Ged a tha e beag, tha dualchas iongantach aig a’ chairt-làir, gu h-àraidh am measg nan Gàidheal / Tormentil might be small and little celebrated today, but it played a substantial role in the social history of northern Scotland …

Cairt-làir – lus beag le cliù mòr

Chan eil ann an cairt-làir (Potentilla erecta) ach lus beag air an tèid neach-coiseachd a’ mhonaidh seachad gun aire a thoirt air, ach gum bi flùraichean brèagha buidhe ga shanasachd eadar tràth san earrach agus deireadh an fhoghair. Bha na seann Ghàidheil gu math measail air an lus, ge-tà, oir tha e cianail feumail – agus air a shàillibh sin, tha co-dhiù seachd ainmean deug air a shon clàraichte ann an Gàidhlig.

ʼS e cairt-làir a chanadh iasgairean nan Eilean Siar ris an lus, a chionn ʼs gun robhar ga chleachdadh airson cartadh lìn agus leathair (agus gum bi e a’ fàs gu h-ìosal air an talamh no ‘làr’). Bha cairt bho thùs a’ ciallachadh rùsg (craoibhe); bhiodh na seann daoine ag ràdh ‘cairt dharaich’ ri ‘rùsg daraich’. Ach dh’atharraich e gu bhith a’ ciallachadh a’ phròiseis airson seicheannan agus lìn a dhìon cuideachd – a chionn ʼs gur ann le cairt a bhathar ga dhèanamh. Ge-tà, nuair a dh’fhalbh craobhan-daraich thairis air mòran dhen Ghàidhealtachd, bhathar a’ coimhead airson stuth ùr a dhèanadh cartadh. Agus tha na freumhaichean (rìosoman) aig an lus seo làn stuthan-cartaidh.

Bhiodh na rìosoman air an goil ann am prais mhòr agus bhite a’ bogadh an leathair agus nan lìon anns an lionn nuair a bha e fionnar. Ach, an coimeas ri rùsg daraich, bha e a’ toirt ùine mhòr airson stuth gu leòr fhaighinn. Bhathar a’ tomhas gun toireadh e fad-latha do dh’aon duine freumhaichean gu leòr dhen chairt-làir fhaighinn airson aon bhogadh. Ann an eileanan a bha gann de chraobhan, leithid Colla is Tiriodh, chaidh casg a chur air cruinneachadh an luis a chionn ʼs gun robh e a’ dol à bith.

Tha ainmean stèidhichte air braonan cumanta airson an luis seo cuideachd. Tha braonan a’ ciallachadh rudeigin car cruinn coltach ri boinneag uisge no boinneag deòir (braon-gruaidh) agus tha e a’ riochdachadh lusan aig a bheil freumhaichean a th’ air at, leithid cnò-thalmhainn, a bharrachd air cairt-làir. Mar sin, am measg nan ainmean eile air cairt-làir, tha Braonan a’ Choin (agus Braonan nan Con), Braonan a’ Mhadaidh-ruaidh, Braonan-bachlaig agus Braonan Fraoich. Tha an t-ainm mu dheireadh a’ cur nar cuimhne gu bheil an lus a’ fàs air monadh is mòintich far a bheil an talamh searbh, agus far am bi fraoch a’ fàs. Bha Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir a’ gabhail barra bhraonan air an lus mar a chithear e os cionn na talmhainn.

ʼS ann fon ainm braonan mar as trice a chithear e air mapaichean na Gàidhealtachd. Thathar a’ smaoineachadh gu bheil ainmean-àite leithid Cnoc nam Braonan (An t-Eilean Sgitheanach), Sgùrr a’ Bhraonain (Loch Aillse) agus Leacann nam Braonan (ri taobh Ionad-beinne Ghleanna Comhann) a’ taisbeanadh àiteachan far am bite a’ cruinneachadh freumhaichean chairt-làir.

Chruinnich Alasdair MacIlleMhìcheil, ùghdar Charmina Gadelica, naidheachd mu dhuine aig Bruairnis ann am Barraigh a bha a-muigh sa mhonadh a’ cruinneachadh cairt-làir nuair a chuala e bean-shìthe a’ gabhail òrain fhad ʼs a bha i a’ bleith le clach-bhrà. Sgrìobh e gun robh an lus feumail airson barrachd na cartadh – gu h-àraidh mar leigheas airson na buinnich agus eadhon airson na buinnich mhòir. Bha cairt-làir air a chur gu feum gu mòr anns an dòigh seo air feadh na Gàidhealtachd, agus tha aithris mu fhear Iain Friseal ri taobh Loch Laide ann an Obar Itheachan (taobh Loch Nis) a bha a’ dèanamh tì leis agus ga òl. Mar bu trice, bha na freumhaichean air an goil ann am bainne, agus an sùgh air òl. Bha feadhainn eadhon a’ toirt sùgh mar seo do laoigh a bha a’ fulang leis a’ bhuinnich.

Bha cairt-làir feumail ann an dòighean eile a bharrachd. Bhiodh feadhainn ga chagnadh mar leigheas airson an dèididh agus – ann an Uibhist a Deas co-dhiù – airson a’ phiocais-bheòil. Bha e feumail mar fhuar-lite air còrnaichean agus gheibhte dath ruadh bhuaithe airson clò a dhathadh. Gun teagamh sam bith, ʼs e a th’ ann an cairt-làir ach lus beag le dualchas mòr!

Tormentil – little plant with a big reputation

Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) might be something of a small, cryptic plant, unexceptional in its vegetative appearance and only openly advertised by its small four-petalled bright yellow flowers, but its virtually ubiquitous use across Highland Scotland has left us a legacy of at least seventeen recorded Gaelic names for the species and a strong heritage of tanning and healing.

Perhaps the most recognised name is that given to the plant by fishermen in the Western Isles – cairt-làir ‘ground-bark’ – a nod to the species’ most valued use as a tanning agent to prolong the life of materials such as leather and fishing nets. The word cairt came also to be a verb meaning ‘tan’, as the most favoured source of tannins was originally the bark of trees such as the oak. However, as oaks became less frequent and in some parts of the Highlands disappeared altogether, the dark red swollen roots, or rhizomes, of tormentil became the next-best option for the provision of tannins. In the Northern Isles, the plant is known as ‘bark-flooer’ for the same reason.

The roots were boiled up in vats, and the skins and nets would be immersed in the solution once it had cooled. However, the rhizomes of tormentil are relatively small, and one 19th century account tells us that it would take a person a whole day to dig up enough roots for one infusion. On largely treeless islands like Coll and Tiree, a ban was placed on its use because of fears of over-exploitation.

Another common name for the species is based on the word braonan, which stands for something shaped like a (tear)drop and is applied to earth ‘nuts’ (swollen rhizomes) such as pignut and tormentil roots. Thus, for tormentil we have Braonan a’ Choin ‘dog’s earth-nut’, Braonan a’ Mhadaidh-ruaidh ‘fox’s earth-nut’, Braonan-bachlaig ‘plant-shoot earth-nut’ and Braonan Fraoich ‘heather earth-nut’. The last is a reference to the plant’s preference for acid moorland, where it often grows among heather. The great environmental poet, Duncan Bàn MacIntyre, called the above-ground part of the plant barra bhraonan, meaning ‘the vegetative part above the earth-nuts’.

It is in the braonan form that tormentil is most commonly represented in the Gaelic landscape. Place-names like Cnoc nam Braonan ‘the hill of the tormentil’ (Skye), Sgùrr a’ Bhraonain ‘the peak of the tormentil’ (Lochalsh) and Leacann nam Braonan ‘the slope of the tormentil’, adjacent to the Glencoe Mountain Resort, probably advertise localities where the plant was once collected.

Alexander Carmichael, the author of Carmina Gadelica, collected a story about a man at Bruernish on the Isle of Barra who was out collecting tormentil when he heard a fairy woman singing a song, while grinding with her quern. He noted that not only was the plant good for tanning, but that it was effective as a cure for diarrhoea. This was another common use for the species throughout the Highlands and supports the interpretation of the English name as referring to the relief of intestinal pain (tormentum in Latin). The roots were boiled in milk, and the solution strained and drunk – and even dysentery was treated in this way. Calves suffering from loose bowels were also fed milk infused with tormentil.

The root had additional uses. It was chewed for the relief of toothache, and as a remedy for cold sores in South Uist. It was applied as a poultice to corns and gave a valued red dye for the colouring of cloth. All in all, a small plant with big heritage!

The Author

Bha am blog seo air a sgrìobhadh le Ruairidh MacIlleathain, a tha na sgrìobhadair, craoladair, eòlaiche-nàdair is sgeulaiche, stèidhichte ann an Inbhir Nis.

This blog was written by Inverness-based writer, broadcaster and storyteller Roddy (Ruairidh) Maclean, whose work highlights the connections between the Gaelic language and Scotland’s environment.