Wakefield Museums and Castles

Another cold, dank and dreary day.  The ground was still saturated. Caroline and Louis swept up more leaves from the sallyport. Meanwhile Carole, Helen and Kim weeded the rosemary wall. Weeding in cold, wet soil meant we had to take it in turns to go run our hands under hot water to get the feeling back in them!

Despite the weather, we had a lot of visitors to Pontefract Castle. One lovely couple had come from Lichfield in Staffordshire. We chatted with them about All Saints Church, which can be seen from the castle. They proudly informed us that Lichfield Cathedral is the only one in the country with three spires!

The young leaves of cinquefoil have a “slightly sour-to-bitter aromatic” taste. They are often described as having a 'herby' flavour. The leaves are best used finely-chopped in salads or cooked into purees. They can also be cooked as a leafy green, similar to spinach.

The raw roots can be bitter. When cooked (boiled or roasted), the roots can taste nutty and starchy. The cooked roots are often compared to parsnips or sweet potatoes.

The dried rhizome is used for teas. It has an earthy, slightly woody flavour with a mild astringency.

The bright yellow flowers are said to have a pleasant sour-sweet taste. They are used as a garnish.

The roots of cinquefoil produce a red or reddish-brown dye. This was traditionally used for colouring leather.

Before the introduction of synthetic dyes, this natural red dye was important economically.

Cinquefoil was a popular feature in church architecture. It was often used in windows and arches in Normandy and Brittany throughout the 1400s.

It was believed to protect travellers. It was hung above doorways to ward against witches and evil. It was also thought to bring luck in love, health, power and wisdom. Cinquefoil was used in medieval love potions and for romantic divination.

In heraldry, the five-fingered leaf represented strength, power, honour and loyalty. Only medieval knights who had achieved “self-mastery” were permitted to use the five-leaf emblem on their shield.

In the Victorian language of flowers, it signified 'beloved daughter'.

It was thought that frogs liked to sit on cinquefoil, whilst toads preferred to sit under sage.

Cinquefoil is a good plant for pollinators. The grizzled skipper butterfly (Pyrgus malvae) uses it as food for its caterpillars.

Cinquefoil was used for all inflammations and fevers whether “infectious or pestilential”. It was also a remedy for wounds, sore mouths, toothache, ulcers, cancers, diarrhoea, running sores and St Anthony’s Fire. It was used for jaundice, shingles and stopping bleeding. It “comforteth the stomach and liver”.

Once boiled in wine, it was applied to painful joints. This was drunk as a cure for gout and sciatica.

*As always, this isn't to be considered medical advice today. Please don't use any plants mentioned in these blogs as medicine without advice from a doctor.