Cowslip

Primula veris

Plant Data

Order:

Ericales

Family:

Primulaceae (Primrose)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

Deep yellow bell-shaped drooping flower, hanging to one side of the stem. Orange at the base, up to 1.5cm.

Fruit:

A capsule which contains a warty seed.

Leaves:

The leaves are all undivided and appear from the base of the plant. They are similar to Primrose leaves but smaller and with a narrowed base. The leaves are oval and wrinkly with toothed margins.

Maximum Size:

25cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The flowers and leaves are both edible and have a sweet taste. The young leaves can be eaten raw, or put into soups and salads.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

Fragrant flowers.

Other Names:

Artetyke, Arthritica, Buckels, Bunch of Keys, Butter Rose, Common Cowslip, Coqueluchon, Coucou, Cowslip Primrose, Crewel, Cuy, Drelip, English Cowslip, Fairies' Flower, Fairy Caps, Freckled Face, Golden Drops, Herb de Saint Paul, Herb Peter, Key Flower, Key of Heaven, Lady's Key, Lippe, Long Legs, Mayflower, Milk Maidens, Our Lady's Keys, Paigle, Paigle Peggle, Palsywort, Paralysio, Password, Peagle, Peagles, Petty Mulleins, Plumrocks, Primerolle, Primula.

Habitats:

Grassland, hedgerows, meadows, scrub, woodland.