The bramble, the unloved one

Intrepid and fiery, the common bramble (Rubus fruticosus), when it rises, it has a feverish ardour. Yet rejected, evicted, abused, it clings, and does not let go of anything. But what is the secret of this woody plant which, even torn up, cut down, burned, scalded, it always ends up reborn from the ashes and lives on, more valiant than ever, to attack the horizons it covets ?

Fight for life

It’s a conqueror! And nothing can extinguish the flame that inhabits it ... But let no one be mistaken: this member - as illustrious as despised - of the rosacea family may be equipped with long stinging stems, no desire at home to violate anyone or to sow discord! If its sharp thorns cling so passionately to the paths they take, it is only to make life triumphant! And they only play a role of shielding against those who would like to divert them from this mission.

Green activist

For yes, the bramble, under its raw appearance, is animated by a noble vocation: to give at all costs its rights to nature! And claim them vigorously when they have been flouted ... Thus, it is one of the first to appear spontaneously on abandoned land, in the countryside as in the city. Green spaces, roadsides, piles of rubble, rubbish dumps, suit it as much as the wastelands, the hedges or the edges of a wood. As soon as its attraction to direct light is properly satisfied, this pioneer adapts easily to all kinds of habitats, opening the way for a host of species evolving in its wake.

Let the charm act!

Try to block it and it’ll get out its claws! As soon as it feels threatened, cut, persecuted, it enters into resistance and repels more, while its thorns multiply and thicken. They even load more toxins to become more aggressive! It is therefore better to let it work, as a fine lace maker does. Pursuing a logic as botanical as it is subtle, it masters the art of re-establishing bare soils or in transition between plains and forests. Equipped with a growth hormone and an asexual mode of reproduction (vegetative multiplication) extremely effective, it develops at high speed V (several centimetres per day)! Its branches extend in all directions and intermingle so well that they quickly form thorny groves, the famous wild mulberry bushes.

By my bramble ...

Under their protective armour, a forest ecosystem tries to be recreated, making the happiness of young tree shoots, still too fragile to defend against large herbivores, as well as a multitude of animals. Rabbits and hares, in particular, install their burrows there and the birds there make their nests, well sheltered. Meanwhile, above the ramparts of branches, bees forage for flowers, deer feast on leaves, and foxes, polecats, badgers, martens or weasels feast on blackberries during the summer and until the beginning of the season, Autumn. This farandole of living causes nature to gradually resume strength and assurance. And when the bramble no longer feels indispensable to plead its cause, it ends up disappearing ... At this moment, while contemplating the work that it has left, one becomes aware of the dimension of the artist and one is surprised to regret its presence. So, if by then the wild man with the heart of gold knocks at your door, know how to applaud his coming, full of sweet promises and appreciate it at its true value ... To love it with dignity, join the Arches of nature !