View allAll Photos Tagged spindle
Seen at Cefn Ila reserve. Later in the year, when you get the pink berries and then the orange seeds, these are much photographed, but they look rather nice like this too.
Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club
Blue Plannet
Split roving in half, lenthwise. Spinning each half on its own spindle.
[From Wikipedia] European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point; it was used in the past for making spindles for wool-spinning and for butchers' skewers.
Charcoal produced from this plant is seen as superior among artists due to its strength and density.
Parts of the plant have been used medicinally. However, the fruit is poisonous, containing, amongst other substances, the alkaloids theobromine and caffeine, as well as a large number of much more toxic substances and an extremely bitter terpene. Poisonings are more common in young children, who are enticed by the brightly coloured fruits. Ingestion can result in liver and kidney damage and even death.
copyright Marcel Lee
Please do not copy or use these photos without written permission from Ink & Spindle
the early days
Another unusual and not often seen fungi. These are Smoky Spindles (Clavaria fumosa) and these fruit bodies are about 5cm high.
The colour here is a little warm as it's lit by the late afternoon sunshine.
These were actually spotted by the roadside outside my home, after I returned from a disappointing search for fungi in local woods :)
Thank you for your comments and invites.
From left to right: 2 spindles from Serbia, an alleged spindle from Hungary and 5 spindles from Bulgaria
Who says orange and pink clash?
Industrious, delicate, colourful. The spindle is at its loveliest in autumn when its leaves turn russet and its pink and orange fruits ripen. Wildlife loves its leaves and fruit, and aphids flock to it, bringing with them an array of their predators.
Spindle is an ancient-woodland indicator. If you spot it while out exploring, it could be a sign of a rare and special habitat.
Spindle timber is creamy-white, hard and dense. In the past it was used to make ‘spindles’ for spinning and holding wool (hence its name), as well as skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles.
The fruits were baked and powdered, and used to treat head lice or mange in cattle!
Both the leaves and fruit are toxic to humans – the berries having a laxative effect.
Today, spindle timber is used to make high-quality charcoal for artists. Cultivated forms of the tree are also grown in gardens for autumn colour.
Clockwise, starting at the outer ring with the Maxi:
- Birds Eye Maple Maxi, 42g
- Bubinga Midi, 29g
- Sumach Featherweight, 12g
- Canarywood Featherweight, 14g
- Moosie, 27g
- Olivewood Mini, 18g
- Morado Midi, 34g
- Ambrosia Maple Midi, 24g
- Karelian Birch Midi, 30g
Clockwise, inner ring, starting at the striped one on the left:
- Zebrawood Mini, 20g
- Red Cedar Featherweight, 12g
- Gabon Ebony Midi, 41g
- Tulipwood Mini, 24g
Not pictured:
- Tiger Maple Mini, 16g