{"id":8290,"date":"2018-03-05T12:43:40","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T12:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xislblogs.xtreamlab.net\/slwoods\/?p=8290"},"modified":"2018-03-05T15:53:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T15:53:23","slug":"this-years-first-celandines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/?p=8290","title":{"rendered":"This year’s first celandines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spotted on Stapleton Road this morning.<\/p>\n

\"celandines<\/p>\n

Actually, the plant’s full name is the lesser celandine (Ficaria verna<\/em>).<\/p>\n

According to the Woodland Trust<\/a>, lesser celandines may be found along damp woodland paths and tracks, as well as stream banks and in ditches. They also grow well in the shade of hedgerows, in meadows and in gardens: they usually start to flower between January and April each year.<\/p>\n

As one of the first flowers to appear after winter, they provide an important nectar source for early pollinating insects, including some bee species.<\/p>\n

In earlier times, the plant had medicinal and nutritional uses: lesser celandine was once believed to be a remedy for haemorrhoids and was known as ‘pilewort’. It is also high in vitamin C and was used to prevent scurvy.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the lesser celandine has its place in literature too. William Wordsworth<\/a> (1770-1850) composed three poems to the plant between 1802 and 1807, of which one – To the Small Celandine – is reproduced below.<\/p>\n

PANSIES, lilies, kingcups, daisies,
\nLet them live upon their praises;
\nLong as there’s a sun that sets,
\nPrimroses will have their glory;
\nLong as there are violets,
\nThey will have a place in story:
\nThere’s a flower that shall be mine,
\n‘Tis the little Celandine.<\/p>\n

Eyes of some men travel far
\nFor the finding of a star;
\nUp and down the heavens they go,
\nMen that keep a mighty rout!
\nI’m as great as they, I trow,
\nSince the day I found thee out,
\nLittle Flower!–I’ll make a stir,
\nLike a sage astronomer.<\/p>\n

Modest, yet withal an Elf
\nBold, and lavish of thyself;
\nSince we needs must first have met
\nI have seen thee, high and low,
\nThirty years or more, and yet
\n‘Twas a face I did not know;
\nThou hast now, go where I may,
\nFifty greetings in a day.<\/p>\n

Ere a leaf is on a bush,
\nIn the time before the thrush
\nHas a thought about her nest,
\nThou wilt come with half a call,
\nSpreading out thy glossy breast
\nLike a careless Prodigal;
\nTelling tales about the sun,
\nWhen we’ve little warmth, or none.<\/p>\n

Poets, vain men in their mood!
\nTravel with the multitude:
\nNever heed them; I aver
\nThat they all are wanton wooers;
\nBut the thrifty cottager,
\nWho stirs little out of doors,
\nJoys to spy thee near her home;
\nSpring is coming, Thou art come!<\/p>\n

Comfort have thou of thy merit,
\nKindly, unassuming Spirit!
\nCareless of thy neighbourhood,
\nThou dost show thy pleasant face
\nOn the moor, and in the wood,
\nIn the lane;–there’s not a place,
\nHowsoever mean it be,
\nBut ’tis good enough for thee.<\/p>\n

Ill befall the yellow flowers,
\nChildren of the flaring hours!
\nButtercups, that will be seen,
\nWhether we will see or no;
\nOthers, too, of lofty mien;
\nThey have done as worldlings do,
\nTaken praise that should be thine,
\nLittle, humble Celandine!<\/p>\n

Prophet of delight and mirth,
\nIll-requited upon earth;
\nHerald of a mighty band,
\nOf a joyous train ensuing,
\nServing at my heart’s command,
\nTasks that are no tasks renewing,
\nI will sing, as doth behove,
\nHymns in praise of what I love!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Incidentally, back in 2011, the Daily Mirror<\/a> christened Stapleton Road “Britain’s worst street<\/em>” where “murder, rape, shootings, drug-pushing, prostitution, knifings and violent robbery are commonplace<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

As a local resident for over 40 years, I didn’t agree then and nowadays still don’t agree with or recognise the Mirror’s sensationalist description. Surely somewhere that dangerous wouldn’t be home to such gentle and uplifting life-forms as the lesser celandine, which have inspired such souls as one of the great English Romantic poets?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spotted on Stapleton Road this morning. Actually, the plant’s full name is the lesser celandine (Ficaria verna). According to the Woodland Trust, lesser celandines may be found along damp woodland paths and tracks, as well as stream banks and in ditches. They also grow well in the shade of hedgerows, in meadows and in gardens: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,3,32],"tags":[40,36,33],"class_list":["post-8290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol","category-translation-and-language-related-matters","category-media","tag-bristol","tag-comment","tag-media-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8290"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8305,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8290\/revisions\/8305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slwoods.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}