brierley hill brochure
TRANSCRIPT
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Br
R
Hors
Aescul
Fra
Bear
Ac
Pa
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Rose
Eng
T
Ir
Taxus b
Ile
Co
H
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Crata
Japan
Fal
B
Ru
Walking to Discover
BRIERLEY HILL
This walking guide has been created by horticulturalistPamela Smith, inspired by the plants and history of thestreets of Brierley Hill. This guidebook helps you to seewhere you live in a di! erent way, you don’t have to travel
far to discover plants that date back almost as far as thecoal seams, or magical plants that are thought to help withlove, happiness and cure all ailments. It’s about thebotanical garden on your doorstep; all you have to do is
take that first step...
Open air Laboratories (OPAL)
OPAL West Midlands is based at the University of Birmingham (School of Geography, Earth and
Environmental Science and School of Bioscience).Opal works in association with a wide range of regionalpartners, including the Birmingham and Black CountryWildlife Trust. Our towns and cities are home to a wide
variety of plants and animals just waiting to be discovered.We want to get everyone interested in the natural worldthat surrounds where you live, work, or go to school.This will not only ensure a brighter future for wildlife but
should help you feel good about your local space andenvironment. Our emphasis is on 'your' local patch!
W al k i n g
t o
Di s c ov er
BRIERLEY
HILL
P am el a
S
mi th Pamela Smith
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Route On
Circular W
Route Tw
Li W
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Walking to Discover
BRIERLEY HILLPamela Smith
Published by OPAL, 2010
Copyright: Pamela SmithPublication Design: Catharine ClarkePhotography: Pamela and Bethan Smith
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WALKING
to Discover
This voyage of discoverytakes you through thefamiliar streets of BrierleyHill revealing plants and their
stories as you go. This is a
story of 30 plants, one for
each foot of the thirtyfoot seam which defines
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THE
Walk
Route One: Circular Wtakes you to Delph
and the bottom of 9 and back up a
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Traditionally the BlackCountry is defined as the
area in which the 30ft coalseam comes to the surface.The coal together with seamsof iron, clay and limestonesupported the developmentof the Industrial Revolution,l di t th b i
THE BLACK COUNTRY
30ft Seam
Round Oak SteelW
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BRIERLEY
Hill
Brierley Hill is 162m AboveSea Level (the same heightas Beachy Head) The highestpoint in the West Midlands isTurner’s Hill in Sandwell at271m Above Sea Level. It isalso a place of roses.
The name Brierley Hill
The rose, usually speltis native to the UK, thof Europe and WesternThe word Briar is aAnglo!Saxon word mea thorny shrub. Rose tface backwards as
are designed not juprotection against g
Brier Rose
Rosa rubiginosa
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ROSE
Folklore
Many cultures have storiesand beliefs associated withroses.
Did you know?
The rose has been used as
a sign of silence in additionto secrecy When people
The Catholic rosary ito have been origcomprised of beads from dried rose p
Rose hips the seed b
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ROUTE ONE
Circular Wal
Marsh Park
Horse Chestn
Aesculus hippocasta
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Wander along theherbaceous border to your
Ash
Fraxinus excelsior
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The route to St Michael’spasses the war memorial
where poppy wreaths are laidevery November. The poppy
is associated with war asthe seeds need light to
germinate, land disturbed bybombing gave the seeds
Poppy
Papaver rhoeas
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ST.MICHA EL’S
Churchyard
St. Michael’s church isthe oldest building in the
town, consecrated in1765. The Churchyard isfull of plants, both growingand carved. Many plantswe know well from our
gardens today originatefrom all over the World
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This is one of Britain’s fewnative evergreen trees.
Plants that looked healthyand green over the darkWinter months, oftenaccompanied by flowers andfruit must have seemed
magical hundred of yearsago As a result lots of
Holly
Ilex aquifolium
Common Ivy
Hedera helix
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Hawthorn flowers inand is often called thTree with many associ
with May Day festivBefore the calendar ch
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogy
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Japanese Knotweed
Fallopia japonica
DELPH
Locks
Walk along Deph RoadStanding at the bottDelph Locks, this wa
of the first places people started to setthe area and originallknown as Black Delp
name signifies coal woDelph is a medieval w
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The Gardener’s
Arms QUIZ
1. If you were picking peanuts what would you take wityou?
Bar Snack Botany
Why not try this gardenthemed pub quiz?
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4. How long would it take a hop plant to grow around acane?
a) 8 hoursb) 24 hoursc) 48 hours
5. Cork is the bark of which tree?
a) Giant redwood
b) Oakc) Holly
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If you feel like a break
and a snack why notcontinue along DelphRoad for a while and visitsome of the many pubs. In folklore the bramb
considered a holy plant
was said that sitting ubramble bush wouldrheumatism and passchild through a blacarch would rid the
rickets. Di! erent parts plant were used to
Bramble
Rubus fruticosus
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A deciduous shrub found in hedgerows
rough ground. The have an unpleasant and the bark is ryounger stems are coin raised spots. In lat
and through June whitflower heads are made
ELDERFLOWER
CORDIAL
The cordial can be dilutedto taste with water ortonic water. Makesapproximately one litre
of cordial or five litresonce it has been diluted
Elder
Sambucus nigra
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LOOKING
Up
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Continue along the HighStreet passing Common
Lime and London Planestreet trees.
It was first recordeLondon in 1663 but ac
Common Lime
Tilia x europaea
London Plan
Platanus x hispani
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ROUTE TWO
Linear Walk
Bracken is a Britishcommonly found in wland and heathland anreach over 1.5m (5height. It is a very inplant, even a small of the fleshy root
grow to form a new Although the young s
Silver Birch
Betula pendula
Bracken
Pteridium aquilinu
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Alder
Alnus incana
Coltsfoot
Tussilago farfara
Coltsfoot derives its coname from the shape
leaves, said to resemcolt’s foot Other n
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Pampas Grass
Cortaderia selloana
As you walk towards MerryHill on your left around thebase of the clock is a well
The plant kingdommade up of many typ
plants which are groutogether accordingtheir shape, structurethe di! erent ways produce seeds. Replant DNA researc
PLANT
Evolution
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Cedars
There are a number of trees around Brierley
particularly in the MerCar Park.These trees prbarrel shaped cones take two years to mbefore breaking up obranch, releasing their
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Originating from NewZealand this is a popular
garden plant, its tall flowerspikes producing red, orangeor yellow flowers, full of nectar, followed by largeseed pods.
h d h d l
New Zealand Flax
Phormium tenax
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Fungi
In the Autumn the grassareas around the car parks
are full of fungi. They haveno chlorophyl, the greencolouring that helps plantsproduce food from the sun,instead they get their food
from the soil or other plants.Th h d l
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Here the walk ends butopposite Merry Hill isSaltwells Local Nature
Reserve. Why not continueyour walk across to this 100hectare reserve, one of thelargest urban naturereserves in the country. Atthe centre of the reserve is
SALTWELLS
Nature Reserve
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This distinctive, familiarevergreen tree is one of the
oldest and rarest trees in theworld. It has evolved littlesince the Jurassic period, over140 million years ago whenthere were huge Araucaria
forests from Brazil toAntartica. In fact, thefossilised form of this treespecies is also known as
Whitby jet, proving that thetree grew here in Britain
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Answers
The Gardener’s Arms Quiz
Q1. A Spade
Peanuts Arachis hypogeae are neither peas nor nuts, but a leguactually a bean! Native to North America, the clover!like pla
bright green leaves produces yellow flowers low down on the
After pollinating the flower stem droops down and pokes into t
where the pod containing the peanuts then ripens. From planharvest takes 4 – 5 months.
Q2. The Stem
Potato is a stem tuber. Many plant stems adapt in some way o
conserve moisture, for example as in many cacti, or to p
h l f b b l
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Walking to DiscoverBRIERLEY HILL
Pamela Smith
Published by OPAL, 2010
Copyright: Pamela SmithPublication Design: Catharine Clarke
Photography: Pamela and Bethan Smith
BRIERLEY HILL: Discovery Walks