Ireland's Trees & Mythology

It's such a beautiful flower! I think most just presume them to be buttercups 🌼

It's magical ....

Bird's-foot trefoil is a favourite among pollinators in Ireland and has more colloquial names than any other flowering plant with a personal favourite being "Granny's Toenails" ✨

Children once brought it to class in their pockets to protect against the malign attentions of overly strict teachers 💛

Ribwort grows by footpaths, rivers...anywhere really. Good news for the pollinators who adore it 🐝🦋

Chewed up & applied to battle wounds it is believed that this plant has strong curative powers⚔️

But be careful as if the wind changes as a person picks it they will descend into madness 🧚🏻‍♂️✨

In Norse folklore, the Foxglove was a gift to the foxes from mischievous fairies🌷🌿

Intended as socks to cushion & silence the feet of the fox allowing them to quietly enter the chicken coop of an unsuspecting human 🦊🩷

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Known in as Lasair choille "Forest Flame", this fledgling Goldfinch has yet to develop the incandescent red facial markings that give it it's name 🔥

A group of Goldfinches is known as "a charm" & they are known to gather where fairies live, often being seen around fairy forts and Hawthorn trees 🪨🌳

Thankyou! 🌿

The rich red berries make the Rowan a must have when it comes to keeping evil away 🍒💀

Red is considered the most potent colour when it comes to warding off evil whilst the five pointed star that can be found opposite the stalk forms a pentagram which has been used to ward off evil for centuries ❤️🌿

Rosebay Willow herb🩷

How can a plant so magnificent be considered an unwanted pest🌷

Whilst picking the leaves of plants such as Nettles will protect you against the elements it is said that picking Rosebay Willow herb will invoke thunderstorms ⛈️🔥

Most of Ireland's forest cover isn't even "forest" It's just silent, lifeless conifer plantations

People also need to be educated on how useless invasive-garbage trees like Sycamore are.

Knapweed on the banks of the neolithic Giants Ring 💜🌿

A valuable food source for pollinating insects Knapweed helps to keep evil away 🦋

It is used in love divination & if a woman places a Knapweed bud in her pocket & it blooms shortly thereafter then she will surely soon meet her future husband 💜✨

Known in Ireland as "Beathnua", St John's Wort was one of the most important medicinal herbs in Europe🌼💛

it is entirely repugnant to evil spirits and when grown in or around the home it was thought to keep a family content and both the home and any livestock fruitful and full of life 👻✨

In Norse mythology, just as in #Celtic myth, the Apple is associated with love, beauty and immortaliy 💕

Iðunn is the Goddess tasked with keeping the apples that grant the Aesir Gods their eternal youth and longevity. Without them, it is said, that they would either and die 🍏
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Marsh Marigold brings a golden yellow glow to Irish swamps 🌼💛

Protecting against the efforts of ill intentioned fairies, it was woven into garlands with other protective flowers to protect both cattle sheds and milk containers from mischievous magical folk seeking to turn the milk✨🐮🥛

I did too! And Robins don't live much more than a year!

Just lose yourself in the yellow haze 🌼✨

It's insane. My wife literally raised the insects in cars issue yesterday! This Clover is all fine now. Just dusty grass left

Why are we lied to about wildflowers in Ireland and the UK?

As a society we have been taught to think that anything growing wild is a weed & if the grass grows beyond the sole of a shoe it must be cut. As of yesterday these white and red Clover flowers are gone & soon so will the bees🔥💮🌸

🎨 Carl Whitmore

In Irish folklore the Fox has a long established bond with the Fairies 🦊🧚🏻

Acting as a messenger & guardian of their doorways the little folk gifted each Fox a magical Pearl as a token of their friendship 🧡

Should you find such such a Pearl it will be bestow upon you tremendous good luck 🦪🪄

I don't know! Worth a try? I don't suppose they were ever enough of a problem here for anyone to have tried that one out!

In Ireland Nettles support around forty different species and many of these support other creatures which feed upon them 🐞🦋

One of the most useful properties of Nettle, beyond using them to make soup or tea, is that carrying a piece in your pocket will render you immune to lightning strikes 🌿⛈️

The Elder, known as Trom in Ireland, is intensely magical & important to biodiversity 🦋💮

Burning the wood of the tree would bring misfortune and even death whilst if a baby's crib was to be made from Elder then slowly but surely the infant would sicken and be taken away by the fairies 🧚🏻‍♂️☠️

In Norse mythology, a squirrel named Ratatoskr scurries along the branches of Yggdrasil 🌳spending eternity delivering messages between the eagle Hræsvelgr, perched at the tree's peak, and the dragon Níðhöggr, who gnaws at its roots constantly stirring tension ensuring their rivalry never ends 🐿️⚔️

Cow Parsley enjoying life by the River Lagan🌿☀️

Not long ago nothing grew here but as a result of tougher financial times rather than awareness wildlife is given a chance🌿🦋

Cow Parsley was called Dead Mans Flourish and it was believed that someone would die if the plant was brought into the home ☠️💮

I went to a spot called Cregagh Glen in East Belfast to find that it is something out of a fairytale and there is a lot of Wood Anemone and Wood Sorrel. The lower half of the Glenn ("managed" by Belfast City Council) is eaten alive by Laurel and Spanish Bluebells from gardens.

I went to a spot called Cregagh Glen in East Belfast to find that it is something out of a fairytale and there is a lot of Wood Anemone and Wood Sorrel. The lower half of the Glenn ("managed" by Belfast City Council) is eaten alive by Laurel and Spanish Bluebells from gardens.

Blackbirds live for about four years during which they grace us with their beauty and ethereal song 🪶🎶

If you collect a feather of a Blackbird, place it beneath the pillow of a loved one & they shall tell you the their innermost desires and their darkest secrets...but do you really want to know? 🪶🐦‍⬛