Cuckoo Flower
A wildflower that may get its name from often being covered in cuckoo spit
The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) is an attractive wild flower that is commonly found in damp places throughout the British Isles as well as other countries.
The name has no direct connection with cuckoos and might come either from an association between its flowering time and the arrival of cuckoos in England, or that the fact that it is often found partly covered in foamy “cuckoo spit”, which also has nothing to do with cuckoos but is produced by the nymphs of the frog hopper beetle.
The cuckoo flower grows to a maximum height of 24 inches (60 centimetres). It is erect and hairless with divided leaves, the lowest of which form a rosette at the base.
The flowers, which appear from April to June, vary in colour from white to deep lilac. They grow in clusters and are more noticeable than some wild flower blooms because the petals are much more prominent than the green sepals.
The seed-pods grow upright on long stalks. When ripe they burst open to eject the seeds which, if caught by the wind, can therefore land and germinate at a distance from the parent plant.
Alternative names for the cuckoo flower are “milkmaid” and “lady’s smock”, due to associations with…