Life

Stephen Colton's Take on Nature: More to granny’s toenails than a mere LBJ

Birds' foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), otherwise known as granny's toenails, lady’s slipper, lady’s boots, sabots de Bon Dieu, God Almighty’s thumb and finger...
Birds' foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), otherwise known as granny's toenails, lady’s slipper, lady’s boots, sabots de Bon Dieu, God Almighty’s thumb and finger... Birds' foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), otherwise known as granny's toenails, lady’s slipper, lady’s boots, sabots de Bon Dieu, God Almighty’s thumb and finger...

LITTLE brown jobs or LBJs for short, is an informal term used by birdwatchers for the large number of species of small brown passerine birds, many of which can be notoriously difficult to distinguish, like finches, pipits, sparrows and some of our warblers. Their brown tones are excellent camouflage as they blend in with their habitats, especially so for females, which lack much of the colouring present in males, an important feature during the nesting season.

This term came to me lately as I ambled along my regular walkway looking at the abundance of flowers from small thickets and the roadside verge, each flowering in their own time and rightful place, like the tiny stitchwort showing its fine white petals, unapologetic about its presence among taller, dense grasses and much bolder flowers.

Looking for an individual yellow-coloured species, I became aware of the great number of similar-looking yellow flowers on show. The cultured eye of the botanist would, I’m sure, quickly identify the different species, but for myself, still learning, they were like the ‘little brown jobs’ from the bird world, requiring much closer examination and my use of a field guide.

Among the ragworts, spearworts and buttercups, however, I did find what I was searching for, the bird’s-foot trefoil. Crobh éin, as Gaeilge, is one of our commonest yellow flowers, sporting deep yellow pea-like blooms, often tinged with streaks of red, colours which have led to its oft-used name ‘eggs and bacon’.

The flower’s name comes from the straight seed pods which develop after flowering and which end with a short claw, resembling a bird’s foot or claw. While ‘trefoil’ suggests the plant has groups of three leaves on its stem, it has in fact five, but the two lower ones are borne very close to the stem and are of a different shape to the other three.

A member of the pea family, Lotus corniculatus has a long association with human society through generations, acquiring more than 70 folk names, most of which relate to its shape or colours. Many titles are suggestive of its shielding nature, like lady’s slipper, lady’s boots or, as in France, 'sabots de Bon Dieu', the Good Lord's shoes, and God Almighty’s thumb and finger.

Such names may explain why it was woven into protective wreaths on midsummer’s night. The less complimentary and more sinister names of granny’s toenails, dead man’s fingers, cat’s claws and crow feet all point to a more malevolent reputation. This enchantment with names is reflected in the song/poem of Cicely Mary Barker The Song of the Bird’s-Foot Trefoil Fairy, from the 1920s, where the flower expresses amusement at its many titles:

"Here I dance in a dress like flames / And laugh to think of my comical names", before going on to say, "Some folks call me Bacon and Eggs! While other people, it’s really true, Tell me I’m Cuckoo’s Stockings too! / Over the hill I skip and prance; I’m Lady’s Slipper, and so I dance," and finishing with, "My pods are shaped like a dicky’s toes: That is what Bird’s-Foot Trefoil shows; / This is my name which grown-ups use, / But children may call me what they choose.’’

Interestingly, in Ireland, children did choose their own name, calling the plant ‘no blame’ gathering it on the way to school in the belief it would protect them from the wrath and punishment of their teachers, with Vickery writing in A Dictionary of Plant-Lore (1995) that, "they will go miles out of their way to obtain it".

Surprising where a common yellow flower can take you.