Image: Leycesteria formosa stripped bare by Storm Arwen

Description: A medium sized specimen of Leycesteria formosa, the Pheasant Berry (family Caprifoliaceae) growing in a front garden in the village of Paxton in the Scottish Borders. In late November 2021 the plant was still in full leaf and fruit, but, at the very end of the month, the plant was stripped completely bare of foliage and fruits by the 110mph winds of Storm Arwen - the worst for 60 years. The shrub is also listing to the right, having been thrashed violently about and almost wrenched from the ground by the force of the wind. Its defoliation has revealed its underlying framework of colourful, bamboo-like stems, growing out of short, grey, woody trunks. The similarity of the hollow stems to those of bamboo has earned it its Chinese names of 鬼竹子 : Guǐ zhúzi : Ghost bamboo, 梅叶竹 : Méi yè zhú : Plum-leaved bamboo and 大笔杆草 : Dà bǐgǎn cǎo : Big pen grass/Big-stalked grass (among others). The 'ghost' component in some of these names refers to the eerie flute-like sounds produced by the broken, hollow stems when blown upon by the wind, and giving the illusion of the presence of an unseen, ghostly flautist. This photo was taken a month after the storm damage when the plant was still alive and recovering slowly from its ordeal.
Title: Leycesteria formosa stripped bare by Storm Arwen
Credit: Own work
Author: Flobbadob
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes