The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) is an attractive
wild flower that is commonly found in damp places throughout the British Isles
as well as other countries.
The name has no direct connection with cuckoos and might
come either from an association between its flowering time and the arrival of
cuckoos in England, or that the fact that it is often found partly covered in
foamy “cuckoo spit”, which also has nothing to do with cuckoos but is produced
by the nymphs of the frog hopper beetle.
The cuckoo flower grows to a maximum height of 24 inches (60
centimetres). It is erect and hairless with divided leaves, the lowest of which
form a rosette at the base.
The flowers, which appear from April to June, vary in colour
from white to deep lilac. They grow in clusters and are more noticeable than
some wild flower blooms because the petals are much more prominent than the
green sepals.
The seed-pods grow upright on long stalks. When ripe they
burst open to eject the seeds which, if caught by the wind, can therefore land
and germinate at a distance from the parent plant.
Alternative names for the cuckoo flower are “milkmaid” and
“lady’s smock”, due to associations with springtime, fertility, purity and the
Virgin Mary. However, in Europe the plant has been linked with more sinister
pieces of folklore, such as the belief in Germany that bringing the plant
indoors would cause the house to be struck by lightning!
The British affection for the plant is probably more
justified than German antipathy, given that cuckoo flower leaves are perfectly
safe to eat as a substitute for watercress.
© John Welford
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