Wildflower Wednesday. Primula elatior- Oxlip

‘ I acknowledge a cant where the wild thyme blows ,

Where the oxlip and the nodding violet grows ’ .

A Midsummer Night ’s Dream . William Shakespeare .

Shakespeare was very learned about wild flowers but he fetch it wrong about the oxlip , because it is confined to the easterly counties in England , and even here it is increasingly rare . It would never be on a wry bank with thyme because it likes moist meadows or woodland .

Like everything else , the beautiful oxlip is really early this year , it usually blooms in April . So I set off with a complain Pianist to find it . He was convinced it was going to rain which it did , but I was n’t rifle to let a minuscule thing like that stop me . We are very lucky in Suffolk to have the remnant of ancient woodlands where this beautiful , but uncommon flower can still be ground . It used to be vernacular in woods and meadow but like so many wild flowers it has become rarefied with the loss of so much habitat . 97 % of our meadows have been lose since the last war . one-half of our ancient woodland have go away . as luck would have it , we have the Woodland Trust , and in Suffolk we have The Suffolk Wildlife Trust to care for our pitifully few , remaining fragments of meadows and ancient woodlands .

On the way I was delighted to see this huge area of violets uprise on the verge .

Further on there were some white ones .

There were many bank deal in primula : primrose vulgaris .

We espy a pink one ; there were no houses around so it ca n’t have been the consequence of hybridisation with garden variety .

Further on we found a bank of cowslips : Primula veris .

This orange one was presumably a result of cross pollination with primroses in a nearby garden .

Sometimes primroses cross with cowslips and the lead plant are eff asPrimulaveris x vulgaris : The delusive Oxlip . In domain where this happens the true oxlips melt .

in conclusion we arrived at our finish : Bulls ’s Wood .

This is one of the few woods where the Primula elatior thrives and can be found in copiousness . There are no primroses or cowslips in this wood for it to hybridise with . The Suffolk Wildlife Trust carries out the centuries- older brushwood management which allows light to reach the spring flowers . In the nearby Bradfield Woods this variety of wood management has been express out since 1252 . These are very ancient woodlands which have always been a worthful resource .

Piles of Ellen Price Wood have been leftfor creature to enjoy . This one has been here for a farseeing time .

We came across a little pond on the way in .

I was surprised to see Marsh marigolds;Caltha Palustrisout . When I was a child we used to call these May Blobs so it was a surprisal to see them out in March .

There were carpets of wood windflower : Anemone nemorosaout in the wood .

I found a small clump of the dainty Sir Henry Wood Jamaica sorrel : Oxalis acetosella . ‘ Acetosella ’ means glowering - relishing but who would want to eat such a dear little industrial plant ?

But what we had come to see was the delightful and rare oxlip : Primula elatior .

It has a foresighted stalk like the cowslip but the flowers are primrose coloration like those of the primrose rather than deeply yellow like those of the cowslip . you could see that the umbel of flowers drop down to one side only , unlike those of the false oxlip .

It used to be cogitate that the paigle was a hybrid between cowslips and primula until the plant scientist and scientist ; Henry Doubleday consider it in 1842 . He was convinced that it was not a hybrid . He send some seeds to Charles Darwin who tested it and wrote a paper confirming that it is a honest species .

It is a beautiful works and so rare that it is classify as ‘ near imperil ’ in the Red Data List for plants . We are very lucky in Suffolk that we still have a few woods where it prosper .

Today I am joining with Gail atclayandlimestonefor her monthly wild flower meme . Thanks to Gail for hosting this meme which is on the fourth Wednesday of every month .

45 Responses toWildflower Wednesday. Primula elatior- Oxlip

Thanks so much for sharing this fun and interesting walk through the sure-enough wood of England . I have it off Primulas of every form , even the trashy supermarket unity . But I really love the Primula veris and P. elatior that you highlight here , with their taller stalks of nodding yellow flowers .

Ah , yes – definitely a uncommon smasher to celebrate ! Thanks for taking us along on your walk through the woods . It expect like a wondrous place to hike and hunt down for wildflowers .

gripping post Chloris . And are n’t they pretty .

This nature reserve looks like a little paradise . Thank you for taking your tv camera along ! We have a aboriginal primula growing around here ( Primula mistassinica ) . It is quite pretty but tiny and grows directly on limestone .

I have intercourse your spell . It ’s sad that so much of the woodland area have been lost but at least there are force play at work in the UK dedicate to preserving what ’s depart . While aboriginal plants sure as shooting have their supporters in the US , preservation all too frequently takes a backseat to evolution .

I grow Anenome nemorosa but since it ’s not considered a native here ( in the U.S. ) , I ca n’t include it in my WW posts when it ’s in bloom . It catch a little ‘ barbarian ’ in our garden … but I do like the flower .

Your verges are much pretty than ours ! So enjoyed see your woodland wildflowers . It ’s sad to read that your woodlands are also under a threat from we human beings . gail

That was a lovely bitty walk Chloris – I really enjoy . I love Primula , one and all – P. elatior is a itty-bitty cracker .

Wildflower Wednesday. Primula elatior- Oxlip