Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

TWO plants which are common everywhere in our area are the rowan and the hawthorn.

Both have red berries and were once thought to be useful for warding off witches.

They are therefore described as autumn plants.

Both rowan and hawthorn are, however, very beautiful in June because they have very attractive white blossom.

The rowan is often called the mountain ash but neither of the names is botanically accurate.

The reason why it is referred to as an ash is that the two trees have leaves of a very similar shape.

Actually the rowan is a member of the apple family.

Although the blossom is very pretty it does not have much of a scent.

The ancient Scandinavians were very superstitious and they believed that carrying a sprig of rowan with them kept evil spirits at bay.

They even cut pieces of twig or peeled off bits of bark and wrote magic symbols on them.

These were known as runes.

These runes are still thought of as spells even today. This accounts for the old name of rowan.

You can see why the trees is sometimes known as mountain ash because it certainly does grow at high altitude as well as in low-lying districts. It was often deliberately planted outside moorland farms to ward off witches.

It was also said to ward off lightning, which was probably even more dangerous.

The hawthorn has a much sweeter scent than the rowan and is one of the most common trees in Lancashire hedgerows.

Some people say that the hawthorn is not a tree but a shrub.

Actually it is just a question of size and the branches of shrubs sprout very close to the ground so that you cannot walk under them.

The old name for the hawthorn was the May tree because the first blossom appears in that month.

In some years it does not blossom until June, especially if the spring has been cold, wet and windy.

There is an old country saying that you should not "cast a clout till May be out."

This does not refer to the month but to the blossom. What the country folk meant to do was warn folk to carry warm clothes until the hawthorn blossom was fully out. Our Celtic ancestors celebrated the ceremony of Beltain at this time and danced around a Maypole decorated with hawthorn blossom, which was a fertility symbol.

Shakespeare (whether he was in love or not) referred to "going a Maying," by which he meant "doing a spot of courting."

I have always been fascinated by the folklore of our local plants and I would be interested to hear off any reader who has a story to tell on this subject.

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