Cuckooflower
Cuckooflower
Wildflower
A pale-lilac flower of damp spring meadows — blooming as the first cuckoo calls, and a key foodplant for the orange-tip butterfly.
💡 Fun Facts
- Its pale lilac flowers open in spring just as the first cuckoos begin to call.
- It is also called lady's smock and grows best in damp meadows and beside streams.
- The orange-tip butterfly lays its eggs on the flower stalks, and its caterpillars eat the seed pods.
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:April to June
Name Story
Cardamine pratensis
means “Cress of the meadow”
What does its name mean?
- Cardamine — an old name for a sharp-tasting cressGreek
- pratensis — of the meadowLatinDecode this word →
A pale pink flower of damp spring meadows, from the cress family — its leaves have the same gentle peppery nip. It opens just as the first cuckoo is heard calling.