I took in the beautiful scenery of Dove Stone Nature reserve recently and on my walk I spotted Cowslip flowers growing in the groups. The other name of this flower is Cowslip Primrose (lat. Primula Veris).
Those flowers are perennial and also herbaceous. They thrive in partial shaded areas and also in the sunny ones. You can see those flowers in the meadows, hedgerows and woodlands.
Sadly, Cowslips are in decline in the wild. In some countries those flowers are protected.
In May you can admire Cowslips in Dove Stone. It is a spring flower, that symbolizes the pastures of rural England and is often found in cow pastures among the cow pat in meadows and fields. This is probably the origin of the name of those flowers.
Those flowers have yellow petals on long stem and green corrugated leaves growing close to the ground and forming a rosette. The flowers are trumpet-shaped and very eye-catching. At Dove Stone you can`t overlook them and they are widespread there.
Cowslips are an early nectar source for pollinators like for example bumblebees and bees. I had the opportunity to see pollinators working hard among the cowslips.
Those flowers have a sweet fragrant scent which attracts the early pollinators when blooming during April and May.
The young flowers and leaves are edible. Older ones contain saponins, that irritate mucous membranes and skin and for this reason, they are used in herbal medicine and for colds and coughs.
There is a general campaign to find these flowers in Europe under the #lookingforcowslips. While taking your selfie you can contribute and go out into nature, find cowslips, look inside the flower and share with others information. Collectively gathered information about the cowslip helps provide insight about those flowers and other plants.