The fluffy seed heads of Old Man's Beard are covering many of the hedgerows now giving a softer look to the spiky clumps of hawthorn and blackthorn. Its French name is 'herbe aux gueux' meaning beggar's or rascal's herb. This is because beggars supposedly used its acrid sap to irritate the skin resulting in sores to gain sympathy, and a donation, from passers by!
