The beauty of Bramble
Bramble is both loved and hated for its thorns and powers of entanglement as well as its delicious fruit and it is deeply embedded in our tradition and folklore.
The pastime of blackberry picking (blackberrying) goes back thousands of years and is still popular in both town and country. Ripe juicy blackberries have a high vitamin C content and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are traditionally used in pies, crumbles (usually paired with apples), wines, jams, jellies and vinegar. Strong ale brewed from blackberries, malt and hops was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Bramble has widely been used in traditional medicine. Its leaves are used in the preparation of herbal teas and the root bark and leaves are used medicinally, being strongly astringent with diuretic, healing and detoxifying properties. Gerard's Herbal published in 1633, gives a remedy made from blackberry leaves 'for fastening the teeth back in'. Blackberries are known to have health benefits for women due to their high levels of phytoestrogens.
Blackberry fruits yield a blue dye and a fibre from the stems have been used to make string. Blackberry bushes can prevent soil erosion on infertile, disturbed sites and the ancient Britons used thorny stems as a boundary or barrier in the way modern people use barbed wire.
Brambles also provide an important source of nectar for Brimstone and Speckled Wood butterflies; fruits for Song Thrushes and Yellowhammers; and hiding places for Hedgehogs and Dormice.
The beauty of Bramble
Bramble is both loved and hated for its thorns and powers of entanglement as well as its delicious fruit and it is deeply embedded in our tradition and folklore.
The pastime of blackberry picking (blackberrying) goes back thousands of years and is still popular in both town and country. Ripe juicy blackberries have a high vitamin C content and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are traditionally used in pies, crumbles (usually paired with apples), wines, jams, jellies and vinegar. Strong ale brewed from blackberries, malt and hops was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Bramble has widely been used in traditional medicine. Its leaves are used in the preparation of herbal teas and the root bark and leaves are used medicinally, being strongly astringent with diuretic, healing and detoxifying properties. Gerard's Herbal published in 1633, gives a remedy made from blackberry leaves 'for fastening the teeth back in'. Blackberries are known to have health benefits for women due to their high levels of phytoestrogens.
Blackberry fruits yield a blue dye and a fibre from the stems have been used to make string. Blackberry bushes can prevent soil erosion on infertile, disturbed sites and the ancient Britons used thorny stems as a boundary or barrier in the way modern people use barbed wire.
Brambles also provide an important source of nectar for Brimstone and Speckled Wood butterflies; fruits for Song Thrushes and Yellowhammers; and hiding places for Hedgehogs and Dormice.