Gorse

Gorse, also called furze or whin, is an evergreen shrub of the legume family native to western Europe, growing to about four and a half metres. Its shoots and leaves are turned into rigid green spines one to three centimetres long, and its solitary yellow flowers, which smell of coconut, open through much of the year but chiefly in a long spring flush. The spines are rich in natural oils, so the bush burns readily, yet it resprouts from the stem and its seed survives fire. Planted as hedging and carried abroad, it has become a troublesome invader in places such as New Zealand, Chile and the western United States. Its lore is that of a guardian. In Wales gorse hedges were held to keep fairies away from the home, and in England in May sprigs were set round milk and butter to save them from faery mischief. Because its flowers decorated Walpurgis celebrations in Germany, it gained a name for warding off evil; in Ireland a sprig was worn for luck and to keep a traveller from losing the way, and at Beltane a branch over the door held luck inside. Parts of Britain told of little dragons living in the thickets. The blossoms were called fairy gold, yet dropping them in a stream was thought to bring real gold, and Cunningham uses gorse in money spells because it draws gold.