A Bulrush by Default

Happy Easter!

I do hope that you're having a magical one.

The fraying Great Reedmaces above have a biblical connection that they shouldn't. Well, not just these ones of course but all reedmaces, which are commonly and mistakenly known as bulrush. This is often blamed on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's painting Moses in the Bulrushes. Odd, because there doesn't seem to be a painting of his by this name. He does have a glorious 1904 oil called The Finding of Moses but there isn't a bulrush in sight. Sunday Schools of the period did indeed include images of our reedmace (Typha latifolia), so it seems more likely that they are to blame for the confusion. The bulrush is actually another species: Scirpus lacustris. A peculiar twist in the tale is that the word bulrush comes from the Middle English bulrish, which means papyrus. Of course all this could be just being pedantic so on to its uses.

The rhizomes of reedmace are edible. Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests they were already eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago. In fact most of the plant is edible. The roots can be eaten raw or baked to make flour and the immature flower spikes taste like sweetcorn and are delicious raw or cooked. The young spring shoots can be chopped and peeled and added to stir fries like bamboo shoots. The pollen is high in protein and can be added to soups as a thickener.

Medicinal uses of this iconic waterside plant are many. The leaves are diuretic . Both the leaves and the roots can be used on sores. The stems have been used to treat whooping cough, (something that may have been useful in my youth after a nasty bout, attributed to drinking the spa water at Bath). It is beneficial for the treatment of kidney stones, painful menstruation, abdominal pain, cystitis and many other afflictions. It has also been used to treat treat tapeworms and diarrhoea.

There are so many uses for reedmace. It makes a decent thatch, you can make paper from its fibres, weave mats and chairs and even hats from it. The hairs of the fruit can be used for stuffing pillows and the pollen is highly flammable and makes an excellent fire lighter. Rushlights can be made from the inner pith of the stems, soaked in oil/fat and lighting the taper. These were once so common that special holders were made to for them, which today are often expensive antiques.

Our ancestors must have cherished this most useful of plants. Sadly, like so many of our wild gifts, reedmace has suffered with habitat loss and is much less numerous in our countryside. I prefer to enjoy its history rather than harvest and leave the plants for others to also enjoy their stately beauty. There is another note of caution, like all reeds, they are fabulous at absorbing environmental toxins, which you in turn will ingest if you eat any from polluted areas. As always, NEVER harvest any plant for eating that you're not 100% sure of.

I do hope that you're enjoying your Bank Holiday weekend. It is of course Easter and I most definitely do recommend a medicinal chocolate treat or two. Or indeed Any Time.

With love , Annie x

© Norfolk Psychics 2016

Bibliography

Wright John: River Cottage Hedgerow Handbook (Bloomsbury, 2010)

#reedmace #bulrush #nature #plantlore