CALL OF THE WILDFLOWER
I cannot imagine a world without flowers, particularly wildflowers. Apart from the pleasure that their beautiful intricacies give to us, how could we survive? What would sustain our pollinators whose existence depends upon them, and what would happen to us in a world without those insects?
Insects play a vital role in pollinating our food plants. Without them food plants would cease to be pollinated, there would be no seed for future crops and no harvest from plants needed for our medicines. Cultivated garden plants rarely provide enough nectar to nourish bees, wasps, butterflies and other insects whose presence is absolutely essential for our survival. Nectar and pollen are vital for the existence of insects who perform an
indispensable service to mankind. To try to replace those declining insects would be a mammoth task. It is hard to put a figure on what it would cost for humans to pollinate plants, as has happened in parts of China but a conservative estimate for Ireland would be around €59m. In China, pesticides have extinguished so many insects that hand-held paintbrushes wielded by humans are replacing them, by pollinating apple trees. But not only are wildflowers necessary for our continued existence – there is also their stunning beauty. To see what I mean, arm yourself with a hand lens, get down on your knees and just look at them. You will be amazed and inspired to learn more.
In early spring, a walk amid deciduous woodland can be soothing, stimulating or relaxing, depending on your mood, with the unmistakeably pungent aroma of ramsons AKA wild garlic. Its broad green leaves carpet the woodland floor with clusters of starry white flowers standing out among the vegetation. Towards the latter half of April and into May, there can be no more beautiful sight than swathes of bluebells – low, spreading clouds of blue filling the space between beech, ash and other woodland trees. Our true native bluebell is quite easy to distinguish from the non-native variety. The flowers of the native species are held on one (inner) side only, towards the top of an inverted Ushaped stem – a little like a shepherd’s crook – and the flowers are sweetly scented. Primroses and cowslips are just two other gifts that spring brings us. At one time declining dangerously, cowslips are making a welcome comeback.
As spring progresses, plants belonging to the cabbage family appear on roadside verges, in hedgerows and fields. This is cuckooflower or lady’s smock and bears pretty four-petalled pink or white flowers in clusters on erect stems. The flowering time of this species must coincide with the arrival of the orange-tip butterfly. It is the male that has the orange tips to its wings but his less gaudy mate must find a cuckooflower in order to lay her eggs under its flowers. When the little grubs emerge from the eggs, they feed on the seeds of the cuckooflower in a perfect demonstration of interdependence.
In order to chase away any remaining doubts about the usefulness of wildflowers to humans, just think of what we owe to them. Our ancestors must have tried every plant they found and, by a process of elimination, the most productive were cultivated. Most of our vegetables come from the major plant families. Vegetables such as the humble carrot have been developed from one of the largest of these families, the apiaceae family; cow parsley, wild carrot – also known as Queen
Anne’s Lace – and wild celery are just a few representing the family in the wild.
Another family that helps to feed the world with soya beans, lentils, peanuts, chick peas and other legumes, is the pea or fabiaceae family. Its wild cousins include one of our best-known wild plants, gorse, as well as lower-growing native wildflowers like bird’s-foot-trefoil. The latter also has a vital role to play in helping to sustain a delightful summer flyer, the common blue butterfly, demonstrating the interaction between plants and animals.
This summer, why not give our wildflowers a closer look – speedwells, forget-me-nots, violets, wild roses – they’re all there, in ditches, hedgerows and woods for you to enjoy.