Shining Crane's-bill (Geranium lucidum)

Family: Geraniaceae

Common name: Shining Crane's-bill

Scientific name: Geranium lucidum

Date taken: 23/4/2023

Notes: Leaves small, palmate, and shiny. Flower petals unnotched. 

Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis)

Family: Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)

Common name: Cuckooflower (Lady's-smock)

Scientific name: Caradamine pratensis

Date taken: 23/4/2023

Notes: Common plant in meadows and by streams. With distinctive rose-pink flowers.

Snake's-head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

Family: Liliaceae

Common name: Snake's-head Fritillary

Scientific name: Fritillaria meleagris

Date taken: 23/4/2023

Notes: A rare, iconic plant that inhabits wet wildflower meadows. The plant prefers seasonally flooded sites but seems to avoid permanently water-logged parts of the meadow. Vulnerable to collectors, but luckily this population appears to be spreading according to the locals. 

Springbeauty (Claytonia perfoliata)

Family: Portulacaceae / Montiaceae (APG) 

Common name: Springbeauty, Miner's Lettuce

Scientific name: Claytonia perfoliata

Date taken: 23/4/2023

Notes: A truly unique plant introduced from North America that is now naturalised in the UK. This population is found springing up from crevices in walls and stone paths.

Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium)

Family: Geraniaceae

Common name: Common Stork's-bill

Scientific name: Erodium cicutarium

Date taken: 9/4/2023

Notes: Compared to Musk Stork's-bill (E. moschatum), leaflets are much more deeply divided. Flowers larger than the Sticky Stork's-bill (E. lebelii). With fewer or no glandular hairs, the plant is also much less sticky. 

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)

Family: Ranunculaceae

Common name: Pasqueflower

Scientific name: Pulsatilla vulgaris

Date taken: 19/4/2023

Notes: Iconic species found on south-facing slopes of chalk grasslands. 

Oxlip (Primula elatior)

Family: Primulaceae

Common name: Oxlip

Scientific name: Primula elatior

Date taken: 19/4/2023

Notes: Plant with a restricted geographical distribution. Compared with the more common Cowslip (Primula veris), flowers are paler with spreading corolla. Compared to False Oxlip (P. vulgaris x veris), flowers dip towards the same direction. Also note that the orange speckles on the corolla tube is much less prominent in Oxlip. 

Like other Primula spp., individuals produce one of two flower types - thrum flowers or pin flowers.