When I am out running, to keep myself amused I like to spot plants en route. If you are picturing a botanical version of Mo Farah, then sadly think again. There is no time to stop to get out the magnifying lens and consult the books, so the plants have to be easily identified and common. Two plants that have just come into flower are Garlic Mustard also known as Jack-by-the-hedge (Alliaria petiolata) growing in the semi-shade of the hedge-banks and ditches and Cuckooflower or Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis) dotted throughout damp meadows and pastures. As I jog by, I realise these plants have much in common, more than just both having two common English names.
They are both members of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae). Take a closer look - virtually all cabbage flowers have the same structure. First note the four separate petals forming a cross, which gave the family its old name of Cruciferae. Then gently pull the petals apart and look inside where there are six male stamens (four long, two short) and in the centre the female stigma, style and ovary. Following pollination and fertilisation, the ovary develops into the fruit or seed capsule. This comes in one of two varieties either long and thin as in our two species (similar to oilseed rape) or short and wide like Shepherd’s Purse or Honesty. Think of them together as the “Laurel and Hardy” of the plant world.
Whenever you encounter this arrangement in future you will know you have a member of the cabbage family. It is a large family, not just wild flowers but garden flowers like Aubrietia, Honesty and Wallflower and food crops such as Turnip, Cabbage, Broccoli, Watercress and many more.
Have you seen your first Orange-tip butterfly this year? If so, then it probably started life as an egg laid on one of these two plant species last May or June. Laid singularly, they turn from greenish-white to orange as it matures. The caterpillars, or larvae, would have hatched last June to July, feeding on their empty egg case and the plants foliage, developing seedpods and occasionally turning cannibalistic and eating their broodmates. They pupate from late June onwards and remain as a chrysalis over winter. Emerging in April onwards they are one of our earliest butterflies to be seen, usually not long after the Peacock and Brimstone, which have over wintered as the adult form ready to fly as soon as you get the first warm sunny day.
The male butterfly with its fiery orange tips is unmistakeable, but the female without the orange tips can be confused with other white butterflies. In this case you need to take a look at the blotchy camouflage pattern on the underwings, which allows for identification.
Finally, feeling peckish, then why not try some foraging, since both plants have their uses? The leaves of Cuckooflower can be added to salad, much like rocket, while Garlic Mustard is an alternative to Ramsoms for making wild garlic soup.
PLEASE NOTE: As always when foraging, make sure to correctly identify the plants and please forage sustainably. For example, the National Trust offer some guidelines: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/about-us/our-policy-on-foraging-for-wild-food