Uses for Gorse/Furze/Whin/Ulex

Following on from my post about knowing your trees www.abovetopsecret.com...

I decided I should start some posts on plant/tree knowledge and uses - please feel free to add addition information about THIS plant only, start new threads for each individual plant/species

Gorse - You have no doubt seen this shrub, its short and stout and has yellow flowers and thorny branches/leaves.

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Generally smells a little like coconut

Uses for the suvivalist.

It burns well - being about 20% flammable oils it has always been a traditional fire stock.

The flowers are edible to humans in teh form of a tea - pick and boil in water and consume
The flower buds can be soaked in vinegar for 24 hours then used in salads
The flowers can be used to produce a yellow dye
The shrub itself can be mashed with a hammer and makes an excellent feed for horses/cattle
After burning the ashes the ash can be used for soap making due to its high postassium content.
The wood is hard and when seasoned can make an excellent walking stick for example.

Gorse Wine Recipe

1.5 litres fresh gorse flowers (not pressed down)
1kg sugar
Juice of a lemon
1 cup black tea
yeast
Pick your gorse flowers on a fine sunny day.
Boil these flowers in two litres of water for fifteen minutes and sieve the resulting liquor into a demijohn.
Add the tea, sugar and lemon juice then make up to one gallon with water.
Stir well, until the sugar has dissolved then add the yeast.
Fit an airlock then leave the demijohn in a warm place.
Once the density has reached 1.000 you can stop the fermentation and then clear the wine. When bottled it should be ready to drink after three months, but gorse wine can keep a lot longer. It should o be about 11% ABV or 19% proof. Serve the wine chilled.


Burning - 5/5 9whole plant)
Edible - 2/5 (flowers)
Edible - 2/5 (Flowerbuds)
Cattle Feed - 5/5 (stems/whole plant)
Protection - 5/5 (spikey thorns offer great boundary defence)


It has been said that the flowers can be eaten raw though I can not find a trusted souce to say so, it seems many people have tried and not died, i can not say how many have as they probably didnt tell anyone

I nor abovetopsecret can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.