Fairy Plants

Certain trees and flowers are particularly associated with fairies and are said to attract them. 

Alder (Alnus spp.)

The alder grows near water and is under the protection of water fairies.  It yields three dyes, red from the bark, green from the flowers and brown from the twigs, taken to represent fire, water and earth.  The green dye is associated with fairy clothing.

Apple (Malus spp.)

The apple tree is sacred to fairies.  The Apple Tree Man dwells in the oldest tree in any orchard.[1]  He can grant a good harvest for the whole orchard, and it is always his tree that is wassailed after Yule, and the last of the crop should be left on the ground for him.  In the west of England, the small apples left on the trees are called ‘the pixies’ harvest’.  Grafted apple trees were called ‘ymp trees’ (i.e., imp trees) in old English, and fall under the dominion of the fairies, and anyone sleeping under one is liable to encounter them.  In parts of England, a Green Lady is said to dwell in every apple tree, and permission must be sought from her before chopping down the tree, and primroses planted beneath it to appease her. 

Ash (Fraxinus spp.)

In Ireland some solitary ashes are sacred to fairies and cannot be cut down, even now.  In Somerset ash gads were used to protect cattle against fairy mischief, while ash buds were placed in the cradle prevent fairies substituting a changeling for a human child.  In Greek myth, the god Zeus was nursed in childhood by an ash nymph. 

Birch (Betula spp.)

Birches are often fairy haunted.  In Russia forest spirits called leshiye live in the tops of birch trees.  If you hear the murmur and rustle of leaves, this is the leshiye talking about you.  In Somerset, a female spirit called the One with the White Hand flickers from birch copses, pale and gaunt as the trees.  However, the birch is also a protective tree, and in England and Scotland a birch was hung with red and white rags and leant against stable doors on May Day to prevent horses from being hag-ridden, i.e., being taken out by fairies or witches and ridden to the point of exhaustion.  Traditionally, the May Pole is made of birch, and the besom is composed of purifying and protective birch twigs.

Blackberry (Rubus fructicosus)

Blackberries belong to the fairy folk.  On Old Michaelmas Day (11 October) it is said that the devil enters blackberry thickets and spits on them, hence they should not be picked after that date.  The Anglo-Saxons believed blackberry had the power to undo witchcraft and fairy magic: “against any evil rune and for one full of elvish tricks”.  [2]

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

November 11 is recognised in Ireland as the day of the blackthorn sprites, the Lunantishees, fairies who guard the sacred blackthorn from any human foolhardy enough to profane the sacred tree by cutting the wood at this time.  Like other fairy flowers, it is unlucky to bring the blossom indoors.

Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

A bluebell wood is a place of fairy spells and enchantments.  The presence of bluebells in oak copses is a sure sign that mischievous fairies called Oakmen are present, and mortals should be wary.  In Somerset it is believed that you should never go into the woods to pick bluebells, as it will anger the fairies.  If you are a child, you will never be seen again, as the fairies will take you away, but if you are an adult, you will be pixy-led and will not be able to find your way out of the woods until someone rescues you.  Witches grow bluebells to attract fairies, and the ringing of the blue bell summons fairies to their moonlit revels.  If you hear a bluebell ringing, this indicates the presence of a fairy.  Bluebells are one of the most potent plant for fairy magic. 

Cowslips (Primula veris)

These lovely spring flowers are cherished and protected by the fairies; in Dorset, England, they are called Fairycup.  Elsewhere they are called Lady’s Bunch of Keys or Culver’s Keys and unlock the doors to the Otherworld.

Elder (Sambucus nigra)

The elder is inhabited by a spirit, and for this reason when it is cut, it bleeds real blood (it bleeds a red sap).  In Lincolnshire, permission must be sought of the Old Lady or Old Girl (the spirit within the elder): “Owd Gal, give me some of thy wood and Oi will give thee some of moine, when I graws inter a tree“.  If you cut the elder without permission, you risk losing your eyesight, your health, your cattle and your children.  If you wound the tree, you must give it charms and offerings in recompense.  If your child angers the tree, you must take the tree some wool and bread and say “You elders and eldresses, here I bring you something to spin and something to eat.  Eat and spin and forget my child“.  In Denmark the elder tree was known to be under the protection of the goddess Hulda, and in England the Elder Mother or Elder Queen.  She lives at its roots and is the mother of the elves.  According to Danish lore, if you stand under an elder on Midsummer Eve you will see the King of the Elves pass by.  It is safe to take a branch from the elder on January 6 without permission if you spit on the ground three times.  This elder branch can then be used to draw a magic circle in a lonely place for the purpose of demanding magic fern seed, which will give you the strength of thirty men.  Hulda will ensure that an unseen hand delivers a chalice, containing the seed. 

Elm (Ulmus spp.)

The elm is also called ‘elven’ in England because it is considered to be the dwelling place of elves, or a spirit called the Green Lady lives within the tree.  Elms have a special affinity with elves who open the way to the Underworld.

Fairy Ring Mushrooms (Marasmius oreades)

These rings of mushrooms, which appear on lawns and in meadows leaving a circular bare patch, are a favourite dancing place of the fairies.  Some rings are as many as 600 years old.  Be warned though, if you should join the fairies in their revels, you may become invisible to your companions outside the ring and find that it is impossible to leave and be forced to dance until you collapse and die of exhaustion.  Some have found that an evening spent in a fairy ring turns out to be many years in the human realm.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

This red and white spotted mushroom is closely associated with fairies who are often depicted sitting on them or wearing red caps reminiscent of the fly agaric itself.  Some cultures, including the Celts, had a taboo on eating red food, which was said to belong to the spirit world.  The mushroom causes hallucinations and was used by witches and shamans to produce visions and to travel to the spirit worlds.  Please note that it is deadly poisonous. 

Four Leafed Clover (Trifolium spp.)

The four leafed clover enables the possessor to see fairies and spirits, heal illness and gain good fortune.  Four leafed clovers will dispel unwanted fairy magic.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

The common name foxglove may be a corruption of ‘folks’ glove’, i.e., gloves of the fairies; Welsh fairies are said to wear mittens made from foxglove flowers.  Foxgloves, like fairies, inhabit woody dells.  This has given rise to many of the plant’s folk names – Fairy’s Glove, Fairy’s Cap, Fairy’s Thimbles, Fairy Petticoats, Fairy Weed, Little Folk’s Gloves and Goblin’s Thimbles.  In Gaelic the foxglove is called miaran nan cailleacha sith or ‘Thimble of the Old Fairy Woman’.  Growing foxgloves in your garden will attract fairies.  Like other fairy flowers it is unlucky to pick them or take them indoors.[3]

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

The hawthorn is a tree very much associated with fairies; their trysting places are under its shade.  When the oak, ash and thorn grow close together it is a favourite haunt of the fairy folk and those solitary hawthorns growing on hills or near wells are markers to the world of the fairies.  Fairies are very protective of hawthorns, and a blooming tree should never be trimmed as it angers them, and always the tree should be trimmed east to west.  It is so potently magical that it is forbidden to bring it indoors except at Beltane.  Falling asleep beneath a hawthorn on May Eve may result in you being spirited away to the Otherworld. 

Hazel (Corylus avellana)

The hazel tree has many connections with fairies.  A fifteenth century recipe for summoning fairies involved burying hazel wands under a fairy hill.  Boiling jam was stirred with a hazel or rowan stick to prevent the fairies from stealing it.  Hazel is the commonest wood used to make a forked divining rod, connected with elves and pixies who have all the treasures of the earth in their keeping.  It was traditionally cut on St John’s Eve (Midsummer’s Eve), one of the notable fairy festivals.  The fairies of English hazel thickets, who had names like Churn-milk Peg and Melch Dick, are said to inflict painful bloat and cramps on anyone who tore off unripe nuts, but they were probably angered more by the damage done to the trees than by the theft. 

Heather (Calluna vulgaris)

Heather is an ingredient of many recipes dating from around 1600, which allowed one to see fairies. 

Holly (Ilex spp.)

The holly is a protective tree which wards off evil spirits.  The prickly holly is lucky for men, and the smooth holly is lucky for women.

Oak (Quercus spp.)

Fairies like to dance around old oak trees.  Wood-wives (German forest fairies) frequent the old sacred forests and oak groves.  Elves live in oak trees and the holes found in the trunks are their means of entrance and exit.  A New Forest rhyme advises ‘turn your cloaks for fairy folks are in old oaks’ (to turn your cloak inside out protects you from being distracted from your path by fairies).  In England, unfriendly dwarfish creatures called Oakmen live in the saplings which grow from felled oaks.  If bluebells are present in the grove, this is a sure sign of their presence.  Oakmen may offer food to passing mortals that will turn out to be poisonous fungi disguised by magic.

Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

The primrose is a fairy flower.  According to folklore, it can make the invisible visible, and to eat primroses is a sure way to see fairies.  If you touch a fairy rock with the right number of primroses in a posy it will open to fairyland and fairy gifts, but the wrong number opens the door to doom.  In Somerset, thirteen primroses were laid under baby’s cradle to protect it from being taken by fairies.  In Buckinghamshire on May Eve, primrose balls were hung over the house and cowshed door to protect the beasts from fairies. 

Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)

Fairies sometimes bury their treasures beneath ragwort stalks and these weeds are used as horses by fairies when they want to fly.  The magic words to make them work are ‘Horse and Hattock!’

Reed (Phragmites communis)

In Gaelic the reed is called ‘the Distaff of the Fairy Woman’ (cuigeal nam ban sith).  The Gaelic word gaothaiche also relates to the reed and means ‘hollow’, referring to the mouth of the bagpipe.  The pipes were originally made from reeds and in Celtic legend the fairies invented the bagpipe.  Because of its thick root the Celts identified the reed with a submerged water nymph. 

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)

Rowan, or mountain ash, draws its name from the old Norse word runa meaning ‘a charm’.  It is known as ‘the witch tree’ or the ‘wicken tree’.  The rowan is associated with protection, particularly from witchcraft, fairies and lightning.  When it grows in a garden, especially if it is self-seeded, it shows that the place is under the protection of the fairies.  Rowan Tree Day is May 13, a fortuitous time for rowan spells of protection. 

Silverweed (Potentilla anserine)

This weed is turned up by the plough in spring.  One of its old names was ‘seventh bread’ as it is said that fairies like to eat it and it is probably assigned to them because it grows underground. [4]

Toadstools

Mushrooms and fungi, with their strange shapes and rapid growth, are often associated with fairies, as evidenced by some of their names, which include Yellow Fairy Club, Slender Elf Cap, Dune Pixie-Hood and Dryad’s Saddle.

Wild Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

At midnight on Midsummer’s Night the King of the Fairies dances with his followers on thyme beds.  In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Oberon tells Puck, “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows/ Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.”  A charm to see fairies is to make a brew of wild thyme tops gathered near the side of a fairy hill and grass from a fairy throne.  Like other fairy flowers, wild thyme is unlucky to bring into the home.

Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

Lavender helps calm the body and the mind and helps to achieve the state of stillness you need in order to be able to see fairies. 

Violet (Viola spp.)

Violets are associated with the twilight, a magical ‘time between times’, when the Otherworld is closer, and it is easier to slip into.

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[1] Ruth Tongue, Somerset Folklore: County Series VIII, Folk Lore Society, 1965

[2] Bonser, Wilfrid.   “Magical Practices against Elves.” Folklore 37, no.   4 (1926): 350–63.   http://www.jstor.org/stable/1256144.

[3] Lady Wilde, Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland, Ward & Downey, London 1887

[4] Anna Franklin, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fairies, Vega, 2003