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About our LogoThe Healing Through Remembering logo featuring an illustration of a whin, gorse or furze (depending on your location it is known by one or more of these names) has raised many a question given the bright yellow plant's contemporary reputation as little better than a troublesome weed. However, after the bleakness of winter, this commonly occurring plant clothes the hillsides with a welcome blanket of headily scented yellow flowers. It is one of the first flowering plants of the Spring, with most bushes in full bloom by April. Apart from its welcome yellow flowers in early Spring the plant has also served these islands well in past years. Ulex europaeus (the plant's biological name) first arrived on these shores from the Continent and its value was immediately recognised by the rural community - it was chopped, ground and fed to cattle, burned in baker's ovens and limekilns, used to roof outhouses, line field drains, harrow crops, keep the haystack off the ground, clean the chimney, make tools and dye Easter eggs. A native version of the plant (Ulex gallii) is also present but it's the European variety that is now most abundant. The plant has become an integral part of the local ecology. It offers a habitat for native species while a host of co-evolving insects ensure the plant does not overpower the countryside. This has been a problem in some New World countries including Australia and New Zealand where the plant has taken over thousands of acres of land. A full history of the plant and its versatile role can
be found in a little 1960's book, 'Furze', compiled by Dr AT Lucas and
published for National
Museum of Ireland by The Stationery Office, Dublin, (1960).
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Healing Through Remembering Alexander House, 17a Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland. BT2 8HD Tel: 028 9023 8844 