Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Weed of the month: Herb Robert
Walk down the Harringay Passage at the moment and you'll soon spot a pretty pink flower growing in the cracks and on the tops of walls. The stems and leaves are tinged red and when the flower falls you'll see the 'crane head' that betrays that is a type of cranesbill.
Other names for Herb Robert include Fox Geranium because apparently it smells of foxes when crushed (haven't tried this!), stinking Robert, Red Robin, the more sinister Death come-quickly and Cuckoo's eye. Another name, 'bloodwort', reveals that in the past it was used to staunch blood-flow.
Herb Robert is a member of the geranium family and loves to grow in the shade, hence its fondness for the Harringay Passage and flowers from May through the summer and autumn. Herb Robert is a food for bees, long-tongued hover flies and the Barred Carpet moth.
Herb Robert also has supernatural associations and its connection with the German sprite, Knecht Rupert, travelled to the British Isles to attach itself to Robin Goodfellow or Puck, the evil fairy that could bring death to a household (which may explain that sinister Death come-quickly name). Despite this, herb Robert was a highly valued plant for the medieval apothecary.
If you're being bugged by mosquitos, traditional herbalism suggests that you can use the leaves rubbed on your skin as a bug repellant (again I've not tested this!). Other recorded uses for it are as tonic for tummy upsets and to treat headaches.
Keep your eye open for it in the Harringay Passage. This little flower has a special place in folklore and historical medicine.
Further reading:
Saint or Sprite? looks at its place in the medieval herb garden
Herb Robert and the Fairy Folk examines the folklore associated with this plant.
Tags for Forum Posts: flowers, folklore, harringay passage, weeds, wild in harringay
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by EMC2 on
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Thank you Liz, over the past couple of years I've pulled up a couple of hundredweights from under my shrubs, never knew what it was, maybe I'll leave it...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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No it just goes all over the lawn if you don't do that.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Yes, unless you're planning to cultivate a medieval herb garden, it's probably not a garden plant to encourage although it does grow out of cracks and on tops of walls.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Always had a soft spot for this one - so easy to pull up, a most considerate weed.
John, aren't you thinking of those creeping buttercup things that spread with runners? They are a total nightmare...
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Yes you're right, these things tend to stay around the brickwork at the edges but they do creep out a bit. The buttercup things are really hard to get out of the lawn.
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Permalink Reply by Local Yokel on
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So much of this in my garden!
It is easy to pull up and actually smells quite nice when you do I think.
But I think Red Robin is Photinia no?
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Not according to the two articles I linked to both of which link this plant to robins in folklore which were also seen as harbingers of a death in family, but plant folklore is hardly an exact science so the name may be applied to more than one plant.
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I see :-)
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Permalink Reply by Chrisandsally on
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Lovely article. Thanks Liz. I saw this plant potted up and for sale in a nursery recently - labelled 'wildflower'. I feel sorry for anyone that actually introduces it into their garden by choice (especially if they've bought it, not liberated it from the wild!).
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on
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Thanks for the write up Liz. This stuff likes several corners in my garden and, generally, I pull it up and stick it in the compost. I think it is quite attractive if a little too free in choosing where to grow.
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