A pincushion for Robin
There is a wild rose in our garden. I’m pretty sure it’s a rosa rugosa, hot 90s barbie doll pink petals and prickly branches shooting out in all directions. It reminds me of the summerhouse where it grows along the shore. I haven’t seen the summerhouse in two years, so I’m glad to have this rose in the garden.
A few weeks ago I noticed something strange growing on one of its branches. It looked a bit like prickly fruit. A spiky round thing, red and green and a little bit hairy. I thought it might be some sort of cocoon. The thing grew. And perhaps it’s odd, but I didn’t pay this alien-looking thing much attention. It was just there.
Then Gerry pointed it out and exclaimed: “What is that!”. So I Googled it.
Turns out it’s a Robin’s Pincushion. A lovely name that comes with a less appealing description. It’s a wasp nest, a growth caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp that feeds on the host plant.
It sounded disgusting.
Then I did some more Googling and realised it’s actually a precious thing.
In Britain a Robin’s Pincushion was for a long time used as a medicine. It was said to treat everything from colic to baldness to insomnia. Placing a Robin’s Pincushion underneath your pillow was one way of getting a good night’s sleep.
The name refers to Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck – the hobgoblin, trickster of woods and farmlands, an English version of the Brownie or Tomte.
At first I was going to remove the branch with the pincushion, but now I think I might just leave it there. Puck’s come for a visit!
– Facts from Plant Lore and Wikipedia.
– Image from Wikimedia.