These four plants are looking particularly splendid on Cowbar in July. As August moves on, they will be joined by stands of Knapweed, Fleabane and Common Sow Thistle. The slow Autumn colours creep in.
*Please research carefully before trying any of the culinary or medicinal uses mentioned here!
WILD CARROT
Common names include Queen Anne’s Lace, Bird’s nest and Bishop’s Lace.
Leaves and roots do smell of carrots but the roots are only edible while young.* An orange dye can be made from the root.
The flowers can be battered and fried. *
Buds may be pink and have a tiny red centre, coloured by anthocyanin, to attract insects.
It attracts parasitic wasps, bees, beetles and hoverflies.
ROSEBAY WILLOWHERB
This is a ‘pioneer plant’ which thrives on rough ground.
Two centuries ago, it was rare in Britain.
It was called ‘Bombweed- it grew on bomb sites after the Blitz in London.
It has edible roots, shoots, leaves and flowers.*
A piece of raw stem can be used to treat cuts and boils.*
RAGWORT
Very beneficial to insects, it’s the food plant of the red and black cinnabar moths.
It’s a controversial plant which can be poisonous to livestock in silage or over-grazed fields.
It is one of the most frequently visited by UK butterflies and more than 200 species of invertebrate have been recorded on it.
There are 19 species of Ragwort in the wild in Britain.
RED CLOVER
Often used in crop rotation systems because it enriches soils by fixing nitrogen.
Bees love its pollen and nectar, including the carder bees, honeybees and red-tailed bumblebee.
Flowers and leaves can be medicinal and edible and can be used as garnishes or ground into flour.*