Spring has definately arrived here in west Cork although much later than usual after our freaky cold once-in-fifty-years winter. With the last couple of days of mix of sunshine and rain seedlings are popping up everywhere and flowers are appearing. I saw my first primroses on Saturday and the blossoms on my apple tree are opening. The furze or gorse (Ulex europaeus) has been in flower since the winter but the warm sunshine has been bringing out the coconut-vanilla scent of the furze flowers in strength.
There are two main species of furze that grow in Ireland; Ulex europaeus and western gorse (Ulex gallii). Ulex europaeus is the one which is in flower now and grows as a large bush. Western gorse (Ulex gallii) is low-growing and flowers in late summer to autumn when its flowers look amazing next to purple heather.
Furze is often now seen as a weed but it was a valued plant in the past and was put to many uses as the saying 'Gold under furze, silver under rushes and famine under heather', indicates. One of its main uses was as a fuel and it was particularly valued as a fuel for baker's ovens as it lights quickly, gives intense heat and leaves little ash. I have found furze spines in samples from excavations of Hiberno-Norse settlements in Cork and also from post-medieval ovens or kilns.
Historical evidence indicates that furze was used as fodder for horses, sheep and goats at least as far back at the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century it was pounded and chopped with a special furze chopping machine before being fed to livestock. It was also used as animal bedding, although less thorny material such as rushes or bracken was put on top of the furze. Furze was also used to construct temporary animal shelters, as a layer under thatch roofs and as a bonding material in clay-walled houses. It was deliberately cultivated as a crop but was also planted on field banks and is still common in hedges today.
Furze flowers, roots and shoots were used to make yellow and green dyes for fabric and also for dyeing Easter eggs. Furze was also associated with the Bealtaine celebrations in May as it was used for the bonfires and also brought into the house or places over the door or in thatch for good luck on May day. The wood from furze was used to make hurleys and walking sticks.
I saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on tv last night making gorse-flower wine, which looked delicious- www.chanel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/gorseflower-wine-recipe_p_1.html Here is another recipe link for gorseflower cordial- www.eatweeds.co.uk/gorse-flower-cordial-recipe
