A quaintly named woody climber whose interlaced stems cover scrubby hedges and can be seen high in the crowns of trees on limestone ridges. In summer a mass of white scented flowers are produced for bees and hoverflies that turn into Old Man’s Beard at this time of year whose seed heads feed many birds - especially finches.
December 6th is Saint Nicholas' Day. The saint, Father Christmas, is based on his large white beard coinciding with this winter wonderland in a bleak landscape at this time of year. The plant has conflicting rural beliefs over good and evil - some think it is the devils work that invades, chokes and smothers wherever it takes hold; while others believe the feathery seed heads are linked to purity and divinity also called Virgins Bower. The Virgin Mary and God yet another Christmas theme.
The season of goodwill may be ubiquitous but this plant with all its names is quite rare and thus a joy to any traveller who comes across it especially here in Treflach. Like all plants it had medicinal uses now long forgotten. In Slovenia it was thought to keep mice out of the sheaves of corn and in France the toxic juices found in the stems were used to fake sores on their skin so beggars could earn more money. Here in England gypsies used to smoke lengths of old dry stems as a substitute for tobacco and since the stone-age it was used as twine - just as Spartacus used wild vines to create ropes to escape Mount Vesuvius by braiding them together. It can reach heights of 50 feet and live for 60 years.