Water avens
Purple-and-orange nodding flowers – but don’t be fooled; they are not always by water!
As always, I spend a lot of my free time doing what I do at work, walking tens of miles observing nature around me – which means I don’t always get where I am going very fast, as I stop a lot to identify whatever has caught my eye and take lots of photographs. So, if you are wanting to get somewhere fast, don’t walk with me, especially If I have binoculars around my neck! From these walks, I generally try to get my inspiration for what I will write for the upcoming Species of the Month, spotting what is on the cusp of flowering, hearing a call from a certain bird, spotting an insect, or being reminded of memories from times when I was out and about, being guided and taught lots about natural history by my mother and grandfather, as a child.
This month is no different, and as I ambled along a dappled woodland path in Hampshire, I spotted a little flower that is easily missed and wanted to share its beauty with you – the water avens (Geum rivale).
Water avens is a hairy perennial plant that thrives in damp habitats, such as riversides, wet meadows and wet woodlands, but don’t be fooled by its name, as it is not aquatic. Standing 50cm in height, flowering from late April, mainly May to September, it can be easily overlooked as vegetation grows at a rate of knots in spring and this little delicate plant can be left behind in the sea of green.
The water avens is a close relative to the wood avens, but a prettier relative in the rose family in my opinion. The water avens has nodding, bell-shaped flowers, with orangey-pink petals, a cluster of yellow stamens and dark red sepals surrounding the flowers, which hang delicately on a long, purple stem, which are bent in a reverse umbrella handle fashion. A set of trifoliate basal leaves (a trifoliate leaf is a form of compound leaf where the leaflets are arranged in groups of three) grows halfway up the stalk, and the flowers turn into feathery seed heads, upward facing, when they go over.
Magic and myth
As always, I like to know the plant’s association in folklore, so here goes. Water avens are said to have the power to drive away evil spirits, and to protect against rabid dogs and venomous snakes. It was associated with Christianity because its leaves grew in threes and its petals in fives (reminiscent of the Holy Trinity and the Five Wounds).
Medicinal
Water avens is also known as ‘cure all’, ‘purple avens’ and ‘throat root’, most probably due to the thought that water avens help with many digestive issues and, if applied externally as a wash, it would assist with various afflictions of the skin. In addition, a mixture of water avens’ flowers, leaves and roots combined with St John’s wort was boiled in milk and mixed with butter to treat hoarseness. However, this is not a recommendation!
Distribution
Mainly found in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Locally common in parts of England – I see them all over the Home Counties.
Megan Lock
Advisory
Image credit: Megan Lock