Blooming Marvellous

Blooming Marvellous

Loaghtan Books has teamed up with local botanic artist, Rosemary Greening, to produce an illustrated guide to native Manx flora. Depicting Rosemary’s magnificent drawings and paintings. Blooming Marvellous provides readers not only with information about the different plants but also includes tales of their place in Manx folk lore, and how they were used in country remedies. Part of the accompanying text for the hawthorn for example: ‘the hawthorn grows leaves before the flowers arrive. The red berries are called haws – skeag in Manx – and are high in pectin, making them useful in various edible treats for humans when appropriately prepared. Over 300 species of insects, birds and small mammals also love hawthorn berries.’ Many books quote the English and Latin for the plants they cover but Rosemary was insistent that the Manx name for all the plants she illustrated should also be included. Hawthorn, for example, is Crataegus monogyna in Latin and Drine bane in Manx.