A talk entitled Unlucky Plants/Plant Folklore was given to the Sanderstead (Surrey) Horticultural Society on the evening of 10 April.  About 25 people were present.  After discussing hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), the flowers of which were widely considered to produce misfortune if taken indoors, other ‘unlucky’ plants such as lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) were mentioned, before moving on to the folklore of common plants, such as groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), ivy (Hedera helix) and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica).

People appeared to have enjoyed the event, and many of them kindly recorded their knowledge of plant-lore.

‘Everyone really enjoyed it, very interesting and thought provoking.’