Traditional Herbal uses for Gorse

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is a pest plant in New Zealand, where it can grow rampantly through the hills. Foresight would have been great for those early settlers!

However, it CAN be a part of returning the land back to balance and health, and it does have other traditional herbal uses.

Gorse fixes nitrogen, which can change the nutrient status of the soil for the better. It can also hold the soil on a hillside from slipping as much, can create a micro climate for small plants and trees as they grow, and is a habitat & feed for birds and insects.

It doesn't like shade, so when that patch is returned to native bush or trees, the gorse will naturally die off.

In times past, gorse was used for kindling in bakers’ ovens and in soap making (soap can be made by mixing the ashes with a vegetable oil, or mixing them with clay and forming them into balls).
The ashes from the burnt wood are rich in potassium, a great fertiliser.

In traditional herbal medicine, it was widely used as a flea repellent, to treat coughs, colds, sore throats, scarlet fever, diarrhoea, kidney stones, jaundice, consumption (tuberculosis), asthma, heartburn, hiccups, heart problems, dermatitis, ringworm, swellings, and as a general tonic.

The flowers are used in Bach flower remedies as a nervine tonic for anxiety and feelings of overwhelm and hopelessness. Gorse flower is bright, joyous and strong, and can help recover confidence in our own strength.

Gorse flowers have a sweet coconut smell with hints of almond.

The flowers can be infused in liqueurs for a short time, in order to avoid any bitterness. The flowers can be used in baking and look lovely also!

You can also make a gorse flower syrup or cordial, yum!

Gorse Flower Cordial Recipe

• 4 large handfuls of gorse flowers
• 600ml cold water
• 250g of sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 lemon

Gather the handfuls of gorse flowers (wear gloves!). Add the sugar & water to a pot, bring to a rapid boil and keep boiling for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the lemon juice, orange zest, and gorse flowers to the sugar water syrup. Stir in well and leave until cooled or overnight. Strain the liquid through muslin, pour into a glass bottle and enjoy!

The flowers also give a beautiful yellow/orange dye.

While gorse isn't something you want to eat lots of all the time, and we don't want to encourage it's growth, what is already growing can be useful.

And often, just changing our view and seeing the benefits of 'pest weeds' can change how we use them in beneficial ways.