Cowslips

A relative of primroses and known for their nodding, bright yellow heads of flowers, the Cowslip (Primula veris) is a wildflower closely associated with English folklore and traditional hay meadows.


Cowslips have declined with the traditional hay meadows of the English countryside, and fields full of nodding yellow heads are now a rarer sight than they have been in the past. The name Cowslip actually comes from cow-slop meaning cow pat which, although not the best name for such beautiful flower, refers to their meadow habitat.

Cowslips have traditionally been used as confetti at weddings and for adorning May Day garlands. They are the county flowers of Surrey, Essex, Northamptonshire and Worcestershire. Due to their key role in English heritage, they have acquired many different colloquial names including "bunch of keys", "herb Peter", "St Peter's keys", "key of heaven", and "paigles". References to keys come from their shape (clusters of drooping yellow flowers), and this is linked to the biblical story of St Peter dropping the key of Earth, as they are said to grow where the keys were dropped. They also have a key role in traditional medicines, being used to treat coughs, sleep problems, skin problems, depression, and even paralysis. They are used in cooking and flavouring wines, and are said to have a slightly citrusy flavour.

A close-up of the inside of a Cowslip flower, where the orange spots are visible.

Cowslips have leaves much like primroses, tongue-like and slightly frilly, and their flowers look like miniature primrose flowers too, egg-yolk yellow and with characteristic orange spots at the base of the petals.

They are an important early nectar source for pollinators and are the food plant of the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly caterpillars.


To better preserve these awesome wildflowers, we need to manage our existing meadows carefully and expand their range to allow Cowslips to thrive and return to their historic splendour.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holly Leaf Miner

Image
This interesting patterning on the leaves of the Holly tree ( Ilex aquifolium ) is caused by the Holly Leaf Miner ( Phytomyza ilicis ), a parasitic leaf-mining fly in the Agromyzidae family. Its larvae burrow between the cuticles of Holly leaves, leaving a distinctive trail behind. The adult female fly lays eggs inside the soft, young leaves using her ovipositor in spring. A maximum of 5 eggs are laid per leaf, although no more than 2 become larvae, so as to avoid competition for food between individual larvae. The species is univolitine, meaning it only has one brood of young each year. This mining seemingly has no great negative effect on the host plant, presumably because not many larvae are in each leaf, and there is a high mortality rate in larvae. Old mines provide habitats for algae and mites, sheltered from predation by the leaf. A P. ilicis  mine that has been predated by a blue tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ). Holly Leaf Miners are quite vulnerable to predation, largely by bl...
Read more

Wild Garlic

Image
This blog is about a recent trip to Lower Wood Ashwellthorpe, a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve, to look at ancient woodland indicators. One of these is Wild Garlic or Ramsons ( Allium ursinum ). Wild Garlic interspersed with English Bluebells (another ancient woodland indicator species). These beautiful white flowers coat the woodland floor during spring, and have a strong garlic scent, making them difficult to miss. Each flower has 6 bright white petals and cluster in groups of around 25 on the end of the stems, appearing like pompoms. Flowering early in the spring allows the plants to make the most of the sunlight reaching the forest floor before the canopy emerges and it is much shadier. Wild Garlic is in the same family (Alliaceae) as onions, chives, leeks, daffodils, and other garlics. It reproduces by bulb division and occasionally seeds. It provides an important nectar source for early pollinators and the bulbs are eaten by Wild Boar ( Sus scrofa ), though these are not found at...
Read more

Snowdrops

Image
Bright and cheerful, Snowdrops ( Galanthus nivalis ) bring excitement to the earliest days of spring. Whilst they are a non-native species, they act as a well-known indicator of warmer days to come when they flower in January to March. Snowdrops on campus, there was a good display this year! Growing to 15cm tall, the straight stems have drooping white flowers at the ends, leading to the name Snowdrop- drooping and white, like snow. They are found across the UK, favouring damp soils so are often found in woodlands and along riverbanks, but can also be seen in parks, gardens and meadows. They normally flower at the start of the year, but increasing numbers of sightings have been reported in December, and even some in November. Therefore they are being used to monitor climate change and its impacts on wildlife. You can report Snowdrop sightings here:  Nature's Calendar (woodlandtrust.org.uk)  . The Woodland Trust are monitoring changing climate and have a range of indicator speci...
Read more