Author: Louisa Jane Auston

Linden Flower

Linden flower/lime Tilia Europea

Family: Malvaceae (Mallow)

Names/folk names: Tilia Vulgaris, Tilia Intemedia, Tilia Cordata, Tilia Platyphylla, Linden Flower, Lime blossom, little-leafed Lime, Common Lime, Flores Tiliae, Tilleul.

Appearance & habitat: The Linden (Lime) tree can grow up to 130 feet tall and has smooth grey trunks and glossy twigs. The leaves are heart-shaped, pointed leaves, around 6 – 10cm long with a sharp toothed edge. Leaves are a lime green colour when new and turn a darker evergreen colour later on in the year. In summer, the tree produces small, cream – white flowers in pendulous clusters with yellow – orange stamens. The flowers give off a strong, beautiful scent and are high in nectar, making them very popular with bees. Once they have finished flowering, the flowers turn into ball shaped capsules. Lindens can be found in well drained, moist soil and are usually found in parkland, typically planted in avenues. There are thought to be 20 to 45 species in Europe, Asia and North America.

Parts used: The flowers can be used as a herbal tea when they have just bloomed. The flowers develop narcotic properties with age, so you must harvest when the buds begin to open and before the seed capsule has been formed. The leaves and buds will be covered in a sticky substance later in the season, which is aphid excrement.

The young leaves can be used in early Spring and substituted for lettuce in salads or used in the same way as a vine leaf.

Culinary uses: Dry the flower out of direct sunlight to make Linden tea. Linden flowers should only be left for 3—4 minutes to steep, as the flavour is delicate flavour will be lost. Linden tea is particularly popular in mainland Europe. You can usually find Linden sold as a herbal tea in Eastern European stores in the UK.

Plant Folklore: The Linden tree was considered to be sacred in many cultures.

♠ In Ancient Greek mythology, Philyra the nymph was raped by Saturn disguised as a horse. Philyra gave birth to Cheiron the centaur and was revulsed with the outcome, so she begged the God’s for help, which resulted in her being turned into a Linden tree. The virtues of the Linden tree is mentioned by Pliny, Virgil, Horace and Homer. In Ovid’s fable of Baucis and Philemon, upon both of their deaths, one was changed into a Linden tree and one into an oak tree intertwining each other.
♠ In Scandinavia and Germanic cultures, the Linden tree was dedicated to the Norse goddess, Freya and was used as a wedding tree.
♠ In Baltic folklore, women would make offerings to their goddess Laima by making offerings to Linden trees in return for wealth and fertility.
♠ In German folklore, the Linden tree is termed, the “tree of lovers.” The medieval poem written by Walter von der Vogelweide in around 1200AD, “Under der linden” depicts a rendezvous between a knight and a lady maid beneath a Linden tree. Sitting beneath a Linden tree was thought to cure epilepsy in folklore.
♠ The herbalist, John Gerald’s cited the following in his herbal, published in 1597, “The floures are commended by divers (various people) against paine of the head…against dissenesse, the Apoplexie (stroke), and also the falling sicknesse (epilepsy)”.
♠ Place names in the UK that start with “Lin” or “Lind” have been named with Lime in mind and would have meant there were lots of the trees in the area. These names include Lyndhurst, Lincoln.

Medicinal properties and uses


♠ The flowers contain flavonoids, tannins, mucilage and volatile oils, and have soothing, sedative and expectorant effects. This means lime is beneficial for circulatory system and strengthens blood vessels, whilst lowering the blood pressure.
♠ Linden flower is used to increase perspiration, so is helpful when used at the start of a cold, flu, virus or fever, as it helps to cool the body if you have a fever. This can be taken in the form of tea, liquid extract or as a tincture, and can be combined with Anise and Thyme to help with dry coughs and catarrh.
♠ Linden is an excellent tea for people who suffer from insomnia and nervous disorders.
♠ Linden is useful for leg cramping as it has an antispasmodic effect on the body.
The astringent properties of Linden can used as a poultice, where lime leaves can be helpful to treat sprains, wounds and swellings.

Wild Garlic

Wild Garlic Allium Ursinum from the liliaceae family
 
Folk Names: Bear’s Garlic, Bear’s Leek, Broad Leaved Garlic, Buckrams, Devil’s Garlic, Gypsy’s Onions, Moly, Ransoms, Ramp, Ramps, Ramsons, Roman Garlic, Stinkers, Stinking Jenny , Wood Garlic.
 
Appearance & habitat – Wild Garlic is a tall hairless perennial plant which grows in large numbers in damp, acidic soils in shaded deciduous woods/forests in most parts of Europe, Northern Asia & Northern America. Leaves can be harvested in January (if it is mild).
The leaves are broad, elliptical, shiny, spear-like and can grow up to 25cm long. The stem is long and triangular shaped. The flowers are white, star shaped, in a round umbel with 8-12 segments. The plant gives off a sweetly pungent, strong garlic scent and tastes more like chives, and gentler than conventional garlic. They tend to flower before trees  get their leaves in April to June, and this is what gives off the yeasty-garlicy smell that is a giveaway sign of wild garlic. The leaves are very similar to Lilly-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis), Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale) and Wild Arum (Arum maculatum) which are extremely poisonous so do take caution, only pick if it smells of garlic when crushed.
 
Culinary uses – Wild Garlic leaves can be substituted for garlic or spring onions, can be treated like spinach in eaten raw in salads, sandwiches, combined into sauces, butter, mayonnaise, dressings, soups, stews, omelettes, stir-fries, risotto, makes a fantastic pesto (see recipe) and can be boiled as a vegetable. Add it towards the end of cooking to preserve freshness. The leaves can be used as a wrap and compliments tomatoes. The bulb can also be eaten raw but digging up wild plants is not good for wildlife, the bulb is very small so is hardly worth the effort. The flowers can also be eaten  as seed pods or flowers.
 
Nutrition & Benefits – Wild Garlic is rich in iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, copper, magnesium, traces of Selenium, antioxidants, Aallicin, Adenosine. Traditionally used as a spring tonic, to cleanse the blood and boost the immune system.  It is beneficial for rheumatism, reducing high blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, asthma, emphysema, digestive problems and cleansing the blood.  It has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that protect against free radicals. The juice can be used as a household disinfectant but I wouldn’t advise this because of the odour it gives off. The juice is good for weight loss and applied as a poultice to areas of rheumatic pain, arthritic joints, boils and abscesses. It increases the blood circulation locally.
 
History & Folklore: Wild Garlic is an indicator of ancient woodland and has been eaten for thousands of years. The first use of wild garlic can be traced to the Mesolithic period in Denmark from a archeoligical find, and to Neolithioc settlement, Thayngen-Weier  in Switzerland, where there is a high concentration of pollen within the layer of the settlement.
 
The vernacular name Ramsons is from Anglo Saxon Old English Hramsa and Ramsey in Essex and Ramdale in Lincolnshire are places which take their name from the plant. Hramsa means Rank derived from the butter and milk of cow which have eaten Ramsons to be bitter or rank. Ramsdale derives from the Norse name Raumsdalr, meaning Valley of the River Rauma in Oppland and Møre og Romsdal in Norway. “Raum the Old”, son of King Nor is the legendary founder of Norway who is linked to the Raumi tribe.  It was grown in monastic gardens as food according to an account from the 16th century.
 
According to Essex folklore, the allium family is one of the most useful plants in curing illnesses. Aubrey 1847 “Eat Leekes in March and ramsons in May And all the year after physicians may play”.
 
It is known as Bear’s garlic/leek in Europe as brown bears where partial to digging up and eating  the bulbs when they awoke from hibernation.
 
Recipe for Wild Garlic Pesto
 
100g Wild Garlic leaves
50g Parmesan cheese
50g toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon juice squeezed from half a lemon
Salt & pepper
Wash the leaves thoroughly and roughly chop with scissors. Pulse the pine nuts for a few seconds in a food processor, then add the leaves, olive oil & parmesan. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste, if the pesto needs to be thinned add more oil.
 

 

Plants you may expect to find in June;
 
Borage leaves & flowers, Bellflower flowers, Bittercress, Brooklime, Broom, Common Chickweed, Common Fig, Common Mallow leaves, Common Orache, Common Sorrel, Darwin’s Barberry berries, Elderflower, Fairy-ring Champignon, Fat Hen, Fennel, Garlic Mustard, Garden Orache, Good King Henry, Gooseberry, Hastate Orache, Hawthorn, Hogweed, Lemonbalm, Nettle-leaved Bellflower flowers, Perennial Wall Rocket, Pignut, Marsh Samphire, Rampion, Red Goosefoot, Spearmint, Spear-leaved Orache, Stinging Nettle, Sea Beet, Shaggy Inkcap, Shepard’s Purse, St George’s Mushroom, Three-cornered garlic, Watercress, Watermint, Wild Leek, Wild Rose flowers, Wild Strawberry, Wild Thyme, Wood sorrel.