Botanical lore
Although
not a tree, the origins of Muin belong with the vine, which is strictly a shrub
or small tree. Necessarily, the vine became transposed to bramble, when transplanted
from Greece to Britain. The flowers of bramble have five petals and are
rose-like white or pink, 2-3cm across, that appear from June to August, followed
by the familiar blackberry fruit.
Found in hedgerows, scrub, heathland, woodlands, and wasteground, brambles are
thorny plants of the genus Rubus, and the name, bramble, refers simply to the
fruit of any such plant, which include the blackberry and raspberry. The word
originates from the German bram-bezi, as do brombeere and the French
framboise.
Bramble thrives in most soils and is able to grow in the sun or in partial or
full shade. A bramble bush has a distinctive way of growing, sending its long,
arching canes upwards from a perennial rootstock each spring. These canes have a
two-year 'life span' and produce leaves on their first year shoots that are
compound and palmate, with 5 - 7 leaflets. In the second year, lateral shoots
develop which bear the flowers. The leaves on these lateral shoots are slightly
smaller, and have 3 - 5 leaflets. Although they dont flower or set fruit until
the second year of growth, all types of bramble bear edible fruit, and most have
recurved or else hair-like thorns. Their fruits are aggregate, with many small
units - or drupelets - to each fruit. In some cases the flower receptacle is
elongate and part of the ripe fruit.
Most species are important for their
conservation and wildlife value in their native range. The flowers attract
numerous nectar-feeding butterflies and hoverflies, and important food plants
for their larvae. Birds, especially blackbirds, and various mammals feed on the
nutritious fruits in autumn. Split bramble stems are traditionally used as
binding material for straw in production of basketry, (lipwork) chairs and bee
skeps.
Sometimes planted amongst hawthorn in hedges to help
bind the whole
together and make a stronger barrier. Robins, wrens, thrushes, blackbirds,
warblers and finches all nest in bramble and small mammals use it for protection
from predators. Many moths (including buff arches, peach blossom and fox) lay
their eggs on bramble for their larvae to feed on. The hooked thorns, as well as
deterring grazing animals from eating them, also help to support the plant by
latching onto other vegetation as it grows.
The stems can easily grow to a length
of five metres, and when they run out of support, the tip of the stem droops to
the ground, takes root, and sends up a new plant. In this way the blackberry can
leap-frog over hedges and walls, and colonise new fields. Large amounts of
bramble can affect the microclimate of the ground / herb layer; influencing the
growth and development of other plants. On one hand, it can offer protection
from grazing / browsing to young tree seedlings but equally it can suppress the
development of light loving species. The green berries appear in July, gradually
darkening to black by August. Eaten raw, cooked in pies, jams and in a variety
of ways, bramble has formed part of the human diet in Western Europe for
thousands of years. Examination of 'Haraldskaer woman' indicated that
blackberries formed part of her diet.