Friday 15 October 2021

Spindle tree

First of all I must say Thank you to everyone for the good wishes for the new Grandchild. All being well we shall go down and visit in November.

 

The other day I took my camera for a walk so I could get a photo of this Spindle Tree.



 
 
Hardly noticable most of the year it suddenly glows pink in the sun when the four-lobed fruits appear. When the the lobes open they have small round orange seeds inside.

The Spindle or Euonynus europaens has a hard straight wood that was used for skewers and toothpicks (it was often called the Prickwood tree), viola bows, pegs, knitting needles as well as drop spindles for spinning wool from where it gets it's name - possibly originally from the Netherlands where it was known to be called Netherlande Spilboome in 1568.
 
All parts of the tree are a strong purgative and were probably used in folk medicine. The berries were baked and powdered and then rubbed into hair and onto animals to get rid of lice.
 

I can't remember seeing this tree as a child when we walked to school and on footpaths to the woods and first came across it when a new hedgerow was planted alongside a road near the smallholding.
The one I photographed is also in a mixed hedgerow beside a road and there are a few more much the same size, so I would guess these too were planted here about 25 years ago.
Because of it's Autumn display it is also often planted in parks and gardens as a decorative tree. It grows to about 20 foot tall and makes a large shrub rather than a traditional tree shape.

Of course it gets a mention in Cecily Mary Barker's Flower Fairy Books.
 


 Back Tomorrow
Sue

25 comments:

  1. interesting about repelling lice, I am always interested in the medicinal/folk lore values of plants.

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  2. Your posts are such an education! I don't think I've ever heard of a spindle tree, although dare say I've probably seen one without knowing what it was.

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    1. Not ever so common but probably odd ones around everywhere

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  3. Thank you! I passed one of these as I was walking down a country lane recently, and wondered what it was. Now I know.

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    1. This is the only time they are really easy to spot

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  4. I just love the spindle tree flowers, that pink with a shock of orange at the centre. Lots of interesting information as well Sue.

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  5. In Dutch it's called 'cardinal's cap/hat', based on the shape of the flower.

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  6. It's quite my favourite tree - takes me back to when I lived a field away from the Shaftesbury Drove and used to walk my dogs along it for miles. In the autumn it was ablaze with Spindle trees, which loved the limestone underfoot. Such an unusual colour combination and yet it doesn't clash!

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    1. Maybe thats why they are not so common on our clay soils if they prefer limestone

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  7. Such and interesting tree I don't recall seeing one on my travels.
    I had my booster injection yesterday along with my D. no pain at all but did leave my crocheting along yesterday.
    I hope to find a pattern that I can make some small Christmas puds covers with, I have already done 10 larger ones in football colours for a charity event at Knit & Natter.
    Hazel ๐ŸŒˆ๐ŸŒˆ

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  8. Gosh, that is a lovely tree! I enjoyed the sweet poem. Thanks!

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    1. I'm gradually using all the Flower Fairies in my posts!

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  9. It really is a lovely tree Sue isn't it.

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  10. So many of the plants around us are useful in some way (good or bad!). It is such a fascinating subject, and this post about the spindle tree was very interesting and informative.

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  11. Such an interesting tree with so many uses, the seeds pods are very pretty.

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  12. So many uses for that tree. The use of the berries to control lice interests me.

    God bless.

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  13. Flowering trees in late Autumn are rare in my area. This tree is very beautiful in flower.

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  14. Interesting. I have never seen euonymus as a tree, only the shrubs. A different variety [?] I suppose, as here the shrubs are evergreen, in that they do not change color or drop leaves, and the berries are creamy yellow with the bright orange inside. The shrubs are tall here, havens for migrating birds.

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