Dear Pioneer November 2010

Welcome to our November e-bulletin. This special edition is not only the last for the year but during this

time of remembrance, focuses on the role of wild plants during the war. Our guest writer David Childs,

founder of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, gives a fascinating insight into wartime rural

practices. We’d also like to thank Tim Sandle whose website www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk provided

much information about the role of sphagnum moss in wartime and David Middleton who manages the

website www.bottlesfordhistory.org.uk which helped us learn about the collection of conkers,

blackberries and rosehips during the wars.

It sounds like 2010 has been a good year for foraging judging by the number of Parish Records we’ve

received — thank you very much! The hedgerows were bursting with sloes and other berries earlier this

autumn, so hopefully your larders will be well stocked with preserves, chutneys and liqueurs, just in time

for Christmas!

Katie Cameron, editor.

The National Memorial Arboretum — where our nation remembers The National Memorial Arboretum, located near Lichfield in

Staffordshire, is a 150 acre site containing over 50,000 trees and 170 memorials. One of the most poignant is the Armed Forces Memorial which has over 16,000 names of members of our armed forces killed since the end of World War II.

There is a wonderful wildflower meadow called the British Legion Poppy Field at the arboretum. It covers more than an acre and in

the months of July and August is ablaze with the colours of poppies, cornflowers, corn marigolds, corn cockles, and scentless mayweed. When in flower it provides a haven for bees, butterflies, ladybirds and countless other insects.

For more information about The National Memorial Arboretum or to arrange a visit, please visit: www.thenma.org.uk

Your Parish Record feedback:

“Besides bilberries (which in Somerset we call

‘worts’ or whortleberries) and blackberries,

we have been feasting on cherries and

plums. The cherry trees may have been

planted originally but they are all over the

place these days”.

SPECIAL BUMPER ISSUE!

Learning about plants at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Mosses

There are around 12,000 different species of moss. Mosses are botanically classified as bryophytes, a group which also includes liverworts and hornworts. Bryophytes were amongst the earliest group of land plants to evolve from water bound algae. Mosses are commonly used in floristry and sphagnum moss is a major component of peat.

Sphagnum mosses or Sphagnales are an odd and distinct group of mosses whose features allow them to live on acidic bogs and moorlands. By killing off a lot of the cells in their leaves they create large spaces where water can be stored (like a sponge) – hence their absorbent properties and use as bandages. They also have micro-organisms called cyanobacteria living in them. These fix nitrogen and provide the mosses with nutrients which are otherwise unavailable in the locations in which the mosses live.

Tortula muralis or wall screw-moss is a small plant growing in low cushions or sometimes in wide patches about 1 cm tall, commonly on walls. The leaves are usually deep green or bright yellow-green. The cushions consist of many individual plants and it is this communal habitat which provides protection against drying out. The leaves with long hair points are twisted when dry – like screws. The tip of the capsule has fine teeth which close when wet to protect the spores and open when dry to allow the spores to disperse.

Grimmia pulvinata or hairy cushion moss is a common wall moss that occurs in round tufts that can be up to 3 cm deep. The cushions look silvery grey when dry giving the appearance of little mice. The grey colour comes from each leaf tip having a long hair which help provide shade and prevent scorching and water loss. In the autumn capsules on curly stalks appear. The capsules contain spores (like seeds) that will help the moss to spread.

Did you know? Moss enthusiasts have developed bath mats made out of moss? The moss thrives on the drips of water that are poured onto it from stepping out of the bath or shower!

Sphagnum Moss © Ray Woods, Plantlife

Grimmia pulvinata © Ray Woods, Plantlife

Key characteristics you

need to know:

Small and don’t have any special plumbing system in their stems to transport water and food

Grow in mats or cushions

Many survive in damp, shady areas

No flowers or seeds but produce spores in special stalked capsules called a sporophyte

Tortula muralis © Ray Woods, Plantlife

Common poppy

(Papaver rhoeas) Where: Creates a lovely red haze in arable/waste areas

Rough poppy (Papaver hybridum) Where: Mainly on lime

Stem Up to 70cm tall

Flower Bright scarlet!

Leaf Divided into segments

Can you tell these members of the poppy family apart? These four-petalled flowers are commonly misidentified.

Let our ‘3 of a kind’ guide help.

Flower Pale scarlet Petals are spaced out

Stem Up to 45cm tall with hairs

Leaf Pointed and

hairy

Stem Hairy, Up to 50cm

Flower Smaller than the common poppy

Leaf

Prickly poppy (Papaver argemone) Where: Local in arable and waste areas, with generally sandy soils

Capsule Rounded, flat topped and hairless

Capsule covered with straw-

coloured bristles

Capsule Long,

narrow with bristles

Illustrations reproduced by permission of Midsummer Books Ltd from The Wildflowers of the British Isles, Carrard, I. and Streeter, D., 1998, Midsummer Books Ltd.

Botanical warfare and wild plants during the wars — by David Childs

Ever since the first man picked up a fallen branch

and used it to clobber an intruder entering his cave,

plants have formed a part of men’s arsenal for use

in conflict. After hand held weapons, like clubs,

came projectiles such as spears and, perhaps the

most famous and long lasting of all, the bow and

arrow which used the natural attributes of wood,

especially yew and the woven fibres of plants such

as nettle and hemp to produce the bowstrings. For

centuries the world’s most sophisticated war

machines, naval vessels, were built out of timber

and driven along with sails made from hemp

(Cannabis sativa, hence canvas) controlled by ropes

made from hemp, flax or manila, sisal. Indeed it

was not until the 1960s that manmade fibres

replaced most natural ropes.

With developments in engineering, forging and

casting, wood lost its supremacy as the material

from which arms were made and became relegated

to subsidiary roles such as making the stocks to

which rifle barrels were fitted and the cradles upon

which iron guns were laid. Strangely, as sticks and

stones ceased to break battlefield bones, plants

remained important as curers not causes of wounds.

Many common plants were found to have the

properties essential for the staunching of blood, the

dressing of wounds, the bandaging of injuries and

the prevention of infection.

The use of sphagnum moss for wound dressings is

no modern discovery, there are several prehistoric

burial sites where the moss has been discovered

next to bodies. In one example at Ashgrove in Fife,

the moss was found amongst remains which showed

evidence of a chest wound. Archaeologists at the

time suggested that it had been used as a wound

dressing. The Vikings were known to have used

sphagnum moss as an early form of toilet paper!

The German Army was the first to re-invent the

sphagnum moss wound dressing, a move that was

quickly adopted by the British Forces.

The collection of sphagnum moss on Dartmoor is

well documented and to give thanks for the role

that local people played in gathering moss you can

find a naval shell which was presented to the

parish of Widecombe in the Moor. There are 12

different species of sphagnum mosses occurring on

Dartmoor which range between a red to green

colour. Each type tends to colonise differing areas

of soil acidity and moisture content. Kidney vetch, with its woolly coating, was also used widely as a wound-herb. Comfrey was also widely used. It is commonly known as knitbone, which indicates its post-battle usefulness.

Wartime blockade and conquest also required people to be rallied to collect other native medicinal plants whose usefulness had been for a time neglected. This included the foxglove, from which the powerful drug digitalin was extracted. During the Second World War, County Herb Committees had to organize large scale collection and drying of foxglove leaves to make up for the import deficit.

Kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria with a Small Blue butterfly (c) Peter Eeles

Wartime produced a shortage of food and drugs which

was alleviated to some extent by collecting from the

wild. The obvious group of people to use as

enthusiastic volunteer plant gatherers was children,

especially if they could be given a day off school to do

their collecting! At Bottesford, in Leicestershire, a

local diary recorded this effort during the autumn of

1917, see below.

Perhaps the plant which recalls for most people the

idea of conflict is the humble but brilliant and

tenacious poppy. The seeds of the poppy are virtually

indestructible and can lie dormant in the ground for

decades until conditions are perfect for their growth.

The destruction wrought on the landscape of the

Western Front in the First World War drew poppies up

like blood from the wounded soil. They coated the

battlefield with their bright red glow and inspired a

Canadian doctor, John McCrae, to write the well-

known lines to the right.

The Bottesford School log book entries for 1917:

Sept. 21 Arrangements are being made for the children to assist in gathering horse-chestnuts. Lessons have been given this week on Food Economy and War Savings.

A good start has been made this week with the collection of horse-chestnuts.

Oct. 10 School closed this afternoon for children to gather blackberries.

Oct. 11 In spite of bad weather the children gathered twenty-four pounds of blackberries. School closed this afternoon for blackberrying

Oct. 12 Blackberries weighed this morning. Thirty six and a quarter pounds. Both lots sent to Melton Mowbray centre.

Oct. 17 School closed this afternoon for the scholars to gather blackberries.

Oct. 19 Total quantity of blackberries despatched to Melton today 24lbs.11ozs. Total up to date nearly 85 lbs.

Oct. 26 School closed on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons for blackberries but owing to the lateness of the season, the children were not able to get any quantity. They were able however to gather more horse chestnuts and a considerable number of acorns. Head Teacher does not propose to continue these holidays further.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields John McCrae

Method: Boil 3 pints (1.7 litres) of boiling water. Mince hips in a course mincer (food processor) and put immediately into the boiling water. Bring to boil and then place aside for 15 minutes. Pour into a flannel or linen crash jelly bag and allow to drip until the bulk of the liquid has come through. Return the residue to the saucepan, add 1½ pints (852ml) of boiling water, stir and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Pour back into the jelly bag and allow to drip. To make sure all the sharp hairs are removed put back the first half cupful of liquid and allow to drip through again. Put the mixed juice into a clean saucepan and boil down until the juice measures about 1½ pints (852ml), then add 1¼ lbs (560g) of sugar and boil for a further 5 minutes. Pour into hot sterile bottles and seal at once.

Hints: If corks are used these should have been boiled for hour just previously and after insertion coated with melted paraffin wax. It is advisable to use small bottles as the syrup will not keep for more than a week or two once the bottle is opened.

Did you know?... "Snowdrops" was the nickname that the British people gave during the Second World War to the military police of the United States Army (who were stationed in the UK preparatory to the invasion of the continent) because they wore a white helmet, gloves, gaiters, and Sam Browne belt against their olive uniform.

Horse chestnuts were required to assist in the manufacture of the artillery shell propellant, cordite. Cordite was made from various forms of nitrocellulose. Britain with its enormous cotton textile industry mostly used cotton waste which was mixed wi th n i t rated g l ycer ine . The manufacture of cordite required solvents, acetone and ether-alcohol. Acetone was produced by distilling wood. This posed a problem for Britain which no longer had large forested areas. Instead corn was imported from Canada and America. When the U-boat campaign began to restrict imports, British scientists developed a process for using that British schoolboy staple - the conker to produce acetone.

During the Second World War, nettles were commonly eaten when cultivated vegetables were in short supply. Nettle tops are still sold in some farmers' markets and natural food stores.

Nettle stems are very fibrous and the strong fibre taken from them has often been compared to flax, hemp and linen. In the First World War, nettle cloth was used in Germany for making their military uniforms. Even as late as the Second World War in England, nettles were used to make dye for camouflage nets.

And finally…

During the Second World War, both the American and British governments promoted rose hip syrup as an easy and accessible source of Vitamin C. The directions given by the Ministry of Food during the war for 2 pounds (900g) of hips are as follows:

© Jon White