Willow bark and the covid virus. The Covid pandemic created great strains on health and business services, and the virus continues to impact society in many ways.  It is not surprising that there is an ongoing search for anti-viral agents. Finnish scientists have found that willow bark may have a role to play. Willow bark has been used as a natural medicinal product over the centuries as an effective agent to treat pain and inflammation.  The anti-inflammatory properties of the bark are generally ascribed to salicin, which was to lead to the development of acetylsalicylic acid, that is aspirin.  The Finnish scientists ground up the willow bark in hot water and then sieved it to create an ‘extract’.   This solution was then added to a number of cell cultures that were exposed to different viruses (enteroviruses, a seasonal coronavirus and SARS CoV2).  They then monitored the viral activity, cell infection and viral replication  The extract had an effect on all of the viruses.  In some cases, the extract affected the envelope of the virus (a structure surrounding the viral genetic material) so the viruses essentially broke down, whereas others were prevented from releasing their genetic material and reproducing.  Specifically, though the Covid-19 virus could enter cells when treated with the extract, it could not reproduce once inside. The research team analysed the extract’s chemical composition and tested some known constituents of bark but concluded the success of the extract probably resulted from the interactions of different biologically active compounds.  Compounds in the extract included many complex chemicals (for example, hydroxycinnamic acids, salicylates, flavonoids, flavan-3-ols, and proanthocyanidins (polyphenols).  Further work will focus on the role / interactions of these various compounds. The Hazel Dormouse in peril. The numbers of the hazel dormouse have fallen dramatically since the turn of the century.  The dormouse has disappeared from Staffordshire, Northumberland and Herefordshire in the last few years.  This loss is attributed to The destruction / fragmentation of their habitats Poor management of woodlands and hedgerows, leading to a loss of diversity / niches Rising deer numbers, feeding on saplings and shrubs Extreme weather patterns may also play a part Captive-bred dormice have been re-introduced to some 25 sites in 13 counties across the country, sadly nine of these reintroductions were not successful.  Dormouse bridges have been created to enable the animals to move between areas dissected by major roads (such as the M1), others are planned.   The dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is a nocturnal animal and lives mainly in deciduous woodland,  it feeds among the branches of trees and shrubs. the dormouse rarely descends to the ground.  It feeds on a wide variety of 'foods' ;  flowers (nectar and pollen), fruits (berries and nuts), certain buds and leaves and some insects, such as aphids and caterpillars. The hazel dormouse is regarded as a ‘flagship species’, that is to say, if the dormice are thriving then it is likely that other species are too from butterflies to birds such as the nightingale.  Dormice are currently assessed as ‘Vulnerable’ to extinction in Britain under IUCN Red List criteria, but recent studies suggest a classification of ‘Endangered’ might be more appropriate.  Certainly, their future is uncertain. Detailed information on the hazel dormouse is available at PTES (note this link opens a PDF).  Their report details the state of hazel dormice in 2023. zsaqwa https://youtu.be/4u-yMkXOuTY Changes in the Boreal Forests. Boreal forests encircle the northern reaches of the Earth, lying just below the treeless under of the Arctic.  These forest cover large areas of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia.  These forests contain billions of trees, most are conifers but birch, poplar and aspen may also be found.  The trees (and soils) contribute significantly to the cycling of carbon in nature, absorbing carbon dioxide in photosynthesis. They are also home to many species of migratory birds, plus predator species such as lynx and brown bears, and wandering herds of moose. Due to the remoteness of these forests, they have remained (until relatively recently) unaffected by human impact.  Now these forests are warming at a rate above the global average.  This has a number of effects:  In the southern parts of the boreal forest. Conditions are becoming too warm for cold adapted trees; their growth is slowed and they may die. With the warming comes increased dryness, which leads to water stress and increased risk of insect attack /  infestation. The dryness also means that forest fires are more likely and occur with increased ferocity.  This year, the fires in Canada have been particularly extensive and damaging.  Some 18.5M hectares went up in flames.   The plumes of smoke spread far and wide. [caption id="attachment_40597" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Canadian forest fire[/caption] Scientists are now using satellites to track changes in the extent of the boreal forests.  If trees are being lost on the southern edge of these forest, then it might be expected that the northern limit for tree growth might change.  Indeed, there is some evidence for this in Alaska where young Spruce are now growing some 25 miles beyond the previous tree line, moving into the ‘treeless tundra’.  It may be the loss on the southern edge is compensated by extension of the most northern parts of the boreal forest, but it is not clear whether tree can ‘move’ at the rate of climate change.  

Along with my wife Marie, we purchased a 3 ½ acre semi ancient woodland in South Wales from woodlands.co.uk in April 2020.   The site has a gentle slope from a country lane down to the river Rhymney, we have 2 springs, a stream, a wide variety of broadleaf trees, shrubs and a small amount of pine.   Much of the site had been neglected for many years and so with help and advice from others and a great deal of hard graft by Marie and I we are bringing the site back to a sustainable future. It is a delightful place to be, family and friends all enjoy spending time there and I don’t think I have ever been to the woodland without seeing or discovering something new.   We made a decision early on that an open area next to the river would be a good place to grow willow but we also wanted to utilise some willow for basketry. We had experience of neither.   The river can breach its banks and wash over the area occasionally although this is generally very short lived.  Although the rest of the woodland will be maintained with native species, the willow area is an experiment and we decided to plant a variety of species for basketry, some of these are non-native. We read a great deal about varieties, planting and harvesting and decided on the varieties we wanted to grow.   A very useful book titled Willow by Jenny Crisp gave us a lot of helpful information and ideas.  We based our choices around colour, they range from golden brown to yellow, red, green and black. Each variety will grow to different lengths in the same year once established, some as much as 17 feet. We searched on the internet for suppliers of cuttings for planting and were very fortunate to find a supplier, https://hattonwillow.co.uk/ based only a few miles away in Caerphilly.   Hatton Willow is run by a Sarah Hatton*, she has a plantation with 1000’s of willows and supplies cuttings for planting and basketry, runs basketry classes and makes various commissions as well as the odd appearance on 'The Repair Shop' and 'Country File'. The plants are supplied as rootless cuttings, about 12 inches long in the winter and need to be planted between November and March.  You are advised to lay weed suppressant material and to push the cuttings through this into the ground. If like us you are growing for harvesting, each row is planted 60cm apart and the cuttings 30cm to 60cm apart depending on the variety. This close planting ensures that the sticks grow straight and long and can be easily harvested the following year. We ordered 100 cuttings, 10 of each variety so the area taken up is relatively small. 100 plants won’t give us enough willow to go into production but supplemented with some bought sticks will give enough eventually to make some items for our own use. Once the leaves have dropped, we will cut this years growth back, some of which will become cuttings for new plants and over the years as the plants produce more sticks, we will have more to work with. The above image shows the growth on a few of this year’s saplings. Not as vigorous as we had hoped but next year they may establish better.  With our willows in the ground, we booked a course at Hatton Willow and used some of the £300 funding provided by woodlands.co.uk as part of our purchase to fund the course.  The  session taught us how to make a trug, the courses just span a day, all materials and tools are supplied and at the end of the day you come away having learnt enough of a new skill to repeat the work,  an understanding of the material and  expanded your knowledge  and created your own hand-made basket. What Next for us?  The options are endless, willow hurdles for our allotment, Christmas wreaths, nesters for birds, green willow sculpture, who knows, we’ll keep you posted. Marie and Marcus Beard. * Sarah runs her courses at the Nantgarw China Works, a venue worth a visit in it’s own right. Osier : Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus Salix,  found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Humidity and bumblebees Recent research at the University of Bristol has shown that bumblebees are sensitive to the humidity of the air that surrounds flowers.  Being able to detect this sensory information affects the bees’ behaviour. Just as bees learn to recognise patterns, colour and the scent of particular flowers so they can distinguish humidity patterns.   How effective these humidity patterns are will depend on the immediate micro-environment of a flower - which may be affected by climate change.   Full details of this work can be accessed here : Willows and waste water Read more...

Checking through my emails, I came across a link sent by a friend to one of the winter talks in the program offered by the Botanical Society of Scotland - specifically “The Scottish Uplands: how to revive a degraded landscape” by Dr Helen Armstrong.  The talk was live-streamed but was also recorded and is available here.   Dr Armstrong spent 24 years at the Nature Conservancy Council, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forest Research carrying out research and advisory work. The following is an attempt to summarise some of the key features of her informative and enlightening talk. Read more...

Having put in place the basic infrastructure so that I can store tools, equipment and firewood and have somewhere for shelter and to work, my attention turned to the top two priorities on my ‘to do’ list – well actually, numbers 2 and 3, number one will always remain ‘relax, do nothing and just enjoy it’. Firstly there is a semi-circular clearing near the eastern side of what is essentially a triangular plot. I have planted a ‘family copse’ Read more...

There are plants that we like, and some that we don’t.  In the latter category, there are weeds - the plants that grow in the ‘wrong places’.  The plants that we like include those that we eat (crops), those that we grow for timber, for pharmaceuticals or for aesthetics / pleasure.  However, we now can add other uses for certain plants - namely phytoremediation and phytomining. Phytoremediation involves the use of plants to ‘extract’ heavy metals from contaminated land.  Land can become contaminated with potentially harmful metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, copper) due to mining activities.  Read more...

Once upon a time, beavers (Castor fiber) were widespread in the U.K, however, there are few records after the 11th century and by the sixteenth century they were extinct .     They are still to be found in Europe; several thousand live on or near the Elbe and the Rhône, and in parts of Scandinavia. They were hunted to extinction as the animal provided meat, fur and ‘medicine’.  The yellow secretion of their anal glands (castoreum) was used, at one time, as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic.   The Romans thought that the fumes from burning castoreum could induce an abortion.  Medical uses are no longer ‘in vogue’ but castoreum is used in the making of certain perfumes. Read more...

A May bank holiday Saturday, West Wales, and it was drizzling. Probably like most people I had preconceptions of scything as an activity performed by farm labourers in blazing sunshine, when the hay would dry best. Not the full Poldark maybe, but something similar. Like most preconceptions, it proved to be wrong in all important respects. I had long hankered after developing two traditional skills: dry stone walling and scything. I met my needs for dry stone walling a few years ago, courtesy of the National Trust, but this May bank holiday was my opportunity to address the other. My particular need that encouraged me to move this year was planting 1300 willow and poplar as short rotation coppice, and the need to keep the grass down during year one. Scythe Cymru, based at the Dyfed Permaculture Trust land in Penboyr, about 16 miles north west of Carmarthen run courses in scything, and sharpening and maintaining scythes, as well as providing a sharpening service used by scythe owners across the country. Read more...