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Portrait of Mezereon

Nature · Shrubs

Mezereon

Native or alien in Britain · flowers late winter to early spring · calcareous woodland

Daphne mezereum — Thymelaeaceae

A scarce shrub of lime-rich woodland whose intensely fragrant purplish-pink flowers crowd bare stems in late winter, before the leaves, followed by glossy red berries. The whole plant is poisonous and its sap irritates skin. In Britain it is a Vulnerable species, though many records are garden escapes.

How to spot them

  • ▸Purplish-pink, four-lobed, very fragrant flowers clustered directly on bare stems before the leaves open
  • ▸Deciduous, upright, rounded shrub 1–1.5 m, with pale, soft, lance-shaped leaves later in spring
  • ▸Round, shiny red berries in summer, in clusters up the stems
  • ▸Calcareous woodland, on steep rocky slopes, limestone pavement and chalk-pits
  • ▸Look-alike: spurge laurel is evergreen with glossy leaves at the stem tips, green-yellow flowers and black berries; mezereon is leafless when flowering, pink and red-fruited

How to know it

Fragrant purplish-pink flowers crowd bare stems in late winter, before the leaves, and red berries follow

Mezereon. Poisonous.

One of two native British daphnes, it is toxic if eaten and its sap is a skin irritant

Mezereon (RHS: 'toxic if eaten; skin irritant').

Assessed as Vulnerable on the GB Red List, this shrub of calcareous woodland was not recorded wild until 1752

Mezereon (BSBI).

Its genus is named for a nymph who was turned into a laurel tree, though this shrub is neither laurel nor spurge, and carries pink flowers on bare wood

Mezereon — Daphne.

Its native status in Britain is uncertain because it has long been cultivated and frequently escapes into woods and hedges

Mezereon (BSBI: native or alien).

Quick-fire facts

  • •Daphne mezereum, family Thymelaeaceae; Daphne from the Greek nymph turned into a laurel; not related to laurels or spurges
  • •TOXICITY: RHS: toxic if eaten, skin irritant; also toxic to pets. Every part of the plant is poisonous; the berries are attractive but must not be eaten
  • •BSBI: native or alien in Britain; GB Red List Vulnerable; Welsh Red List Critically Endangered; scarce in Great Britain
  • •Not recorded wild until 1752; native populations have stabilised after historical habitat loss
  • •Habitat: calcareous woodland on steep, sometimes rocky slopes with little ground cover, limestone pavement, chalk-pits and wet species-rich fens
  • •Seeds spread by birds; frequently self-sows from gardens into grassland, scrub, hedges and woodland (BSBI)
  • •One of two native British daphnes (Wildlife Trusts), the other being spurge laurel (Daphne laureola)
  • •Flowers appear on bare wood in early spring (RHS), very fragrant

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