Steer clear of spindle bush’s orange seeds

9:39am Sunday 30th September 2007

AUTUMN has always been the time associated with the gathering of fruits and berries.

Most of us have helped ourselves to some blackberries from the hedgerow and perhaps the more brave may have even sampled some of the apples and pears from some of our wild fruit trees.

I always like to spend some time on Burlish Top doing just this but be warned as not every apple or pear you find will have the most pleasant of tastes. It is also a good idea to wash all wild fruit and to be picky and discard ones with a small hole unless you don't mind having your fruit accompanied by a little extra protein in the form of a maggot or two.

It is also worth noting that not all the wild fruits you come across are edible and there are some pretty nasty and potentially deadly berries out there.

One of the most attractive berries I feel you can come across are those of the spindle bush. The spindle bush is quite usual to find in the wild in our district, as it likes calcareous soils rather than our more acidic ones, but it can still be found on a few nature reserves and in some hedgerows.

It stands out magnificently at this time of year by virtue of its surcease pink seed pods which rupture to reveal shocking orange seeds that hang down like miniature oranges. I have to admit they look quite succulent and tasty, but if anyone was tempted, they would be in for quite a nasty and potentially fatal shock as the seeds are highly purgative.

In the past ,this property had led to some herbal use of the plant but it is the nature of its strong dense wood that in bygone years was highly valued.

The spindle bush, which can grow to a height of five metres, almost qualifying this plant as a tree, gets its name from the use of the wood in spinning wheels and looms.

The wood was also traditionally selected for knitting needles and toothpicks. The timber also keeps its dense nature when burnt into charcoal and in this form the wood was highly valued by artists, who praised its dense colour and ease which it could be erased. This dense charcoal was also particularly sort after for the production of high quality gun powder.

These days it's just a rather pretty autumn addition to our landscapes but it is sometimes nice to think back to past times where the natural world was a far bigger part of everyone's day to day lives.

EDITOR'S CHOICE