Episode 18: Oily Evergreens & Vacation Flavored Vino- Gorse
Welcome back to yet another episode of Rooted! This week we are diving into the red-headed step child of the pea family- an oily evergreen with a tropical smell- Gorse!
Full credit for this episode existing goes to Ken Volante, from “Something Rather Than Nothing” who sent me a picture of this from his hike, and really kick started my deep dive! You can see that picture on our instagram (rooted.pod) and you’ll hear more from Ken on this month’s bonus episode that comes out friday!
Now that you know what inspired the episode, let’s dive into some basic facts about this wild weed!
Gorse, or Ulex europaeus is an evergreen member of the pea family that can be found growing all over the coastal United states. Native to western europe and northwestern africa , this notorious weed has spread far and wide, and is quite difficult to remove. It really isn't picky, and can tolerate pretty much all soil, but is most commonly found in areas with poor soil that may be drier and more prone to fire.
It grows in dense patches, and secretes an acidic oil into the soil, preventing any other plants from growing near the stuff, and choking out any brave enough to try. As if that wasn’t rough enough, this plant also has some pretty intense spikes that are coated with that same oil- making your skin sting any time it stabs you.
As you may have gathered, people’s relationship with this plant is a little complicated….BUT, they do have some benefits. 1) just like the rest of the pea family, these guys DO help the soil as they add a lot of nitrogen back in and 2) they do have some STUNNING blooms. They are a bright yellow, and extremely fragrant- apparently smelling like coconut and vanilla, which sounds SO delightful for a plant that seems dead set on world domination.
This plant is obviously EXTREMELY invasive, to a point where it is super hard to deal with. The best method we currently have to deal with them is to literally burn them, but that brings it’s own set of problems.
Because the plants contain so much oil, they are actually HIGHLY flammable. Which, obviously is great news if you want to burn them, but the bad news here is that they can really accelerate the fire, to the point where it can get out of hand. And with the recent uptick in forest fires, it is obviously not great for the ecosystem to effectively have giant blobs of combustibles just littering the landscape in dense, easy-to-catch thickets.
Not all the fires these guys start accidental though! Gorse is also one of the main woods used in the Fires of Beltane, which takes place May 1st of every year, and is the half way point between the spring solstice and the start of summer. It’s a time of year meant to celebrate fertility, prosperity, and the coming of summer.
During beltane, fires are lit to celebrate the growing power of the sun, and the clearing out of the dark days of winter. The bonfires smoke and ash are said to have protective powers, so people and sometimes even live stock will walk around or dance or even jump over the fires.
In Brittany, Gorse is actually used as a part of their summer festival of Lughnastdagh, which is also called the festival of the golden gorse!
Gorse has become a prominent part of these celebrations not JUST because of the fact that they are flammable, but also because of those stunning yellow blooms that are almost always present. They have grown to symbolize the sun, love, and persistence
Gorse is also the symbol of the celtic god Ludgh, the god of sun and summer because of it’s sunny flowers and vigorous growth!
On top of that, it was traditional to put small sprigs of gorse in homes or on clothing to bring stregth and good fortune to those wearing it, as gorse is such a prolific grower.
Interestingly, while it was considered good to harvest and wear gorse for yourself, it was apparently bad luck to give gorse to anyone, as it would bring misfortune to both the giver and the receiver.
But gorse was used for so much more than just symbolism and festivities!
After the beltane fires, the ash was often used to make soap due to its high alkali concentration!
If you aren't super familiar with soap making, alkali is what is mixed into a fat to create the chemical reaction that makes soap! Most people are familiar with Lye being used in this way, but for this one people were using gorse ash because they had a ton of it after the festival!
Besides just in soap, Gorse is also a popular additive in food!
It is commonly eaten raw as a topper on salads, where it adds a nice floral pop.
People will often make the flowers into a simple syrup or cordial, where it adds a light coconut flavor to drinks!
Some people take it a step further, and will even make them into a wine!
The wine comes out as a very dry white wine, with a distinctly coconut flavor. Apparently some people will also mix in rose petals, which just sounds like the wine of my DREAMS.
But if you aren’t a wine person, people also apparently add it into whisky sometimes, where it actually adds a slightly almond-y flavor.
The fun doesn't stop there, Gorse has also been used to create yellow dye, and apparently was even used as a flea repellant at one point in time due to all of those natural oils.
In addition to helping livestock avoid fleas, Gorse has played and continues to play an important part in land reclamation.
Like we talked about earlier, gorse helps to add a lot of nitrogen into the soil, and doesnt really care about crummy or tough growing conditions. While it does make it difficult for other plants to grow, in areas where it is being managed, it can make an excellent starter plant that can help improve soil health for plants to come.
Plus, in it’s natural habitat, gorse is vital for pollinators and other wildlife. For starters, Gorse is almost always in bloom, so it is a vital food source for pollinators, especially in early spring when most other plants aren’t in bloom.
Additionally, Gorse grows quite densely, and it’s spikes make it difficult to penetrate, which makes it an amazing place for birds who live closer to the ground (like the Dartford warbler ) to build their nests so they can avoid being a snack for hungry predators.
Today people still forage for these guys because they are so plentiful, but we haven't really changed much about the ways we use it! Now we most often look at it as a frustrating weed, but I think it’s important to remember the role it has played in society, and the ways that it is still being used in some religions and traditions, and by the critters in our community.
If you live in an area where gorse is common, I hope you harvest some of these delightful blooms and take lots of deep breaths while you remember how big of a deal this guy used to be…and maybe be careful, in case it tries to stab you.
That’s all for this episode, but I wanted to take a second to fill you in on what’s coming up this week if you’re listening when this comes out! Like I mentioned earlier, our guest this month is Ken Volante of the “Something Rather Than Nothing” podcast! Ken is a lovely host and human, and he will be joining me to tell his personal connection to sunflowers, and then learn a bunch of new facts about them! That will be out this friday (may 5th)
I also had the pleasure of being on Ken’s show, so be sure to check that out too if you want to learn more about how this show came to be, and about our shared love of swamp thing.
Sources
https://celticmythology.com/gorse-in-celtic-mythology/
https://nigelborrington.com/2016/05/04/the-spring-time-gorse-flower-mythology/
https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/discover/plants-fungi/heathland-plants/gorse/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulex
https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/1616/cocktails/bartenders-guide-to-foraging-gorse-flowers
https://novocastrianvintnersgazette.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/gorse-or-broom-wine-recipe/
https://medium.com/@danley/how-to-make-gorse-wine-cadc8617bf4c
https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/gorse
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/trees-and-shrubs/common-gorse
