• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Cowslip

103/366 A week of new wildflowers

12 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Cleavers, Cowslip, False oxlip, Garlic mustard, Ground ivy, Lords-and-ladies, spring wildflowers, Yellow archangel

Spring is really starting to ramp up a notch now – shame we can’t get out and enjoy more time in the wild world. Still, if I choose the right route for my daily exercise walk, I can still hear the birds and see the flowers, and I appreciate them now even more than I usually do. Here’s a catch up with the latest plants I’ve found in flower this week.

200412 1 cleavers

Cleavers (Galium aparine) : I’m sure everyone has their own favourite among the wide variety of common names for this plant: Sticky Bob, Kisses, Goosegrass are just a few – take your pick, or tell me what you call it.

200412 2 cowslip
200412 3 false oxlip

I’m lumping these two together as a comparison: on the left is Cowslip (Primula veris) and on the right is False oxlip (Primula veris x vulgaris), the hybrid of Cowslip and Primrose. I’ve previously had trouble identifying these correctly but one clue I’ve read recently is that Cowslip flowers all nod in a single direction, whereas False oxlips flop around in all directions.

200412 4 garlic mustard

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) : these lovely plants seem almost to have sprung up overnight under every local hedgerow. You may know them by one of their vernacular names, Jack-by-the-hedge.

200412 5 lords-and-ladies

Lords-and -ladies (Arum maculatum), another plant with a ‘Jack’ vernacular name, in this case Jack-in-the-pulpit. I’ve seen so many leaves of these plants and quite a few sheathed flowers but, this week, I finally saw some open flowers.

200412 6 Yellow archangel

Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon) : these may well have been a garden escape as they were growing along a lane near a large area of allotments but I’m still counting them. From their appearance, it’s easy to tell that these are part of the Dead-nettle family (my favourite kinds of nettles!).

200412 7 ground ivy

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) : I found these decorating the edges of the same lane as the Yellow archangel, down low beneath the brambles and assorted shrubs and bushes. And, also like the Yellow archangel, Ground ivy is a member of the Dead-nettle family.

Like this:

Like Loading...

104/365 Peggles, paigles

14 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British wildflowers, Cowslip, False oxslips, Paigles, Peggles, spring wildflowers

I know these gorgeous wildflowers as Cowslips but they have a wealth of other names, including Hey-flowers, Peggles, Paigles, Culverkeys and Bunch of keys, according to the entry in my Flora Britannica. Perhaps you know other local names for them.

190414 cowslips (1)
190414 cowslips (2)

One thing I didn’t know until today is that the name Cowslip is a euphemism for ‘cow-slop’ or cow pat because these lovely blooms often grow best in fields that have been well ‘fertilised’ by cows.

p.s. My Facebook friend George has very kindly corrected my flower identification: ‘The first and last photos are false oxlips rather than true cowslips, these are hybrids between cowslips and primroses and have slightly bigger, paler and more open flowers.’ I must pay more attention next time I’m looking at wildflowers!

190414 cowslips (3)
190414 cowslips (4)

Like this:

Like Loading...

More blooming wildflowers

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bluebell, British wildflowers, Cowslip, Garlic mustard, Ground ivy, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Sow thistle, spring wildflowers, Wild garlic

The Spring sunshine has been a little sparse in recent weeks but the wildflowers are slowly continuing to appear. Here are some recent finds …

180504 1 bluebells

I couldn’t resist including more Bluebells (Hyacinthoides sp.) as they really encapsulate Spring for so many people.

180504 2 cowslip

First come the primroses, then these beauties take over: Cowslips (Primula veris).

180504 3 Garlic mustard

You may know it as ‘Jack-by-the-hedge’, so-named for its love of a shady spot by a hedge, this is Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

180504 4 ground ivy

Don’t forget to look down low for this burst of purple goodness. It’s Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea). 

180504 6 ivy-leaved toadflax

Blooming now on a wall near you, Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis). 

180504 9 Sow thistle

Part of the large and mightily confusing dandelion family, this is one of the Sow thistles (Sonchus sp.).

180504 10 wild garlic

If you go down to the woods today, make sure you take a peg for your nose … unless, like me, you love the smell of Wild garlic (Allium ursinum).

Like this:

Like Loading...

Primrose x Cowslip = False Oxlip

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

British flora, British wildflowers, Cowslip, False oxlip, flora hybridisation, flower hybrids, primrose, Primula veris, Primula vulgaris, Primula vulgaris x veris = P. x polyantha


Where Primroses (Primula vulgaris) and Cowslips (Primula veris) grow in close proximity they will occasionally hybridise to produce the False Oxlip (Primula vulgaris x veris = P. x polyantha). Though this is not really clear from my images, the hybrid is usually a larger plant than the Cowslip, and I think it combines the prettiest traits of both parents to produce a real stunner!

170512 A Primrose
170512 B Cowslip
170512 C False oxlip

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Down the hatch January 30, 2023
  • First Primroses January 29, 2023
  • Encounters with grebes January 28, 2023
  • Fern Friday: Hart’s-tongue January 27, 2023
  • Feasting Chiffchaff January 26, 2023

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • earthstar
    • Join 578 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • earthstar
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: