Fact file

Common name: cowslip

Binomial: Primula veris

Family: cowslips belong to the Primulaceae family, a cousin to primroses, primulas, cyclamen and the scarlet pimpernel

Habitat: grazed grassland or traditional hay meadows on calcareous soils.

Description: like most Primulaceae, this is a perennial plant. Several flowers grow on a tall upright stem; the flowers are bright yellow; each made up from five petals fused into a tube. The leaves are dark green and crinkled and form a distinctive rosette.

Life Cycle: cowslips flower in the spring. Their seed ripens early in the summer and is scattered near the parent plant as grazing animals brush through the grass, or traditional hay meadows are cut and turned. If the surrounding grass is short enough, some of the seed will germinate before the end of the summer. Otherwise, seed germinates at the beginning of the next spring before the grass begins to grow. New plants are small and rarely flower in their first year. Cowslips also reproduce asexually, generating new rosettes at the end of short rhizomes.

Pollination: only pollinators with a long proboscis can reach the nectaries at the bottom of the tubular flower. There are red dots inside the flower, signals to the pollinators: this way to the nectar.

Conservation status: Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.