Common water-crowfoot

There are nine varieties of water-crowfoot found in the British Isles, and they are easily confused with each other. Their common features are that they are “water buttercups” and that, in most cases, they have two sets of leaves, one of which grows above the surface and the other below.

Common water-crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) grows in ponds, streams and ditches throughout Great Britain, being absent only from highland areas. It has round leaves floating on the surface and feathery ones underneath. There may also be leaves that are transitional, in that they are sometimes above and sometimes below the surface.

The flowers, which are half an inch across, are white with a yellow centre. The globe-shaped fruiting bodies are carried on curving stalks that bend back towards the water. The flowers appear in May and June and often form impressive displays several feet across.

© John Welford

Common St John’s-wort

Common St John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) grows throughout Britain on grasslands and also next to hedges and in open woods, having a preference for chalky soils.

It throws up hairless erect stems that are woody at the base. This variety of St John’s-wort can be identified by the two narrow ribs that run up the stems on opposite sides. The small leaves are noticeable for appearing to be punctured if seen against the light (hence “perforatum”), although these are tiny translucent glands.

The flowers, which appear from June to September, are an inch across and have five widely-spaced yellow petals that have black dots on the edges. The stamens are in three bundles, which correspond to the three cells that are apparent in the seed capsule when it forms.

Common St John’s-wort was used extensively in medieval times as a medicinal plant. It was a stipulation of medieval herbal medicine that if a plant resembled a part of the human body then it had been made that way by God because it would cure diseases and injuries of that part. No part of common St John’s-wort has this correspondence, but the “punctures” on the leaves were thought to symbolise wounds, so the plant found a use in treating wounds, particularly if received in battle.

The name of the plant derives from this use, because it was part of the medical kit of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem during the Crusades.

Common St John’s-wort was also believed to have the power to drive away evil spirits. People would hang bunches of it over their doorway to keep the Devil at bay. If somebody believed that they had been possessed by a devil they would try prayer as their first resort but St John’s-wort as their second, wearing it on their person or strewing their cottage floor with it. 

© John Welford

Common scurvygrass

Common scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis) is a plant that grows around the British Isles on cliffs, seashores and in salt marshes, but only rarely inland. Despite its name it is not a grass but a member of the cabbage family.

The plant is hairless, throwing up long-stalked fleshy leaves that are shaped like hearts or kidneys. The lower leaves form a loose rosette. The plant grows to 20 inches (50 centimetres) in height.

The small white or lilac flowers appear from May to August. The seed-pods are globe-shaped.

Although the “grass” part of the name is a misnomer, the “scurvy” part is very relevant. The leaves are an excellent source of vitamin C and therefore offer protection against scurvy, which was a disease that afflicted sailors in past centuries whose food consisted almost entirely of salt pork and dried biscuits. When ashore, sailors would gather large quantities of scurvygrass from the surrounding area.

The plant was also used by non-sailors, given that outbreaks of scurvy could occur anywhere when fresh fruit and vegetables were not available, especially in winter. People in the 17th century would take a glass of “scurvygrass water” every morning, and a more appetising variant was a beer called “scurvygrass ale”.

© John Welford

Common poppy

The common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is a familiar sight throughout the British Isles (except northern Scotland) with its bright red flowers that appear on many roadside verges and on the edges of cornfields. It may therefore be surprising to learn that the petals drop after only one day, but this is hardly noticeable given that a single plant can produce more than 400 flowers between May and October.

The common poppy is a tall, upright plant that can grow to 24 inches high (60 centimetres). The lower leaves are stalked and have narrow lobes and bristles at the tips, whereas the upper leaves, with their three lobes, are stalkless.

The flowers are 3-4 inches across (7.5-10 centimetres) with overlapping petals. The seed capsules are rounded with a ring of pores near the top from which the seeds are shaken when the wind blows.

Another name for the common poppy is the corn rose, which relates to its association with cornfields and the fact that it used to be seen much more commonly growing alongside corn in the days before selective weedkillers.

The use of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance dates from World War I when it was one of the few plants that would grow on the devastated fields of Flanders after they had been shelled and fought over.

© John Welford

Common orache

Common orache (Atriplex patula) is commonly found on both cultivated and waste ground, especially near coasts, throughout the British Isles.

The plant is closely related to the goosefoots, and may be difficult to identify for this reason, but goosefoot flowers are bisexual whereas those of the common orache are either male or female. Also, the female flowers are enclosed by two green leaf-like structures called bracteoles, which are up to half an inch long. After flowering, the bracteoles hide the fruit.

Male flowers are more open, but the sepals and green petals are almost alike in appearance.

The common orache grows up to 40 inches (100 centimetres) high, flowering in August and September. The stems are branched and are often coloured red. The leaves are toothed.

© John Welford

Common milkwort

Common milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) grows on heaths, grasslands and dunes. It has the unusual feature of having four possible flower colours, namely white, blue, mauve or pink. This has given rise to its alternative name (in Ireland) of “four sisters”. Its more common name arises from the fact that medieval herbalists used infusions of it to increase the flow of milk in nursing mothers.

Common milkwort is a small plant, growing up to 4 inches (10 centimetres) in height. The stems have many branches and are woody at the base. The leaves grow on alternate sides up each stem.

The flowers of the common milkwort are unusual and attractive. Each one has five sepals, three of which are green and small but the other two are coloured and much larger. The eight stamens link together to form a tube which only just protrudes beyond the coloured sepals. One petal is much larger than the others, which are very small and are joined to the stamen tube. The larger petal is on the underside of the flower and has a fringe. The flowers appear from May to September.

The fruit of the common milkwort is flat and transparent.

© John Welford

Common mallow

Common mallow (Malva sylvestris) is often seen on waste ground and roadsides throughout the British Isles, although it is rarer in the far north of Scotland. It is related to plants such as hollyhock and hibiscus.

It grows to a height of up to 36 inches (90 centimetres). The leaves at the base are rounded but those growing off the stems are more like ivy leaves in shape. The flowers, which appear from June to September, are pink to purple and one to two inches across. They have five narrow petals that are marked with dark veins. The fruits are round and comprise a ring of nutlets; these have given rise to folk-names for mallow such as ‘billy buttons’ and ‘cheese flower’.

In ancient times mallow shoots were eaten as a vegetable, and the plant has also found medicinal uses. In medieval times it was believed that it acted as an anti-aphrodisiac for people who needed to be calmed down! More recently, its leaves have been used to treat wasp stings and the sap has been made into poultices and ointments.

© John Welford