Journal — Wild Inks & Colour

Identification A small tree with thorns, white flowers, and pink anthers. Annual fruit, haws, are red berries. Flowers share a smelly chemical, trimethylamine, with that of decaying flesh. Botany Hawthorns will grow hundreds of years but, seeds take two winters to germinate. Leaves are edible. Lore Seen as both a protective and dangerous tree; the May tree was once a central part of the spring festivities. It symbolises rebirth and fertility; but also evokes death. Also known as pixie pears, due to the haws, the hawthorn tree is thought to be a spiritual tree of the faeries. How to make...

Identification Large tree with distinctive lobed leaves. Also, commonly appears in hedgerows. Acorns caps may have long (Q. robur) or short stem (Q. petraea). Botany The fruit, acorns, appear in mast years, occurring every 3-10 years. Oaks will grow for more than a thousand years, and support hundreds of other species; several are completely dependent on the oak. These include the purple hairstreak butterfly and some gall wasps. Part of the plant to use Galls, acorn caps, bark Lore The oak king is that of summer, sunlight and growth. The oak is a tree of rebirth and the renewed cycle...

Identification Alternating leaves, which are usually long and slender. Buds are often fuzzy. Catkins look like enlarged buds, standing upright, and away from the tree. Seeds are light and float like dandelion heads. Botany Enjoys wet soil and river banks. It is common for willow trees to hybridise, so identification to the species level can be quite difficult. Lore Willow was known as the muse to poets in Ancient Greece. How to make willow ink As I write this, the willow tree behind our village pub is just starting its budburst. The sheath that has been protecting the buds is...

Identification Based entirely on appearance, stinging nettles should be part of the mint family. Square stem, leaves in opposite pairs, sometimes-purple tinged. If you look closely at stinging nettles, you’ll also see they look a bit hairy. These hairs are tiny hypodermic needles filled with histamine, and formic acid. Botany Thrives in many locations, including grassland, hedgerows, riverbanks, woodland clearings, and wasteland. Part of the plant to use Full plant. No one is going to mind if you even uproot it. The root will give darker tones. For brighter colours, use only the leaves. Uses Infinitely useful to make rope,...