Flowers illuminate the gloom

12:10pm Monday 31st March 2008

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MY walk was on a typical English spring day - dull and it was raining!

Blooms of the lesser celandines were shut tight against the rain, but the primroses proudly kept their heads up and illuminated the gloom.

Birdsong was everywhere when quite suddenly I heard a sound I had never heard before. It was best described as an echoing bark. Then four roe deer came in sight with one male making the barking sound.

Each trotted ahead in single file with their white rumps standing out clearly. Then came another roe buck and he was also barking. Obviously there was a major territorial dispute going on and I watched the group for more than half an hour.

As I stood still with my dog at my heel, she turned her head and I could follow the direction of the pup's eyes. There, emerging from a mass of tree roots, I watched a weasel equally fascinated by the sight of a motionless labrador.

By mid-afternoon the sun had come out and the celandines decided to open up and so I was able to enjoy two of East Lancashire's beautiful and yet underrated flowers.

The Primrose - People used to chop up the flowers of primrose and throw the bits into hot mutton fat. This ointment was used to heal cuts and bruises. Dried leaves were boiled in water and used as eyedrops.

What I can never understand is that many poets have associated the primrose with sadness. In Greek mythology Paralisos, son of Flora, died of grief when he lost his lover and was reincarted as a primrose.

The Lesser Celandine - This is well named by our ancestors as the spring messenger whilst my Cornish great grandmother called it bright eye. In the 16th century, it was known as Pilewort or Figwort. Actually the Greek name for a haemorrhoid was fig and this is why we still use syrup of figs as a laxative.

It is said that the shape of the roots of the celandine looks just like a pile, but I'm glad to say that I have not bothered to look at one to prove it one way or the other!

The herbalists followed what is known as the doctrine of signatures. Plants which looked like a body organ were a sign from God that this is what it should be used for. Thus we have liverwort, lungwort, spleenwort and obviously figwort and pilewort.

There is no doubt that celandine extract does act as a laxative, but there is a better use. The roots also look like a cow's udder and a flower of celandine was added to the cows feed to improve quality of the milk.