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Flowers by Colour
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Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine Pratensis - Lady's Smock - Western Isles - Wild Flowers - Wildflowers & Flora - Hebrides Flowers
These pretty pink wildflowers the cuckoo flowers are seen on the Western Isles and indeed throughout Scotland and The UK, really are pretty. As spring gets underway they open wide showing the bright yellow anthers. Hebridean wildflowers at their best.


Western Isles Wildflowers - Wild flowers of The Hebrides
Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine Pratensis
Western Isles Wildflowers - Isle of Lewis

 
Western Isles Wildflowers
A lovely light pink wildflower that starts to flower in The Hebrides in the spring. It grows in damp meadows and moorland and alongside banks and streams - anywhere where there is a dampness.

Clusters of Pink Flowers
The cuckoo flower or ladys smock as it is sometimes called has clusters of pale pink - almost lilac flowers - each with four petals. It flowers April - June and grows up to a height of 24 inches. The flowers are 1 to 2 cms across. The cuckoo flower has a rosette habit. The stamens are half the length of the petals.


Perennial
This lovely wild flower is a perennial which really does stand out - the yellow anthers being quite bright. and almost glisten in the grass.

Hermaphrodite - Male and Female
This wildflower has both male and female organs. The flowers are scented and are pollinated by bees
Flowers in Groups
The flowers occur in groups at the end of the flower stalk which droop and close up at night or during heavy rain

Leaves and Flowers Edible
The leaves at the upper part of the cuckooflower are narrower while the leaves at the bottom part are a bit rounder. The leaves are dark green and deeply lobed and become narrower towards the top. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible.


Name Derivation
The cuckoo flower is so called because it 's flowers come out at the same time of year as one hears the first cuckoo.

Other Names
These wildflowers also called lady's smock - the simile to a maids smock makes for a romantic notion of these flowers. When Christianity came this feminist association was attributed to the Virgin Mary - which led to the flowers also being called. my lady's smock, lady's glove. It is also sometimes called Lucy, Shoes and Stockings, Gilliflower, Apple Pie (which refers to the smell of the flowers) and many others.


Disperses Its Own Seed
The cuckoo flower sometimes disperses its own seed - the fruit being a dry capsule which when ripe the valves are ready to burst - they roll up and become detached and disperse the seeds in quite an explosion.


Bridal Bouquets
The Ladys Smock was often used in bridal bouquets - but never in the moth of May when it was thought to be unlucky - infact in France it wasn't used in May at all as it was believed to be the favourite plant of the adders and if you picked it in May - you would surely be bitten by an adder.

Medicinal Herbal Uses
As this lovely plant contains a lot of Vitamin C it has been used to prevent scurvy.

cuckoo flower - isle of lewis
 
Western Isles Wildflowers - Flora & Flowers of The Outer Hebrides - Hebridean Wild Flowers
Cuckoo Flower - Wildflowers - Isle of Lewis - Isle of Harris