e l f l sub-arctic zone, are survivors from the last ice age, 15,000 years ago. a i l n l industry in Scotland until the 1950s. t Summer and early autumn Mertensia maritima Eriocaulon aquaticum t u l unique to Scotland, growing if n e “Marsh marigold ... hang it around the horns of your cows. They won’t eat it. M Shingle beaches along a This curious plant grows in a few t l Summer Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus a When the glaciers disappeared, these plants were stranded in P only on exposures of serpentine rock in Shetland. the north east coast Make a garland and it increases the milk yield.” Donnie Macrury, North Uist e lochans in the west, including the

/ Meadowsweet r Common in wet ground g G a climate for which they were no longer properly adapted. Only in the carry the most Ardnamurchan peninsula and

g Filipendula ulmaria

d It has adapted to the wet conditions of an amazing throughout Scotland, this stunning, a 17th century women put Groundsel ( Senecio vulgaris ) roots into cream to e extensive populations around Sligachan on Skye. G The frothy, branching, cream v coldest and remotest places, the high Scottish peaks, have a few small sculptural flower, a favourite with a w 295 rain days per year in Shetland. It also copes in Britain of this Pipewort is found nowhere else e coloured flowers of this perennial ward off spells interfering with milk production. This was one of many e l r populations managed to hold on. bees, is seen above its dense y rare plant. d © appear abundantly in wet meadows, in Europe apart from the Hebrides r n remarkably well with dry conditions by having © charms used by rural communities, who greatly feared damage by © L patches of rich, sword shaped, © r a A M R and Ireland. Its main populations u u C r verges, marshlands and riverbanks Summer f h a B

© i rather bluish-green leaves on r e r G witchcraft to livestock. e i fleshy leaves that retain moisture and a dense C Around these arctic plants, delicate alpine flowers also grow, like Alpine it are in North America. n s a throughout Scotland in summer. a E h t m stems up to a metre tall. It was a o G i

T p p b u t e The flowers have a lovely smell, l : h ll Gentian ( Gentiana nivalis ) and Purple Saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia ), giving kl Summer & early autumn n covering of hairs preventing excessive evaporation. r traditionally used to cure disorders © e e © tt Yarrow, with its delicate feathery leaves and strong aromatic smell, e e r reminiscent of freshly baked P v N P G l l such as colds and toothache as far o . a flavour of the European Alps in Scotland. a L a n c e a n was considered healthy and even medicinal for cattle and sheep. i t sponge cake. t t n l n l i back as Neolithic times.

i e i f n fe e p o Marsh Marigold ©Plantlife l r Summer A F Summer