CUCKOOFLOWER

LADYS SMOCK

Cardamine Pratensis

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]

12t May 2009, extinct Bugsworth tramway, Dove Holes.

Photo: © RWD

Cuckooflower enjoys growing in damp soggy ground.

2nd May 2007, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Photo: © RWD

There are small groupings of pale-lilac flowers atop a very thin un-straight stalk.

20th April 2011, Birkdale, Sefton Coast.

Photo: © RWD

Widely separated singly-pinnate leaves appear alteranately on the stem. The leaflets are like fine feathers: very short and even more narrow, a little like those of Yarrow. The dark-green leaflets may be reddened to a dark purple sepia tone.

2nd May 2007, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Photo: © RWD

The flowers have four lilac-coloured petals, with a yellow centre. The seed pods which grow beneath the flowers are very narrow and cylindrical.

12th April 2007, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Diggle.

Photo: © RWD

The flowers are on very long, somewhat droopy stalks.

12th May 2009, Peters Dale, Debyshire.

Photo: © RWD

Birdseye view of a young plant. The sepals, greenish at first, turn yellow with reddish marks at the rounded tips.

2nd May 2007, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Photo: © RWD

Flower colour can vary from off-white through lilac to a deeper pink.

10th June 2009, Smardale, Yorkshire Dales.

Photo: © RWD

Some flowers are almost pure white.

2nd May 2007, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Photo: © RWD

Sepals turned a deep orange with reddish tips.

2nd May 2007, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Photo: © RWD

The four petals are round and overlap each other in the centre. Stamens number six, anthers yellowish green.

20th April 2011, Birkdale, Sefton Coast.

Photo: © RWD

Petals have deeper-lilac veins. The central 'disc' will become the cylindrical seed pod.

23rd April 2011, Birkdale Dunes, Sefton Coast.

Photo: © RWD

Fine linear leaflets very long and narrow, a few only to each singly-pinnate leaf, in singles on alternately opposite sides of the stem. From afar it looks as though the fine leaflets are on a circular stalk, but it is actually a flat stalk curled up tightly to form a slit cylinder. Leaflets reddish-brown at tips. Basal leaves (not shown) have rounded leaflets on single-pinnate leaves.

25th April 2009, Lancashire

A double-flowered form.

25th April 2009, Lancashire

Double-flowered form.

Hybridises with: Wavy Bittercress to produce Cardamine × fringsii, which occupies fewer than a dozen isolated tetrads in the southern half of England only.

Some similarities to : Greater Cuckooflower (but that has pinnate stem leaves with rounded rather than narrow leaflets), Coralroot (which has toothed stem leaves which are single rather than pinnate), Pinnate Coralroot (which grows in but four well isolated hectads).

Not un-like: Water Violet (but that has five petals and grows in shallow water) and to Dames Violet which is much taller.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics: Grows near water unlike Honesty which looks a little like it, but Honesty is much taller with purple (or white) flowers and large leaves.

Distinguishing Feature : The fine pinnate leaves roughly half-way down the otherwise bare stem.

No relation to : Lords and Ladies nor to Lady's Mantle, Lady's Slipper Orchid, Autumn Lady's Tresses, Irish Lady's Tresses, Lady's Bedstraw, Lady's Teardrops nor Lady Orchid, [plants with similar names]

ANY TEXT GOES HERE

Distribution
family8Cabbage family8Brassicaceae

BSBI maps

Cardamine