Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine pratensis

This common and native perennial is also known as Lady’s Smock and milkmaids.

Habitat

It can be found in damp meadows, pastures, marshes, roadsides, hedgerows, woodland flushes and along streams. It grows best close to water and seasonally waterlogged meadows.

Description

Flowers are usually 1-2cm in diameter with four lilac or pale pink petals, it is in flower from April to June. The flowers are produced on a spike 10-30cm long and have yellow anthers. The plant can grow up to 60cm tall. The lower leaves are kidney shaped, upper leaves are narrow, and all are sparsely hairy.

Biology

It is a spreading plant with upright stems. The seed pods are long, narrow and bright green in colour, when ripe they split open distributing the seeds away from the parent plant.

Cuckoo Flower grows well amongst other meadow plants including Ragged Robin, Marsh Marigold and Fritillary. It is also one of the main food plants for the Orange Tip and Green-veined White butterflies. The flowers are visited by long tongued hoverflies and bee-flies.