Christmas Social including a talk by Ian Brand ‘The Twelve Plants of Christmas’
(via Zoom)
Wednesday 15th December 2021
Ian gave an entertaining presentation on 12 plants that he feels are associated with Christmas due to their symbolism, decorative use or association with feasting. As well as botanical information, Ian talked about some of the history and traditions associated with these plants. The 12 plants that Ian chose are listed below with some selected snippets from his talk.
Holly – symbolic in the Christmas carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, where the holly is thought to represent Jesus and the ivy to represent Mary. The custom of decorating the home with holly branches in midwinter pre-dates Christianity. The leaves of holly are prickly on the lower branches where they are in reach of large herbivores, but have fewer or no prickles higher up the tree, the gene for prickles being ‘turned off’ when not required. Holly berries are not usually eaten by birds until late winter, and it is thought this is because exposure of the berries to harsh winter frosts reduces their toxicity levels.
Mistletoe – important in pagan traditions and Norse legends, this plant is only a semi-parasite as although it taps into its host tree for water and nutrients, it does photosynthesise. Ian showed an interesting photograph of a mistletoe seed that had just germinated, sending out its first haustorial roots (root-like structures that penetrate the host tissue). Ian also talked about the possible role of blackcaps in the spread of the plant.
Christmas-rose – a member of the buttercup family. What appear at first glance to be the petals are actually the sepals. The petals take the form of small tubular nectarines, to attract winter flying insects. It’s thought that yeast, present in the nectar of some Hellebores, ferments and heats the flower, making them more attractive to potential pollinators, particularly on colder days.
Amaryllis – Ian talked about ‘tricks’ the plant uses to aid cross pollination, which is the same method used by honeysuckle, having an early ‘male phase’ where the stamens are at the entrance to the flower and a later ‘female phase’ where the stigma has moved upwards to be at the flower entrance.
Blackthorn – Ian divulged his recipe for sloe gin and encouraged us all to have a go at making this next autumn so it will be ready for drinking at Christmas.
Sweet Chestnut – introduced by the Romans for food (as were several plants such as leeks and ground elder). Ian reminisced on eating freshly roasted sweet chestnuts when he was a boy and encouraged everyone to have a go at roasting them at home in the oven.
The other plants Ian talked about were Norway Spruce, Ivy, Snowdrop, Poinsettia, Brussels Sprouts and Cranberry.
Following Ian’s talk and time taken for answering questions, it was time for the annual quiz, compiled by Dave and Elaine. Thanks to Ian and Paula we were split into virtual ‘rooms’ on Zoom to answer questions in teams. It was a great opportunity to test our brains and socialise at the same time. Thanks to everyone involved in making the evening such a success.
Susan