Wildflower Archives - James Common

An account of a wonderful weekend on the coast taking in Embleton Quarry, Bamburgh and other sites.

Last weekend, Matt and I had the pleasure of spending two days galavanting around North Northumberland and while botany was not the only purpose of trip, there was more than enough to keep this botanist happy throughout.

Saturday first and a visit to the fabulous Embleton Quarry, a relatively new nature reserve owned and managed by the community of nearby and namesake town. A former quarry and landfill site, it has been lovelingly restored to a quiet santuary for both people and nature.

Setting off into the reserve, I was immediately drawn to a rather striking fumitory growing on a disturbed patch beside the path. Jackpot I thought, this site is afterall known for the rare Purple Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria purpurea) but alas, it was far too early for that. Instead, what we found was a healthy example of White Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria capreolata). Still a pretty scarce plant up here and nice to see.

On a wall close to the entrance, we also encountered several nice examples of Black Spleenwort (Asplenium adiantum-nigrum), while the pathsides by the track into the reserve held a real mix of oddities. White-form Hedgerow Crane’s-bill (Geranium pyrenaicum), Perennial Cornflower (Centaurea montana) and Lamb’s-ear (Stachys byzantina) included. The latter recorded for the first time in the vice-county here by Chris Metherell a few years earlier.

Further into the site where the path begins to splay out in all directions, it was nice to see the hybird of Red and White Campion (Silene x hampeana) growing beside its parents while Matt was drawn to a renegade Garden Peony (Paeonia officinalis) growing among a patch of scrub. He does like a garden escape!

Perennial Cornflower (*Centaurea montana*)

Spending a bit of time milling about the grasslands at Embleton Quarry, it was nice to spot our first ‘real’ display of Northern Marsh Orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella) of the year. There were quite literally hundreds of them blooming across damper areas. In drier areas nearby, the exquisite red flowers of Scarlet Pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis) could be seen, as could a large patch of Garden Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum), a pretty frequent escape these days. Concluding our fleeting visit, a few other interesting invaders were to be had close to the periphary of nearby homes. The most interesting of these were Hidcote Comfrey (Symphytum x hidcotense), a first for me, and Poet’s Daffodil (Narcissus poeticus), ever the last narcissus to bloom each year.

For those interested, non-botanical highlights from Embleton Quarry included Buffish Mining Bee, Wall, Common Blue, Vestal Cuckoo Bee and lots of Tree Sparrows. A pitiful list but my eyes were focused mostly on the ground!

Garden Star-of-Bethlehem (*Ornithogalum umbellatum*)

Next on Saturday’s agenda was a quick pitstop at a local train station known to host a colony of Rustyback (Asplenium ceterach), a scarce fern in these parts. Sure enough, we quickly found three plants growing in masonry beside the platform – a joyous sight to a someone usually confined to the urban extremes of Newcastle where this species doesn’t occur.

Concluding our trip with a stop-off at Bamburgh (complete with epic views of the castle) a few interesting odds and ends were had along the circular route around the ramparts. A nice medley of Thrift (Armeria maritima), Sea Campion (Silene uniflora) and naturalised Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri) was certainly a welcome sight. Once again, however, it was alien plants that stole the show and slightly further south, it came as a surprise to see the dunes awash with the blousy red blooms of Oriental Poppy (Papaver setiferum). Indeed, I have never before seen this species beyond the confines of gardens!

Bamburgh Castle. An iconic vista if ever there was one…

Mixed in with the poppies, the familiar blooms of another fence-hopper, Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) could be seen and along the path to the village, gardens and roadsides had been colonised by Leopard’s-bane (Doronicum pardalianches). After that, all that remained was a sortie for ice-cream and much-needed after sun.

Matt with a sea of Oriental Poppy (*Papaver setiferum*)

Monday now and with the sun beaming yet again, we opted to explore a different stretch of the coast. Heading this time for a very busy Craster, the aim was to walk the mile or so North to Dunstanburgh Castle, though not before stopping just outside the village to track down another patch of Rustyback on a roadside wall. We succeeded!

Cutting a long story short, the walk between Craster and the castle proved uneventful and dare I say it, a little boring. Much of the grassland along this stretch of coastline has been grazed and trampled to within an inch of its life and interesting plants are in short supply. We did find a small, sickly patch of Purple Milk-vetch (Astragalus danicus) near the castle, though this was a shadow of what it would be absent the wooly grazing machines.

A little downtroden by the poor diversity of the former site, before heading home we decided to stop at one I knew would be more exciting – Cullernose Point, a delightful stretch of coastline complete with cove, grassy clifftops and ample seabirds. Located just South of Craster, this is a really lovely site to visit in early-summer.

First on the agenda at Cullernose was the colony of Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium marinum) known the inhabit the various nooks and crannies under the cliffs here. Sure enough, after a little scrambling, we found several rather healthy plants tucked away out of sight of passers-by. This isn’t a common plant in VC68 with only a scant few colonies strewn between here and Berwick in the North.

Moving upward from the beach, next came a stop at the clifftops where (mercifully) some rather large expanses of Purple Milk-vetch were in full flower. A real local speciality, this one is without doubt a real beauty. With it, plenty of Spring Squill (Scilla verna) could be seen too, another notable plant which while it had gone slightly over, still looked good in places.

Also noted at Cullernose were Sea Campion, Northern Marsh Orchid, Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris), Heath Groundsel (Senecio sylvaticus) and Kidney-vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), though the rest of the flora here failed to top the splendor of the afformentioned plants.

The North Northumberland coast really is a thing of beauty. I look forward to exploring it further over the weeks ahead.

Unwelcome guests. In Theatrum Botanicum, published in 1629 by John Parkinson, the author lists two recipes for Wild Arum (otherwise known as Lords and Ladies), suggesting that small pieces of the root can be mixed with lettuce and endive and that the dried root should be sprinkled, sparingly, over meat. He recommends these recipes for the unbidden unwelcome guest to man’s table because it will so burn and prickle his mouth that he will not be able to eat one bit more or scarce speak for pain. (source)

Don’t overdo it. Many members of the Arum family, including this variety, are known to be mildly toxic due to the oxalates contained in various parts of the plant. These fine crystals can irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, resulting in throat swelling, breathing difficulties, burning pain, and a stomach upset; while consumption of the plants appealing red fruit can be especially dangerous – resulting in a tingling sensation in the mouth moments after eating it and later, poisoning. Thankfully, the acrid taste of the Arum fruit means that the large quantities required to do serious harm are seldom eaten.

Notable incidents. During a four year period between 1996 and 1999, there were 23 hospital visits as a result of Arum poisoning; though none of these resulted in serious harm. During this time, a young child who consumed the fruits of the plant was given a block of salt to eat so to ensure she vomited them up – all she remembers now is the awful taste of the salt. In a similar case, a young woman who consumed a leaf from Wild Arum was treated for a serious burning sensation in her mouth which lasted for a number of days. There have been no recorded fatalities from the species during modern times.

Only for the brave. An account from Dioscorides written in the first century AD suggests that the leaves of Wild Arum are excellent eaten as a cooked vegetable (unadvisable). Throughout history, however, it was the tuberous root of the plant that was most commonly eaten due to its high starch content (think of a poisonous potato). The tubers of Arum can be dried, heated and ground into a fine substance historically known as Portland Powder and used as a treatment for gout. This process gets rid of the roots aridity and toxic sap; with the final product known to be both a diuretic and a stimulant.

The height of fashion. Another name for Wild Arum is Starchwort, derived from the plant’s starchy tubers used during Elizabethan times to bind the decorative cuffs and ruffs that were fashionable during the Renaissance. It is said that the hands of poor laundresses who regularly worked with the root were often chapped and blistered because of it. Additionally, powered Arum root was one of the key ingredients of Cyprus Powder, used by Parisian ladies as a cosmetic treatment to whiten the skin. It did, however, have to be washed copiously so to avoid any irritation. (Source)

Wild Arrum, By Frank Vincentz – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3195268

Indecent Appeal. Many of Wild Arums common names derive from the similarities between the spathe and spadix of the plant and male and female human genitalia. Rural people in England claim that the name of the plant is really Cuckoo’s Pintle, meaning Cuckoo’s Penis, and it was believed in 1930’s Dorset that if a young girl touched the plant they would soon fall pregnant. It has been suggested that this particular myth stems from a reference in John Lyly’s 1601 play, Love Metamorphosis.

Ingenious reproduction. Arum flowers sport a ring of hairs that serve to trap flying insects, particularly Owl-Midges, attracted to the flower by its unpleasant, faecal odour and a temperature up to 15°C warmer than the air around it. Once trapped, visiting insects are dusted with pollen before escaping and transferring their load to female flowers elsewhere.

Unpalatable to (most) animals. The leaves of Wild Arum, which give off a disagreeable odour when bruised, have been found to be unpalatable to grazing animals; while pigs that have consumed fresh Arum tubers have suffered mild cases of poisoning. Gilbert White, however, suggests that during severe bouts of snowy weather that the roots of Arum are scratched up and consumed by a variety of thrush species, and that the berries are regularly eaten by several species of bird – particularly by pheasants. (Source)

Religious significance. Wild Arum has been labelled as the Holy Grail of the Hedgerow due to the suggestion that the flower grew under the cross of Christ, catching some of his blood as he was crucified. Elsewhere, the nuns residing at Syon Abbey during 1440 used the starch from Arum root to bind altar cloths and other church linens, later imposing rules which ensured communion linen could only be made this way. (Source)

Repackaged. The Victorians were not fond of the sexual connotations associated with Wild Arum and tried to promulgate the name Our Lord and Our Lady in its place. This was based on the suggestion that the spathe of the plant represented the Virgin Mary using her cloak to shield the infant Jesus, himself represented by the spadix. This rebranding of Wild Arum was helped along by a game played by English children to see which flower bloomed first in Spring, the Lord or the Lady, differentiated by the colour of the stamens.

Tag: Wildflower

Botanising Up North: Embleton Quarry, Bamburgh & Craster

Top 10 Facts: Lords and Ladies

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