IT'S TIME TO SHINE

The spindle tree picks its moment to take centre stage

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“See the rosy-berried Spindle, All to sunset colours turning” (Cicely Mary Barker). The small native spindle tree of the woodland edge and hedgerows is relatively inconspicuous for much of the year until the leaves turn a rich orange-red in autumn. The four-lobed shocking pink fruits split open to reveal bright orange seeds, astounding the conservative British eye. The bark and twigs are deep green with light brown, corky markings and the broad, shiny leaves have tiny sharp teeth along the edges.

The small flowers with four greenish-yellow petals surrounding a green disc were pollinated by insects back in May and June: our ancestors thought that if spindle flowered early, an outbreak of plague was likely (it must have been out very early this year).

The timber is creamy white, hard and dense, but since the twigs are relatively slender, the wood could only be used for smaller items, such as spindles for spinning and holding wool, skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles (prickwood and skewer wood are both old names).