Rosebay Willowherb

Today's the day ..................... for bad hair

I can never resist the natural sculptures of the crazy rosebay willowherb seed heads at this time of the year.

But until I did a bit of research, I had no idea what a useful sort of plant it was.  Apparently, the pith scraped out of the plant stem is tasty and has long been used for a wilderness food, as it contains essential carbohydrates which boost energy levels.  It can be used for fire-lighting as well as numerous medicinal applications including treating cuts by placing a piece of raw stem on the afflicted area.  It can be used to make sweets, syrups, jellies and even ice cream.  In Russia, the leaves of the plant were traditionally used as tea since they can undergo fermentation much like real tea. Koporye tea or Ivan Chai is still commonly sold and consumed in Russia today.

It is often the first plant to colonise waste ground as all that bad hair has got its own way of flying off on the wind, often travelling large distances ................