Another spring beauty....

Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis)

I seem to say this every time...but this is another of my favourite plants. The Cuckoo flower, part of the Cabbage family, flowers between April and June and loves moist conditions - stream sides, woods and meadows. We have several little colonies in our garden down by the river and where a small spring runs down to the river. The flowers are a lovely delicate lilac colour with slightly darker veins in them, but they can also be closer to white.

In astrology Cuckoo flower comes under the dominion of the moon.

Folklore

According to John Gerard, the 16th century herbalist, the flower got its name because it blooms "....for the most part in April and May, when the Cuckoo begins to sing her pleasant note without stammering." Another story links the name with cuckoo-spit, the foamy substance that often covers the plant. The foam is actually nothing to do with the cuckoo but is produced by the nymphs of the frog hopper.

Another commonly used name for this plant is 'Lady's smock' - my favourite name in fact. In many counties milkmaids used to call the plant 'Cuckoo flower' so you can see there is some confusion as to which common name prevails. Another common name is 'Milkmaids'. A plant of fairies, best left well alone, it was never knowingly included in the May Day garland and if used accidentally it could result in the whole wreath being rewoven.

In Austria it was thought that anyone who picked the plant would be bitten by an adder. In Germany people thought that if the plant was brought indoors the house would be struck b lightening.

Medicinal uses

Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century herbalist, lists a number of uses - the treatment of scurvy, 'provoking the urine', breaking the stone, effectually warming a cold and weak stomach, restoring a lost appetite and as an aid to digestion.

The plant contains vitamin C and it also has tonic and expectorant properties that makes it useful for treating coughs. It can also be used against dropsy, spasms and chronic skin conditions.

Edible uses

The young shoots, leaves and buds taste like watercress and can be sued in salads and with sandwich spreads.

William Shakespeare refers to the Lady's smock in his comedy 'Love's Labour's Lost':

"When daisies pied and violets blue

And lady-smocks all silver white,

And cuckoo buds of yellow hue

Do paint the meadows with delight"

The author of the book from which I draw these Shakespearean references (Eleanor Sinclair Rohde) goes on to say:

"No botanist would describe lady-smocks (her spelling) as 'silver-white' for, strictly speaking, the flowers are pale lavender, but to those of us who are country folk Shakespeare's phrasing rings true. For when their dainty flowers grow in thousands, the meadows seem agleam with them and in the spring sunlight they look as Shakespeare describes them - silver white. Cuckoo buds are surely buttercups, for what other flower of 'yellow hue' can be associated with lady-smocks to 'paint the meadows with delight"? She is, of course, not quite right as the flowers can often be almost pure white.