The bramble, the unloved one

The bramble, the unloved one
15.07.2019
The bramble, the unloved one
Nature

One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.

At first glance, the bramble is repulsive. Carrying its thorns as a standard, this plant seems to go to war and it is declared. But don’t just judge it by its looks. Under its hostile appearance, the unconditional pursues only one goal: to restore its rights to nature and to give birth to life.

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 !

Ivy, praise for an outsider

Ivy, praise for an outsider
23.06.2019
Ivy, praise for an outsider
Nature

One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.

Common ivy (Hedera Helix) does nothing like the others. Green space managers often see this this plant that spreads in abundance with a negative eye, it nevertheless appears to be particularly gifted in many areas and excels in preserving the biodiversity. Trust it, have some faith in it… and it will take care of the rest!

Eccentric,
a bit provocative, the ivy (Hedera), one of the Araliaceae family,
does as it pleases. Immediately germinated, its young shoots eager to
discover the world spread everywhere cheerfully in most climates and
on all types of soil, even the least fertile. The plant is available
in different species and varieties, wild or cultivated, across the
globe. In our temperate regions, it is Hedera Helix (common ivy) that
we meet most frequently, crawling in the darkness of the undergrowth,
lining the thickets, sliding under the hedges, hoisting itself upon
the walls, climbing tree trunks, rising towards the summits! With its
multiple lignified stems, the liana moves quickly and redecorates the
landscape in its own way. But its moving work, sometimes spreads over
kilometres long and up to 30 meters high, is not to everyone’s taste
… And this misunderstood artist has fewer fans than critiques.

A gentle rebel

Armed
with pruning shears, or even chainsaws, gardeners perceive ivy as an
unruly rascal, too robust to be honest, capable of ransacking
architecture, or even killing trees! However, even if the gardener
sees it as the original skin head in the garden, it’s not really
all that bad! With its shaggy cut and overflowing vigour, it
certainly embraces fiercely all in its path, but does not destroy.
Equipped with small crampons allowing it to hang on, it’s just
looking for supports, if possible vertical, to grow towards the light
and in favour of hatching its yellow flowers… Far from it is the
desire to parasitize, to suffocate or collapse its supports… On the
contrary, and it is even very useful to its host: a natural thermal
insulator, it also knows how to protect from humidity, drought,
erosion or even animal markings… When it is removed, the surfaces
it has covered are often better preserved than those where it was
not. Of course, it sometimes happens that old, already cracked stones
or an end-of-life tree wobbles under its weight, but this good
companion is not responsible for their demise! It only slightly
accelerates the normal course of things and the regeneration process.

Other strings to its creepers

Among
other qualities, ivy is also recognized as a purifier of air polluted
by certain poisons. It is also a valuable aid in biological control,
as it harbours aphid predator bugs. And not only! Its evergreen and
abundant foliage is visited by a multitude of animals. Bats, for
example, like to hang there and many birds nest there. In addition,
with a development cycle completely offset from most plants, this
outsider begins flowering when autumn arrives and the rest of the
vegetation is thinning around. It is therefore a delight for browsers
whose basket is less loaded at this time of the year. As a good
caretaker, it then offers its fleshy berries (not edible for humans)
early on, throughout the winter, with frugivorous avifauna and
certain mammals, such as garden door mice or foxes, which love them!
Under its troublemaking appearance, ivy therefore has wise dimensions
and proves to be an ardent protector of the biodiversity. Take with
it its steps by joining in with the Arches of Nature, by letting it
become attached to you, it will be able to conquer your heart!