Procumbent pearlwort (Sagina procumbens) is common
throughout Britain on lawns, banks and grass verges. It is also found alongside
footpaths.
The connection to pearls is not immediately apparent when
viewing the plant, although it might have been thought that the seed-pod or
unopened flower was similar in shape to a pearl. “Procumbent” simply means that
the plant grows along the ground.
Procumbent pearlwort has been associated in legend and
tradition with Jesus Christ, as being the first plant he trod on when rising
from the dead. In the Highlands of Scotland it used to be believed that the
plant had been blessed by St Bride and St Columba, as well as Christ.
Traditions involving pearlwort include hanging it from the
door lintel to ward off fairies. Another is that if pearlwort is inserted
between the “toes” of a bull’s hooves it will confer protection against all
ills on the cows with which it mates and the calves that are subsequently born.
If it is eaten by a cow, anyone who drinks the cow’s milk will not be troubled
by fairies.
Pearlwort also acted as a love charm, in that a maiden who
drank an infusion of pearlwort would attract the man she wanted, and he would
be bound to her forever if she had a piece of pearlwort in her mouth when she
kissed him. You might almost imagine that there was a “Pearlwort Marketing
Board” at work here!
With all these advantages, one might expect procumbent pearlwort
to be a somewhat spectacular plant. Far from it! It is a mass of slender stems
that branch out from a central rosette, with pairs of small leaves growing
along the length of each stem. The plant can reach a height of 8 inches (20m
centimetres) above the ground.
The flowers, which appear from May to October, are tiny and
are borne on long stalks. The flowers consist of far more sepal than petal and
therefore have little colour other than green. The sepals form a cross-shape in
fours. The flower stalks droop after flowering but become upright again as the
fruit ripens.
© John Welford
No comments:
Post a Comment