Cannock Chase museum was our destination on a recent field trip with the wonderful group IAPI  (Institute for Analytical Plant illustration).  The Chase is in the West Midlands, near Birmingham.  The museum is a treasure trove of information about the area’s coal mining past, history of breeding racehorses, role as a military training camp, and rather darker history of murders.  There are also a gorgeous couple of rooms, recreating a late 18th century kitchen, and a 1940s living room.

Cannock chase Museum recreation of 18th century kitchen

Our tour guide was Dianne Lear-Hargreaves, the education assistant.  After information on the history of the site, she took us on a guided walk of the area, which is an SSSI.  She knows a great deal about the folklore and medicinal properties of plants, and we shared what we knew with her.

Until the 1950s, the area around the museum was the site of coal mines, so many of these species are pioneers, with very few ancient trees.

Botany of Cannock Chase: Trees

There are woodland areas at a lower level of the heath, with Birch Betula pendula, Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa, Rowan Sorbus aucuparia, Oak Quercus robur, and Larch Larix europea being the commonest species.  There is plenty of Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and bramble scrub Rubus fruticosa. (For more information on several of these trees, take a look at my blog series on UK Trees).

The trees here were cut for pit props to hold up the ceilings of the coal mining tunnels (hence the straight-growing Scot’s pine being planted.)  Scots pine Pinus sylvestris has paired needles, which are high in vitamin C and can be made into tea.  Twigs make good charcoal.  You can get turpentine from the resin, rope from the inner bark, dye from the cones, and pine oil can be burnt as a fuel.

Scots pine Pinus sylvestris

We learn that the birch scrub is controlled by Dexter cattle who eat the shoots, and that Sweet chestnuts were made into flour, having twice the starch content of potatoes.  Birch was used for wine and tea.  Its white timber was ground up for face powder.  With its antiseptic properties; it’s used to cure gout, bladders, skin conditions and baldness.

Dexter cattle

Botany of Cannock Chase: Heathland animals

Higher up the chase, heather takes over.  Heathland species abound, along with animals such as Adder, Nightjar, and even the rare Welsh clearwing moth.

Botany of Cannock Chase: Heathland plants

We learn that the invasive Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum is toxic, and even eating honey from its’ flowers can be fatal.  Although the chase isn’t covered in Rhododendron, there’s enough there for the museum and the Council (who manage the land for wildlife and diversity) to be aware of it as a potential concern.

Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum

Bracken Pteridium aquilinum is a most useful plant.  It can be used as animal bedding, to package china coming from the local potteries, as mattress stuffing, thatch, cattle and pig food, fuel, a mordant in dying, burning it can act as an insect repellent, and was used in soap production.

Bracken Pteridium aquilinum

Heather Calluna vulgaris or Ling, also has multiple uses. It’s used as a brush, to produce honey, the flowers can be dyes, it’s a thatching material, can treat coughs and sore throats, is a fuel, and is a packaging material.  Here on the chase it’s managed by being pulled up by hand, not by burning, as the entire area is very susceptible to wildfire.  If left unmanaged, heather will swiftly be over-run by other plants, and does not thrive.  For more on telling Heather species apart, check out my blog, or to see a step by step blog on illustrating the Bell heather, click here.

Common heather or ling Calluna vulgaris

Shoots of Rosebay willowherb Chamaenerion angustifolium can be eaten like asparagus, and it’s prevalent on the heath as it’s another pioneer species.  Roger Reynolds explained how the railways spread the species – the sparks from trains burnt areas of vegetation where it could grow, and the wind from passing trains distributed its seeds along the railway lines and thence across all of the UK.

Rosebay Willowherb Chamaenerion angustifolium

Cannock Chase: Heathland plants: Fabiaceae

The Fabiaceae are all members of the pea family.  They have distinctive flowers with standard and keel petals, and fix nitrogen in nodules in their roots.  On heathland, the Gorse and Broom are are most prominent pea-family members.

Common gorse Ulex europeaus

Gorse Ulex europaeus (or furze) is another important plant of the heath.  In the past, Furzers would collect bundles of it and sell it as fuel, it burns hotter than coal!  It fired bread ovens and home fires.  It was fodder for animals in the winter, and was used to make brushes.  Gorse boughs were dragged down the chimney to clean them, and grain was stored on top of piles of gorse to dissuade the vermin.

Gorse is also known as “the kissing bough”.  Anytime Gorse is in flower, then it’s ok to kiss.  Because two species with different flowering seasons are both common in the UK, Dwarf gorse Ulex minor and Common gorse, there’s rarely a day without a gorse bloom in flower!  The flowers smell strongly of coconut, and are edible.  For more on the three gorse species, click here.

Broom Cystisus scoparius

Broom Cystisus scoparius, as the name suggests, is used in cleaning.  It’s mildly narcotic, and has been known to make sheep drunk!  Green dye comes from the leaves.  It’s used to add bitterness to beer in brewing. The roots were meant to be aphrodisiac, the twigs are used as charcoal, and the seeds were roasted and used as a coffee substitute.  Medicinally, broom is a purgative and was used to stimulate both bladder and kidneys.

Cannock Chase botany: Cowberry, Crowberry, and Bilberry

These three berries are common on heathland, but I’ve not seen them all growing together before.

Crowberry Empetrum nigrum is shiny black.  It has small bright green leaves which are almost like needles.  Unless the berries are there, on first glance thus plant might be mistaken for heather, although the leaves are glossier and brighter.  The berries are theoretically edible, but are more palatable after a hard frost.  Or not at all.

Crowberry Empetrum nigrum

Cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a glorious scarlet and tastes like cranberries.  It has small ovoid leaves which are glossy green above and pale below.  It’s found throughout the northern hemisphere and can be made into jams, syrups, and jellies.  Other names include Fox berry, Lingonberry, or Rock cranberry.  It’s an acidic and sharp flavour.  Medicinally, it’s used to treat bladder and urinary tract infections (as is its close relative, Cranberry).

Cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaeus

Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus is black with a bloom that makes it look blue.  It has small oval leaves, but these are less glossy than the Cowberry, and are slightly toothed.  It’s not only edible, but delicious.  Pies, jams, tarts, jellies, and juice can be made from this low-lying plant.  In the past, children with rakes would come and collect the bilberries to sell at the local markets.  There were still a couple of berries on the plants, and quite a lot of fruit on the patches of Cowberry.

Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus

Interestingly, the Cowberry and Bilberry have created a sterile hybrid, the “Chase berry” which is specific to Cannock chase.  We didn’t see this plant, and I believe it’s hard to identify as it produces neither flowers nor berries.  It’s worth learning more about, and seeing photos, which you can do on iSpot

Conclusion

Despite the threat of rain, we had a wonderful day.  We learnt tons about the area, had a beautiful walk in the sun learning about the plants, and very much enjoyed our trip to Cannock chase.

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Introduction

Gorse is a shrubby, spiny family of plants in the pea family.  They have spiny green prickles or spines and bright yellow flowers.  Young plants have trifoliate leaves (slightly resembling elongate clover leaves).  On mature plants these disappear, and only the spines and the flowers remain.

                    Western Gorse, Ulex Gallii

All three of these plants are found on heathland and acidic soils, but their distribution and flowering times can help in telling them apart.  They are Common gorse or Furze Ulex europeaus, Western gorse Ulex gallii, and Dwarf gorse Ulex minor.

Common gorse or Furze, Ulex europaeus

This plant is very common and widespread across heathland, coastal areas, road verges, and wasteland.  It grows up to 2m high, and can reach 3m.  It likes acidic soils, but can be found on chalky cliffs (unlike the other species).

The spines on Common gorse are very firm and rigid, deeply furrowed, and a slightly blueish dark green.  They’re 1-3cm long.  The plant is evergreen with slight black hairs on the stem.  It’s a densely spiny plant and forms impenetrable thickets.

                    Common Gorse, Ulex europaeus

Looking at the flower, the bracteoles are more than twice the width of the pedicel (flower stem).  This is larger than in the other species.  Flowers are a rich bright yellow, with the keel of the flower slightly shorter than the wings on either side.  The calyx (up to 3cm) is 2/3 the length of the corolla.  It can be yellow, but tends to be a pale green.  U. europeaus also has a very distinct (and lovely) smell of coconuts.  I always think it smells of tropical beach holidays, especially when the sun is beating down on the flowers.  The calyx is yellow green and has spreading hairs.

However, the big distinction is the time of flowering.  It’s no coincidence that the Oxford Dictionary contains the phrase, “When the gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season”.  U.europaeus flowers from January to June.  This is a six month flowering season, with occasional flowering outside of these times.  The other species flower from July through late November.

Fruit are purpley brownish pea pods, about 20 mm long, each containing a few shiny black seeds.  These are viable for up to 30 years.  The remnants of the calyx remain around the pod.

Uses of the plant

Common gorse has long been used for hedging and setting boundries.  It has been cultivated for gardens, and was sometimes bruised with stones before being fed to horses and livestock.  As with the other species, it can survive fire.  It is used in medicine as it produces Lectin.  This is a protein that specifically binds to H-substance receptor sites on human red blood cells.  So this plant is used to test for people lacking these sites. (It’s an unusual condition called “Bombay Phenotype”). – US National Institutes of Health

Western gorse Ulex gallii

This plant is smaller and more compact than Common gorse.  It grows up to 1.75m high, and thrives on cliff tops, old pasture, heath and coastline shingle.  Its range is across the West of the UK, and East Anglia, but no further north than Solway.  It isn’t found higher up than 670m.

The spines of this plant seem to crowd more densely around the main stems than Common gorse.  Spines are furry with reddish brown hairs.  They are rigid, but far less deeply grooved than with Furze, and are a bit yellower.  This makes the smaller clumps of this plant seem less blue than Common gorse.

                    Western Gorse, Ulex Gallii

The flowers are a deep yellow, and darker than those of Common gorse.  They have yellow bracteoles with flattened hairs.  These are less than twice as wide as the pedicels, and 0.5mm long.  The calyx (9-13mm) extends up to ¾ of the length of the corolla, and the teeth of the calyx meet.  Unlike Common gorse, the wings of the flowers of Western gorse are longer than the keel.

The flowers are out from July through November.  This is the main way to tell the two species apart.

Fruit are borne in brown pods, and remnants of the flower are often present.

Western gorse is used in many of the same ways as Common gorse, and is similarly good for wildlife.  It provides nesting habitats for birds, and flowers for insects.

Dwarf gorse Ulex minor

This gorse is far easier to tell apart than the other two species.  It is only found in the South and South east of the UK and is a much smaller plant both in habit and in detail.  Rarely growing higher than 1m, it’s often procumbent.  It likes acidic sandy heaths, and is very local in distribution.

The spines of Dwarf gorse are smaller and far less rigid than the other two species.  They are not striated or furrowed, and can be slightly curved.  Spines crowd tightly together around the stem, making it hard to see the stem below.  The stems have brown hairs.

                    Dwarf Gorse, Ulex minor

Flowers of Dwarf gorse are yellow.  Their calyx (5-9mm) is almost as long as the corolla. Bracteoles bear flattened hairs and are less than twice as wide as the pedicels,.  Bracteoles are 0.5mm long.  The calyx is yellow, with appressed hairs, and has divergent teeth (unlike in U. gallii).  The wings and keel of the flower are a similar length.

Fruit are borne in pods.  This is because all Ulex are in the pea-family.   As with the other species, the pods turn from a pale green to a brown.  They contain dark brown seeds and often bear remnants of the flower.

Telling the species apart…timing!

The take home message is that the easiest way to tell Common gorse and Western gorse apart is to see when they’re in bloom.  There are other ways, as described, but this tell-tale feature is by far the easiest (though not 100% foolproof) method for a swift identification.

References for this piece include feedback from the botanists I collaborated with to produce the illustrations for Field Studies Council, Streeter’s Collins Flower Guide, Stella Ross-Craig’s amazing illustrations,  the websites of the Wildlife Trusts, UK Wildlfowers, and other useful links (see below).

Ryedale Natural History Society

ispot forum on telling gorse apart

RSPB Gorse for wildlife

Wild Flower Society

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