Walk through any area of damp meadow in spring and you will almost certainly see the cuckooflower; so named as it flowers around the same time as the cuckoo returns to our shores in spring. Also known as lady's smock, this is a common plant of damp places and can be found along ditches and damp woodland as well as water meadows.
The flowers of the cuckooflower are a very pale mauve/pink.
This is a favourite food plant of the orange-tip butterfly who time their emergance as adults to coincide with this plant's flowering. If you watch closely for a while you will see orange-tips laying eggs on the plants. After the butterfly has gone, take a look on the plant stem and you may see a small egg, appropriately orange in colour.
Comments
Post a Comment