Start the week with a wildflower No 5. Common Primrose, Primula vulgaris.
A symbol of hope and a welcome buffet for our long-tongued bumblebees and early butterflies such as brimstones. The leaves and flowers of the primrose are edible and the root and flowers contain a fragrant oil, traditionally used for flavouring syrup and tea. This lovely edible plant has a long cultural history - linked to its value as a provider of both food and healing. See link below.
Take time to play a game of “spot the difference” when you next pass a patch of Primroses. Some plants have pin-eyed flowers with the stigma visible as a “pin head” at the top of the flower tube, the stamens hidden below. Thrum-eyed flowers have a sightly scruffy collection of stamens visible in the centre, with the stigma out of sight below. The term “thrum” is an old weaving industry term describing unwoven threads at the end of a fibre. Visiting insects capture pollen onto different parts of their bodies depending on which type of flower they visit. A bumblebee visiting a thrum-eyed plant collects pollen on the base of his long tongue, out of reach of stigmas as he goes to other flowers on the plant, so preventing self pollination. Isn’t nature clever? Catherine Truscott’s lovely photo from the churchyard shows a thrum-eyed plant.
Disraeli loved Primroses, often wearing one in his buttonhole. Queen Victoria is said to have sent him some on his death bed, picked by her own hand. The Disraeli statue on Parliament Square is still decorated with his favourite flower on April 19th, Primrose Day.