Nature Happenings #12 Rubies and Gold

Finding autumnal treasures in the woods

Hello and welcome to another (slightly delayed) Nature Happenings! It’s taken me a while to get back into a routine of writing since the summer holidays ended but I hope to now be back to fortnightly posts full of Nature knowledge, wonder and appreciation. And in case you missed it, my first foraging guide went out to paid subscribers last week. You can sign up for a free trial here if you’d like to give it a whirl.

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Rubies and Gold

For years, I assumed the berries of guelder rose were poisonous. The shiny, red globes look like the berries of cautionary tales, the type we are told as children never to eat. However, last year after a walk during which I came across an abundance of them, I decided to look them up and lo and behold, they are edible and can be made into syrups and jams. So I did just that. My favourite concoction so far is a ‘shrub syrup’ made from 3 parts berries, 2 parts sugar and 1 part apple cider vinegar. Mixed with ginger ale, it makes a delicious evening drink.

Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) has fast become one of my favourite plants (I think I say this a lot…). In spring, its blossom, a ring of large infertile pure white flowers circle a cluster of smaller, fertile flowers. Being infertile, the large flowers have neither stamens nor stigma and seem almost fake in their appearance, like flowers cut out from white paper and stuck onto the tree. I will endeavour to remind you to go and look for them next spring. Now though, in autumn, guelder rose is fruiting. The bright red berries (which are actually a drupe) are a joy to behold when caught in the autumnal golden light, glowing in their translucent skins like clusters of rubies.

The vibrant, glowing berries of guelder rose

Also known as cramp bark, guelder rose is used in herbal medicine for its anti-spasmodic properties which can help relieve menstrual cramps. The medicine (usually a tincture) is made from the bark of the plant, hence the name.

A small shrubby tree, guelder rose can be found in hedgerows, on farmland, on woodland edges and is also often planted in car parks and towns. The leaves are 3 lobed and grow opposite each other. The berries are an important source of food for birds, including waxwings (which I have never seen, but would love to).

Have you come across guelder rose? Have you ever made anything with the berries? Have you seen waxwings feeding on them? I’d love to know!

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Continuing on the treasure theme, we struck gold on a walk by the river recently. We were tipped off by friends who had walked there in the days beforehand that chanterelles were growing by a path we regularly visit, so we had to go and investigate.

One of the more beginner friendly edible fungi, chanterelles are relatively easy to identify. They do not have ‘true’ gills, instead, they have folds the run part way down their stems in a wrinkly formation. They have pure white flesh when cut (unlike the false chanterelle, which has true gills and does not have white flesh when the stem is cut) as they get older, the caps of chanterelles tend to curl upwards and form a wobbly, trumpet like shape.

We set off, armed with our favourite Lorna Singleton foraging basket, along the river, keeping our eyes peeled for flashes of gold among the emerald green moss. This was made somewhat tricky as chanterelles like to grow among birch, which at this time of year are shedding their golden leaves, deceiving us several times into thinking we’d found our fungal friends. After finding nothing, we stopped for a snack by a waterfall, happy to be outside, despite not achieving our goal.

It was on our way home, walking back along the same path that we finally struck gold. It seems to take time, a slowing down, and perhaps an acceptance that you might not find what you are looking for, before Nature reveals her treasures.

Full of glee, we gathered just enough for breakfast, said thank you to the land and headed home with happy hearts and a basket full of gold.

Our basket full of chanterelles

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That’s all from Nature Happenings this week. I’ll be back in a fortnight with more tales of things we’ve seen on our adventures. In the meantime, do share any of your own Nature Happenings with us in the comments!

Warm wishes,

Emma x