Steve's Nature Blog: butterbur

This week finds us across the other side of the north of England in the Cathedral city of Durham. Building of the magnificent cathedral started in 1093, on a sandstone outcrop in a loop of the river Wear, which rises some miles to the west at Wearhead and flows into the North Sea at Sunderland. The sandstone on which it is built is a sedimentary deposit, laid down in the carboniferous period, about 310 million years ago. The river began cutting its way around this promontory when the ice sheets melted at the end of the last glacial period, about 11,000 years ago.

On the opposite bank, there are large swathes of Common Butterbur, just coming into flower now. Butterbur is a dioecious plant, there are male plants and female plants. Strangely, male plants are common throught the UK (they have squat, densely packed racemes of flowers), whereas female plants (with long, lanky racemes like these) are rarer and confined to certain sites, primarily in the north of England. [As far as I can make out. Information is a bit sketchy].

Ushaw House

We are in a campervan, in the grounds of Ushaw House, which is on loan to us while Elvis is being repaired (see Long Meg and her Daughters). It's an early 19^th century pile with extensive grounds and a lake in dire need of attention. We took Mattie for a walk around it, and it was absolutely clogged with Water Horsetail. The stems of this plant are packed full of silica, which makes it very useful for scouring pots and pans when you're camping. It has been used for millenia as a natural abrasive.

The reason we are camped out here is not for old rocks, but old rockers. This is the site of the Northern Kin festival. My sister and I were lucky enough to be growing up in the early seventies. We had folk rock, glam rock, prog rock as well as soft and hard rock. There is something surreal about watching The Sweet, belting out the Ballroom Blitz, fifty years after you last watched them together on Top of the Pops. It was a great festival but the conditions were, to say the least, somewhat muddy. We all had to be pulled out by tractors. The exit will always stick in mind as The Crawl of the House of Ushaw.

Of wildlife we saw almost none. A grey festival drizzle didn't give many opportunities, but we did spot a grey squirrel on the way home. We also crossed the Cumbrian moors. When you think of moorland, the north Yorkshire moors spring readily to mind, but Cumbria has some magnificent moorland too. Definitely somewhere to spend some time when Elvis is back on the road.

And finally, back in Lowca, and I've found my first beetle of the year in the back yard. It has never taken me until the first of May to spot a beetle. This is a little Rove Beetle, and my Cassell's Natural History from 1881 has this to say about the times of their appearance: “They shun the daylight, and in the height of summer are scarcely ever seen abroad; but in early spring, and in warm evenings after sunset, they fly abroad in great numbers..” Early spring is the second half of March. 140 years later and they're some six weeks behind.

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Rumour has it that there is a coronation this weeekend. Collecting Royal Memorabilia has been going on since Victorian times (see Steve's History of Things 8 – Royal Memorabilia). If you're thinking of buying a bit of Charles III memorabilia then a set of coronation mugs looks a lot better than a lonely mug on a shelf.

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All the best,

Steve

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Steve Daniels Cumbria

The Autumn Equinox has passed, the nights are drawing in, there’s frost on the grass in the morning, and the gulls are following the plough. Time to don sweaters and boots and enjoy the fruits of autumn. So, a trip out into the countryside today, and a stroll by the river Derwent as we visit the village of Great Clifton. A small village; a church, a shop, a post office and three pubs, at least one of which appears to be still operational. We’re heading for the north east corner of the village, where a footpath leads down to the river.

Right from the beginning, just behind the last houses, we have bushes full of blackberries and this fine stand of Apple Mint. There are a lot of different mints, and a good deal of hybridisation between them, but let me take you over to Greece and tell you the story of the original Mint, or Minthe, as she was then known. Minthe was a nymph, a minor deity in the Greek pantheon, and she was cohabiting with Aidoneus [AKA Hades], who was probably hell to live with. He certainly wasn’t the faithful type, as he proved when he kidnapped Zeus’ daughter, Persephone, and brought her home. Menthe, not being into the Ménage à Trois scene, did what any self-respecting nymph would do, and threw a tantrum. Persephone, already narked at being abducted, promptly trod on her. Being a fully fledged Goddess, it was all she had to do to rid herself of this irritating little nuisance. Minthe disappeared into the ground, and found herself transformed into the plant in front of us. To this day, she struggles to free herself from this enchantment, which is why mint grows so prolifically.

I’m beginning to wish I’d taken a few leaves of mint and rubbed it into my face mask. There’s a small sewage treatment plant down here that’s making it’s presence known. Usually a good place to spot birds, but there are none here today. Plenty of Himalayan Balsam, unfortunately, which we’ve already discussed, but it seems to be attracting some very pale, almost hairless bees. I’ve not seen these before, anyone know what they are? Can’t get a good picture unfortunately.

Thanks to the guys at the Hymenopterists Forum for informing me that it is a wasp, Vespula sp. covered in pollen.

We’ve reached the riverside and not a bird in sight. But wait, over there on those rocks – birds always live on the opposite river bank – it’s a White-throated Dipper. Dippers are fascinating birds to watch, standing on a rock just above the water line, bobbing up and down for reasons best known to ithemselves, and then suddenly plunging into the water. A quick swim around at the bottom of the river, then back up with a mouthful of freshwater shrimp (their favourite), or some other delicate morsel such as a Caddisfly larva. I could watch them for hours if the drizzle hadn’t turned to light rain. Luckily, the next part of the walk takes us up into the trees.

You’d think that it was only in the tropics where you’d get plants with leaves the size of a small occasional table, but we have some here in Britain as well. I’m still not that clued up on British plants yet, but I’m pretty sure that this is Butterbur and not Rhubarb that has escaped from somebody’s garden. It’s a very useful plant, medicinally, but you have to be very careful with it. In amongst its cocktail of potentially lethal chemicals is one called petasin. When extracted from the plant and made safe, it is effective against both migraine and hay fever, but you still have to be very careful. For instance, you shouldn’t take it if you’re pregnant, or if you’re on heart medication, or even if you’re taking other natural supplements such as St. John’s Wort. Definitely not part of a home remedy kit. Oh, and if you’re scratching your head thinking, where have I heard of Butterbur before? Barliman Butterbur was the landlord of The Prancing Pony in Lord of the Rings.

And that leads us back up into the farmlands, where the gulls are still following the plough and the light rain seems to be thinking of turning into something a bit heavier. Shame the pubs aren’t open yet, I could just do with a roaring log fire. Isn’t it time that someone taught those raindrops about social distancing?

Until next week,

Stay safe and be happy,

Steve

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The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies

All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it.

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The Eggs of Saramova

A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete).

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Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels

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