Flowers Leaflet 1
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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..