@chrismarfil Chris, thank you! (Think, dog lead in one hand, camera in the other, crouching down - & then you have to work out how to get up gracefully after you take the shot.....)
Looks like cuckoo pint ... very poisonous if ingested, but apparently the unpleasant symptoms occur quickly enough to discourage taking any more after the first taste. I haven't tried it though!
Another name for it is Lords and Ladies! 'Lord' when at the beginning it looks vaguely rude and 'Ladies' when the pretty red berries appear! Nice shot Hazel, well spotted!
It is also called "Wake Robin" which is even ruder. I did have a recipe for making starch from the roots when I was doing re-enactments. A launderess gave it to me. It is because you can do that that
Coleman's called their starch Robin and it had a picture of a robin on the packet.
@w3n6y Wendy, thanks for the information abut Coleman's starch. It's amazing what I learn from putting photos on here. I did look up cuckoo pint on google and found on wikipedia that it's possible to process the root to eat but that one has to be v careful.
In the Sealed Knot and ECWS our paramedics, apothecaries and launderesses kept telling us under no circumstances to try eating the roots. They were for starching our collars, tippets and coifs and only for that,
@w3n6y This is the extract from Wikipedia & in view of what you say, I think it's irresponsible for it to be published there : "The root of the cuckoo pint, when roasted well, is edible and when ground was once traded under the name of Portland sago. It was used like salop or salep (a working class drink popular before the introduction of tea or coffee). It was also used as a substitute for arrowroot. If prepared incorrectly, it can be highly toxic so should be prepared with due diligence and caution." (in spite of this last warning)
Coleman's called their starch Robin and it had a picture of a robin on the packet.