24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms

Summary

Mark Your Calendars! On February 24th, uncover the hidden gems of February's wild flowers and alien blooms. From the delicate Whitlow grass with its miniature beauty to the peculiar Butterbur and its giant leaves, this article will introduce you to the fascinating flora that often goes unnoticed.

Discover the cheerful Coltsfoot, a bright yellow flower that signals the end of winter, and meet the exotic Abraham-Isaac-Jacob, a striking plant with bluish-violet petals. Learn about the history, uses, and unique characteristics of these plants, and explore the intriguing world of early spring blooms.

Article

Other Wild Flowers and Aliens

Whitlow grass Erophila vulgaris is very much a forgotten February flower. It has a habit of growing on the tops of walls, among lime green moss and has been likened in such situations to powdered snow. Some authors have talked about its “perfect miniature beauty”. It is yet another harbinger of spring, its presence in the past indicating to farmers it was time to sow their barley. As its name suggests, it was also used to cure nail infections. Its white flowers are non-descript, but it has handsome seed pods which are not unlike tiny green hand mirrors. It is now mainly confined to dry gravel paths and well-drained walls in south London. John Gerard, supervisor of Lord Burleigh’s gardens in the Strand, said it was “plentiful in Chancery Lane”, but alas you won’t find any there today.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

Butterbur Petasites hybridus is another strange plant occasionally encountered this month. It was once known as early mushrooms on account of the peculiar nature of its flower head, which is purple as it pushes up through the soil long before any leaves appear. Because of the late appearance of the leaves it was also known as Lagwort. Another name was pestilence weed, referring to its use as yet another bogus cure for the plague.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

Its leaves, when they do come up, are the largest of any British plant, growing possibly up to almost a metre in width. Their size and texture meant they were useful to wrap up butter and their conical shape meant that they could double up as a hat if it was raining. Its Latin name comes from the Greek for hat. Shepherds were often depicted wearing a similar-shaped hat not unlike that worn by the messenger of the gods, Mercury, though his hat usually has wings on its sides. The plant tends to form large, sterile colonies with no female plants around. Their flowers are useful early nectar sources for bees, which explains why this vigorous unwanted weed is actually cultivated elsewhere in Europe. Another plant that usually draws a smile is Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

Its bright yellow flowers just seem to appear straight out of bare earth overnight even after frosts. This is a flower that raises and lowers its head more than most. As it grows it hangs its head to protect its developing flowers. Sun then causes them to rise up revealing a cluster of sunshine yellow flowers.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

Darkness, wet weather or pollination can then cause all of them to droop again only to rise yet again, this time resplendent with a head of silky seeds. Their joyful appearance has always been a marker for the end of winter.

Towards the end of the month a handsome alien can also be found in some shady gardens such as the one at South London Botanical Institute. This is the attractively named Abraham-Isaac-Jacob Trachystemon orientalis. Such triple names often refer to a variety of different colours in the flowers. In this case these are bluish-violet petals so reflexed they reveal a cone of purple and white filaments which end in a cluster of black anthers. The flowers are all the more dramatic being set on sturdy stems with no leaves being visible.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

Its home is the Caucasus but the plant only reached London via Petersham Common in the 1940s, where it still can be found.. Another less attractive alien is the three-corned leek Allium triquetrum which is now getting a little too common.

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image

24-Feb Wild Flowers and Alien Blooms Section Image