The Witch's Claw
A Pleasant Surprise
4/21/20263 min read
On Monday we were due to take our boat to the boatyard to have the propeller fixed. We arrived in Sète the evening before, and straightwith went along to check the boat, and fill up with fuel. Just before the busy port area, we turned off the road towards the canal, and immediately left the noisy hum of the town behind, and entered a different world. A cluster of low houses line the banks , and as we approached the towpath where our boat is moored, I saw a blaze of pink flowers. 'Wild figs!' B.declared. I left the car briefly to take a photograph. An elderly man was gardening in the house nearby, which stood at the end of the road. I decided to enquire about them. ' Are they wild? ' I asked him. 'Not at all,' he responded. I planted them myself, five or six years ago. Would you like a cutting?' He disappeared towards the corner of his garden and returned with a brilliant pink flower and some fleshy roots and leaves. 'Greffe de Sorcière,' he informed us.' Witch's Claw! I thanked him profusely, and returned to the car. 'It's the Greffe de Sorcière,' I announced as I climbed back into the car. 'Witch's Claw! Have you ever heard of that before?' B. shook his head.
Later that evening, I consulted the internet. 'Hottentot Fig!' I announced. 'That's what it is. The Hottentot Fig! Otherwise known in France as la Greffe de Sorcière,' or Witch's Claw. I also learned that this invasive species originally came from South Africa, and seems to thrive chiefly in coastal regions. It is such a beautiful sight, but alas, my new gardener friend told me that it would only bloom for a few days before fading. But what a show! As for the claw, look closely at its three sided fleshy 'fingers' and you will see what they mean.
But my surprise did not end there. The next day we passed along the canal in our boat, and later that afternoon we walked back from the boatyard, passing round the backs of those houses , which abut the canal. What a sight met our eyes, for these flowers have spread from this man's garden, and now line the canal banks too. What a fortuitous bit of planting. As for this species being invasive, I shouldn't think the neighbours care a jot, for at this time of year it is so incredibly beautiful.
Will the cutting I was given thrive in our garden, away from the sea? Only time will tell.
