Plant-lore Archive has grown from the Folklore Society’s ‘Survey of Unlucky Flowers’ which was conducted in the early 1980s. It currently holds some 9,150 items of information from approximately 3,170 contributors, and a large number of press-cuttings, off-prints, photographs and other material. The Archive covers all aspects of the folklore and traditional uses of plants, including fungi and other organisms traditionally studied by botanists. Although previously published material is of interest, the emphasis is on contemporary (i.e. current and remembered) beliefs and practices.
Therefore information is sought concerning:
. Traditional beliefs concerning plants (for example, the belief that certain flowers cause bad luck if taken indoors)
. Local names of plants
. Herbal remedies
. Plants and plant materials used in traditional customs and religious festivals
. Sayings, riddles, tales and legends concerning plants
. Traditional times for sowing and harvesting crops, and practices associated with the cultivation of plants
. Plants used for foretelling the future
. Children’s games and pastimes which use plants
. Wild plants gathered for food
. Other traditional uses of plants
Information from all parts of the British Isles, ethnic groups settled in the British Isles, and comparative material from overseas is welcome, no matter how widespread and well-known you consider it to be.
Please send any information and other correspondence using this website, to roy@plant-lore.com or Roy Vickery, 9 Terrapin Court, Terrapin Road, London, SW17 8QW.
Plant-lore Archive has grown from the Folklore Society’s ‘Survey of Unlucky Flowers’ which was conducted in the early 1980s. It currently holds some 9,150 items of information from approximately 3,170 contributors, and a large number of press-cuttings, off-prints, photographs and other material. The Archive covers all aspects of the folklore and traditional uses of plants, including fungi and other organisms traditionally studied by botanists. Although previously published material is of interest, the emphasis is on contemporary (i.e. current and remembered) beliefs and practices.
Information from all parts of the British Isles, ethnic groups settled in the British Isles, and comparative material from overseas is welcome, no matter how widespread and well-known you consider it to be. 
DISCLAIMER: The cures and other uses on this site are recorded as they were received.