SAMARA:
Tutsan - Hypericum androsaemum
Tutsan's leaves are oval, hairless, about 10-15cm long with tiny little translucent dots. The fruit is berry-like, beginning with a reddish colour which becomes purplish-black later in the autumn and is eaten and spread by birds. This widespread plant grows in deciduous wood, thickets and limestone pavements. It is a native plant belonging to the family Hypericaceae.
The name 'Tutsan' is thought to have come from the French 'toute saine' meaning 'all healthy' - referring to its undoubted antiseptic properties.
16th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper wrote: 'It is a herb of Saturn and a most noble antivenereal. Tutsan purgeth choleric humours .. for therein it worketh the same effects, both to cure sciatica and gout and to heal burnings by fire'
Tutsan - Hypericum androsaemum
Tutsan's leaves are oval, hairless, about 10-15cm long with tiny little translucent dots. The fruit is berry-like, beginning with a reddish colour which becomes purplish-black later in the autumn and is eaten and spread by birds. This widespread plant grows in deciduous wood, thickets and limestone pavements. It is a native plant belonging to the family Hypericaceae.
The name 'Tutsan' is thought to have come from the French 'toute saine' meaning 'all healthy' - referring to its undoubted antiseptic properties.
16th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper wrote: 'It is a herb of Saturn and a most noble antivenereal. Tutsan purgeth choleric humours .. for therein it worketh the same effects, both to cure sciatica and gout and to heal burnings by fire'