Broom

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Wild Food

By Roger Phillips

Published 1986

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Sarothamnus scoparius Broom is generally distributed throughout the British Isles except for Orkney and Shetland. It occurs on heaths, waste ground and in woods, usually on sandy soils, and flowers from March to June. Pick the young flower buds in late April, May or June.

Broom

The green twigs of the broom have long been used for sweeping and it is from this that the household ‘broom’ gets its name. It is considered unlucky to take the broom into the house during May, particularly to use it for sweeping, because