BLUE WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
 

FLOWER COLOUR Comparison Page,
space,
Site Map page in its flower colour
NOTE Gallery with Continuation Pages from Page 2
...Blue - its page links in next 4 columns.
Use of Plant with Flowers

...Brown Botanical Names

...Cream Common Names, Coastal and Dunes, Sandy Shores and Dunes

...Green Broad-leaved Woods

...Mauve Grassland - Acid, Neutral, Chalk

...Multi-Cols Heaths and Moors

...Orange Hedgerows and Verges

...Pink A-G Lakes, Canals and Rivers

...Pink H-Z Marshes, Fens, Bogs

...Purple Old Buildings and Walls

...Red Pinewoods

...White A-D Saltmarshes. Shingle Beaches, Rocks and Cliff Tops

...White E-P Other

...White Q-Z Number of Petals


...Yellow A-G Pollinator

...Yellow H-Z Poisonous Parts

...Shrub/Tree River Banks and Other Freshwater Margins

BLUE WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
 

Lists of:-

Edible Plant Parts.

Flower Legend.

Food for
Butterfly/Moth.

Flowering plants of Chalk and Limestone Page 1
Page 2

Flowering plants of Acid Soil
Page 1

SEED COLOUR
Seed 1
Seed 2

BLUE WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
 

Habitat Lists:-

Coastal and Dunes.

Broad-leaved
Woods.

Grassland - Acid, Neutral, Chalk.

Heaths and Moors.

Hedgerows and Verges.

Lakes, Canals and Rivers.

Marshes, Fens,
Bogs.

Old Buildings and Walls.

Pinewoods.

River Banks and
other Freshwater Margins.

Saltmarshes.

Sandy Shores and Dunes.

Shingle Beaches, Rocks and
Cliff Tops.

Other.
 

BLUE WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
 

Number of Petals List:-
Without Petals. Other plants
without flowers.
1 Petal or
Composite of
many 1 Petal Flowers as Disc
or Ray Floret .
2 Petals.
3 Petals.
4 Petals.
5 Petals.
6 Petals.
Over 6 Petals.

BLUE WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
 

Lists of:-

Pollinator.

Poisonous Parts.

Scented Flower, Foliage, Root.

Story of their Common Names.

Use of Plant with Flowers

Use for Non-Flowering Plants

CREAM WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU

Site Map of pages with content (o)

Introduction

"SEASONS AND MONTHS

SPRING
Early: March
Mid: April
Late: May

SUMMER
Early: June
Mid: July
Late: August

AUTUMN
Early: September
Mid: October
Late: November

WINTER
Early: December
Mid: January
Late: February

" from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993 (ISBN 0 7153 0033 4).

WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
Site Map of pages with content (o)

Introduction

Poisonous Plants

INDEX LINK TO WILDFLOWER PLANT DESCRIPTION PAGE
a-h
i-p
q-z


FLOWER COLOUR
(o)Blue
(o)Brown
(o)Cream
(o)Green
(o)Mauve
(o)Multi-Coloured
Orange
(o)Pink 1
(o)Pink 2
(o)Purple
(o)Red
(o)White1
(o)White2
(o)White3
(o)Yelow1
(o)Yelow2
(o)Shrub or Small Tree

SEED COLOUR
(o)Seed 1
(o)Seed 2

BED PICTURES
(o)Bed

HABITAT TABLES
Flowers in
Acid Soil
Flowers in
Chalk Soil
Flowers in
Marine Soil
Flowers in
Neutral Soil
Ferns
Grasses
Rushes
Sedges
 

See Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines to aid your use of this website.

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 1

(o)Adder's Tongue
Amaranth
(o)Arrow-Grass
(o)Arum
(o)Balsam
Bamboo
(o)Barberry
(o)Bedstraw
(o)Beech
(o)Bellflower
(o)Bindweed
(o)Birch
(o)Birds-Nest
(o)Birthwort
(o)Bogbean
(o)Bog Myrtle
(o)Borage
(o)Box
(o)Broomrape
(o)Buckthorn
(o)Buddleia
(o)Bur-reed
(o)Buttercup
(o)Butterwort
(o)Cornel (Dogwood)
(o)Crowberry
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2
Cypress
(o)Daffodil
(o)Daisy
(o)Daisy Cudweeds
(o)Daisy Chamomiles
(o)Daisy Thistle
(o)Daisy Catsears (o)Daisy Hawkweeds
(o)Daisy Hawksbeards
(o)Daphne
(o)Diapensia
(o)Dock Bistorts
(o)Dock Sorrels

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 2

(o)Clubmoss
(o)Duckweed
(o)Eel-Grass
(o)Elm
(o)Filmy Fern
(o)Horsetail
(o)Polypody
Quillwort
(o)Royal Fern
(o)Figwort - Mulleins
(o)Figwort - Speedwells
(o)Flax
(o)Flowering-Rush
(o)Frog-bit
(o)Fumitory
(o)Gentian
(o)Geranium
(o)Glassworts
(o)Gooseberry
(o)Goosefoot
(o)Grass 1
(o)Grass 2
(o)Grass 3
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 1
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 2
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 3 (o)Hazel
(o)Heath
(o)Hemp
(o)Herb-Paris
(o)Holly
(o)Honeysuckle
(o)Horned-Pondweed
(o)Hornwort
(o)Iris
(o)Ivy
(o)Jacobs Ladder
(o)Lily
(o)Lily Garlic
(o)Lime
(o)Lobelia
(o)Loosestrife
(o)Mallow
(o)Maple
(o)Mares-tail
(o)Marsh Pennywort
(o)Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
 

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 3

(o)Mesem-bryanthemum
(o)Mignonette
(o)Milkwort
(o)Mistletoe
(o)Moschatel
Naiad
(o)Nettle
(o)Nightshade
(o)Oleaster
(o)Olive
(o)Orchid 1
(o)Orchid 2
(o)Orchid 3
(o)Orchid 4
(o)Parnassus-Grass
(o)Peaflower
(o)Peaflower Clover 1
(o)Peaflower Clover 2
(o)Peaflower Clover 3
(o)Peaflower Vetches/Peas
Peony
(o)Periwinkle
Pillwort
Pine
(o)Pink 1
(o)Pink 2
Pipewort
(o)Pitcher-Plant
(o)Plantain
(o)Pondweed
(o)Poppy
(o)Primrose
(o)Purslane
Rannock Rush
(o)Reedmace
(o)Rockrose
(o)Rose 1
(o)Rose 2
(o)Rose 3
(o)Rose 4
(o)Rush
(o)Rush Woodrushes
(o)Saint Johns Wort
Saltmarsh Grasses
(o)Sandalwood
(o)Saxifrage
 

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 4

Seaheath
(o)Sea Lavender
(o)Sedge Rush-like
(o)Sedges Carex 1
(o)Sedges Carex 2
(o)Sedges Carex 3
(o)Sedges Carex 4
(o)Spindle-Tree
(o)Spurge
(o)Stonecrop
(o)Sundew
(o)Tamarisk
Tassel Pondweed
(o)Teasel
(o)Thyme 1
(o)Thyme 2
(o)Umbellifer 1
(o)Umbellifer 2
(o)Valerian
(o)Verbena
(o)Violet
(o)Water Fern
(o)Waterlily
(o)Water Milfoil
(o)Water Plantain
(o)Water Starwort
Waterwort
(o)Willow
(o)Willow-Herb
(o)Wintergreen
(o)Wood-Sorrel
(o)Yam
(o)Yew

Site design and content copyright ©January 2016. New Common Names and Botanical Names added February 2021. Chris Garnons-Williams.

DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.

The wild flowers in this book (Wild Flowers of Britain by Sarah Garland). Published in 1978 by ARTUS Publishing Company Limited for Marks and Spencer Ltd) have been grouped under chapter headings according to where they grow. Each plant is seen against its natural background and the influences that shape it: the weather, rich and poor soils, animals and man:-

• The history of British Flowers
• Chalk and limestone flowers
• Arable and wasteground flowers
• Flowers of the woods and hedgerows
• Grassland and roadside flowers
• Freshwater flowers
• Fen and marshland flowers
• Heath, moor and bogland flowers
• Mountain flowers
• Flowers of the sea coast

The English Flower Garden Design, Arrangement, and Plans followed by A description of all the best plants for it and their culture and the positions fitted for them By W. Robinson Author of the "Wild Garden". Fourth Edition. Published by John Murray in London in 1895 is a useful source of culture and positions for them, as is
The Gardener' Golden Treasury incorporating Sanders Encyclopedia of Gardening. Revised by A.G.L. Hellyer and published in 1960 by W.H. & L. Collingridge Limited.

WILDFLOWER INDEX

See Wildflower Common Name Index link Table ON A PAGE for more wildflower of the UK common names - from Adder's Tongue to the Goosefoot Family - together with their names in languages from America, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
See Wildflower Botanical Name Index link table ON A PAGE for wildflower of the United Kingdom (Great Britain) botanical names, from Adder's Tongue to the Goosefoot Family.
Neither of the above 2 pages will be further updated, due to 1. Running out of space on each of the pages and 2. being replaced by the Botanical Names and Common Names Galleries from July 2020:-
Botanical Names with Common Name, Wild Flower Family, Flower Colour and Form Index of each of all the Wildflowers of the UK in 1965 are in PAGES IN THE GALLERY Brown Wildflower Gallery with page links in the top row.
Common Names with Botanical Name, Wild Flower Family, Flower Colour and Form Index of each of all the Wildflowers of the UK in 1965 are PAGES IN THE GALLERY in Cream Wildflower Gallery with page links in the top row.
Plant description, culture, propagation and photos/illustrations will be provided for every wildflower plant (from February 2021) in these 2 galleries.

After clicking on the WILD FLOWER Common Name INDEX link to Wildflower Family Page; locate that Common name on that Wildflower Family Page, then
Click on Underlined Text in:-
Common Name to view that Plant Description Page
Botanical Name to link to Plant or Seed Supplier
Flowering Months to view photos
Habitat to view further Natural Habitat details and Botanical Society of the British Isles Distribution Map
 

Common Name

Botanical Name

Height x Spread in inches (cms)
(1 inch = 2.5 cms,
12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms,
24 inches = 2 feet,
3 feet = 1 yard,
40 inches = 100 cms)

WildFlower Family Page

Flower Colour

Form

Frog Orchid

Coeloglossum viride

Frog-bit

Flower

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

July-August

Female Flower

The above first 2 small photos were taken by Ron or Christine Foord.

Frog-bit Family

Foliage

The remaining 2 small photos were taken by BritishFlora

The floating rosettes of this perennial are found in shallow, calcareous, mesotrophic or meso-eutrophic water in the sheltered bays of lakes or in ponds, canals and ditches. Reproduction is primarily vegetative; viable seed is sometimes set, but seedlings are probably rare.

Form

Frosted Orache

Atriplex laciniata
(Atriplex sabulosa, Atriplex arenaria)

August-September

Plate 72

Illustrated
 

Goosefoot Family

A decumbent, widely spreading annual of sand and shingle beaches, more rarely found on saltmarsh-sand dune transitions and saltmarsh drift-lines. Populations are usually small and often of sporadic appearance. A. laciniata typically occurs with Cakile maritima, Salsola kali and other Atriplex species in a mixed strandline community.

Fumitory

Fumaria officinalis

Fumitory Fumaria officinalis from Wild Flowers as They Grow- Photographed by H. Essenhigh Corke, text by G. Clark Nuttall. Published by Cassell and Company, Ltd in 7 separate books between 1911 and 1914:-

It has blue-green, fern-like foliage, and spikes of quaintly shaped pink flowers.
It is a weed of cultivation - - that is, it occurs in waste places on the edges of cultivated land where the soil is good; it is chiefly common in the cornfields.
It first springs up as a clump of leaves, each leaf being a pretty grey blue-green colour, and divided into many segments, so that it rther reminds one of some kinds of maidenhair fern. As the days pass the stem lengthens, but is always weakly, and either trails along the ground for 24 inches (60 cms) or else attempts a little climbing by the aid of its leaf-stalks. The flowers grow in spikes, the youngest buds at the top, and they appear as if they are attached at the side rather than at their base to their very short stalks. Each is pink (rarely white); the pink deepening into a purplish hue at the tip. It has 4 petals formed into a long tubular box. It is pollinated by bees.

Furze

Fyfield Pea
(Lathyrus tuberosus)
Used within lifecycle of Butterfly Wood White,

Gallant Soldier
(Galinsoga parviflora)
See Common Name Extras 61

Ulex europaeus

Garden Chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium

Garden Everlasting Pea

Lathyrus latifolius

Peaflower Vetches/Peas Family

Photo from Flowers of Europe A Field Guide by Oleg Polunin. Published by Oxford University Press in 1969.

Garden Cress
(Cresson alenois, Cresson des jardins, Halim, Kresse, Least Pepperwort, Salad Cress Plain Leaf)

Flower

Garden Orache (Atriplex hortensis)
is Edible,

Garden Radish
(Raphanus sativus)
See Common Name Extras 60

Lepidium sativum

June-August

Flowers

The 4 small photos above were taken by Ron or Christine Foord

12 x 12
(30 x 30)

Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1 Family

Foliage

An annual of waste and ruderal habitats, arising principally from bird-seed and culinary sources, and usually occurring as a casual. Lowland.
Garden Cress is added to soups, sandwiches and salads for its tangy flavor.

Form

"Annual Herb with pale slender tap-root and a single erect stem. Cultivated as a salad plant (the cress of 'mustard and cress') all over the world. Wild forms seem native in Egypt and West Asia. An occasional escape.White or Reddish flowers in June-July are followed by broadly elliptical seed pods. These flowers are Fragrant and visited by small insects." from Garden Cress page.

Garden Strawberry

Garden Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
is Edible,

Fragaria x ananassa

Garlic-Mustard
(Alliare officinale, Erbe Sophia, Erva Adheira, Hedge Garlic, Hierba del Ajo, Jack-by-the-Hedge, Knoblauchsrauke, Lauchkraut, Lauchrauch, St. Sophia's Herb)

is Edible,
Used within lifecycles of
Butterfly Green-veined White,
Butterfly Orange Tip,

Flower

Alliaria petiolata
(Alliaria officinalis, Arabis petiolata, Erysimum alliaria, Sisymbrium alliaria)

April-June

Flowers

The 4 small photos above were taken by Ron or Christine Foord

12-36 x 8
(30-90 x 21)

Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1 Family

Foliage

A biennial or monocarpic herb, found in a wide range of habitats including disturbed woodland, woodland edges and clearings, shaded hedge banks, river-banks, the base of walls, road verges, waste ground, farmyards and gardens. It grows especially well on relatively fertile, moist soils, but avoids only the most acidic sites.

Form

"Biennial Herb with a tap-root smelling strongly of garlic and an erect, usually unbranched stem, which grows in dry Hedgerows and wood margins, shady gardens, wall bases and beechwoods on chalk in part shade. It has Pale Green foliage, smelling of garlic when crushed; and White flowers in April-June. It is visited by various small insects but automatically self-pollinated." from Garlic-Mustard page.

Photo from Flowers of Europe A Field Guide by Oleg Polunin. Published by Oxford University Press in 1969.

Garlic Mustard Alliaria officinalis from Wild Flowers as They Grow- Photographed by H. Essenhigh Corke, text by G. Clark Nuttall. Published by Cassell and Company, Ltd in 7 separate books between 1911 and 1914:-

Late April! And on the hedge-bank the Garlic Mustard stands in huge battalions, each stem stiffly erect, each carrying a flatish, white head, each flanked by great heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are turning towards the direction whence their insect visitors may be expected to come; the leaves are adjusting themselves to obtain that full measure of light which is vital to them if they adequately to keep going the food manufacturing processes within their borders.
Hot juices run through its tissues - tasted, they bite the tongue like mustard, stamping the plant indelibly upon a child's memory. Because it grows by the hedgeside open to all, it has come to us as "Poor Man's Mustard" and "Beggarman's Oatmeal".
The flattish flower clusters are made up of buds and small white flowers, whose petals form a cross. Each flower is built up of 4 green sepals, 4 white petals, 6 stamens, and a single ovary, style, and two-lobed stigma.
The fruit of the Garlic Mustard is in the form of narrow pods, that stand out like stiff horns an inch (2.5 cm) long and contain a number of seeds. It was once "eaten by many country people as sauce to their salt fish, and helps well to digest the crudities and other corrupt humours engendered thereby" says Culpepper.

Gean

Prunus avium

Germander Speedwell
(Birdseye Speedwell)

Used within lifecycle of
Butterfly Heath Fritillary,
Blue Wildflower,

Giant Bellflower
(Campanula latifolia)
See Common Name Extras 59

Flower

Veronica chamaedrys

Flowers brilliant azure blue with a white eye, rarely pink or lilac, in erect spikes at the base of the well-toothed, pointed oval leaves, with short or no stalks in April-July.

Fruits conspicuously hairy, broadly heart-shaped shorter than the pointed calyx-lobes.

Flowers

These 4 small photos were taken by Ron or Christine Foord last century

Figwort Family

4-12 x
(10-30 x )

Foliage

Culture - Soil, rich, sandy loam. Position - sunny borders. Plant, March or April. Top-dress with decayed manure in spring.

Propagation - By division of roots in autumn or spring; seeds sown in light soil in shade outdoors in April.

Blue

A stoloniferous perennial herb of woods, hedge banks, grassland, rock outcrops, upland screes, road verges, railway banks and waste ground, found on most soil types except the most impoverished. It also occurs on anthills on chalk downland. It spreads vegetatively by prostrate stems which root at the nodes; reproduction from seed appears to be comparatively rare.

Form

See illustration on Page 156 in Wild Flowers by Colour by Marjorie Blamey. Published in 2005 by A&C Black.

Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys from Wild Flowers as They Grow- Photographed by H. Essenhigh Corke, text by G. Clark Nuttall. Published by Cassell and Company, Ltd in 7 separate books between 1911 and 1914:-

The flower will not bear handling, and so lightly attached is the brilliant petal-ring that the least withering, the least jaring, shatters the attachment, and it slips away.
The Germander, from the form of the leaves like unto small oak leaves, had the name chamaedrys given it, which signifieth a dwarf oak.
The legend of Saint Veronica is how she gave a cloth to the Saviour to wipe the sweat from His brow on the way to the cross, and how the cloth ever after bore the imprint of His face. It was said that the white centre of the flower, which stands out so vividly in the midst of the blueness, was the sign of the holy handkerchief, and hence the flower was sacred to and named after the saint.
The flower closes at night and opens in the morning. It also closes before and during rain.
The stem is weak and creeping at its base, but raises itself, perhaps 12 inches (30 cms), to carry up the flowers which are massed together to be more attractive.

Giant Fescue
(Tall Brome,
Giant Brome,
Green Giant Fescue, Riesen-Schwingelgras)

Festuca gigantea
(Schedonorus gigantea, Bromus giganteus, Lolium giganteum)

July-August

Grass 2 Family

A tufted perennial herb of moist woodland on neutral to base-rich soils, often associated with Brachypodium sylvaticum and Bromopsis ramosa. It is particularly frequent beside streams, along rides, in disturbed areas in clearings and on woodland margins, and as a colonist of secondary woodland. It is dispersed by its fruits, which adhere to fur and clothing.

Giant Hogweed

Heracleum mantegazzianum

Fat Duckweed
(Inflated Duckweed, Swollen Duckweed, Gibbous Duckweek)

Lemma gibba

June-July

Duckweed Images

Duckweed Family

Foliage.

Lemna gibba photographed from above by John W. Cross is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

This buoyant duckweed is a plant of still or slowly flowing, eutrophic water in ponds, canals, ditches or the quiet backwaters of rivers; it can also grow in brackish water. In very eutrophic sites it may form dense masses which exclude other aquatics. It reproduces by vegetative budding, though it flowers slightly more freely than our other Lemnaceae. Lowland. Commonly used in toxicity testing. Semi-continuous culture system in laboratory Lemna gibba bioassays. Potential of using this plant for arsenic phytoremediation of mine tailing waters.

Gipsy-wort

Lycopus europaeus

Glabrous Tower-cress

Turrititis glabra

Glaucous Club-rush

Scirpus tabernaemontani

Glaucous Sedge

Carex flacca

Globe Flower

Flower

Trollius europaeus

May-August

Seed-head

These 4 small photos were taken by Ron or Christine Foord last century

Buttercup Family

Foliage

A perennial herb of cool, damp habitats, including hay meadows, stream and river banks, lake margins, open woodland and rock ledges. It prefers basic soils, and is often associated with limestone. It is sensitive to grazing, but can persist as small, non-flowering plants in the uplands.

Form

Photo from Flowers of Europe A Field Guide by Oleg Polunin. Published by Oxford University Press in 1969.

Goatsbeard
(Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon , Johnny-go-to-bed-at-noon)

Flower

Tragopogon pratensis

June onwards

Seedhead

The 3 small photos above were taken by Ron or Christine Foord

Daisy Catsears Family

Foliage

An annual to perennial herb of tall grassland in meadows and pastures, on field margins, sand dunes, roadsides, railway banks and waste ground.

Gold of Pleasure
(Big-seed False Flax, Camelina, Camelina pilosa, Cameline ciliee, Dandakorn, False Flax, Leindotter, Saat-Leindotter, Tsitsmati)

Camelina sativa
(Camelina parodii, Camelina pilosa, Myagrum sativum)

June onwards

Campanula cervicaria -
See Botanical Name Extras 91

Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1 Family

An annual, now occurring mainly as a casual on rubbish tips and waste ground, and in gardens. It was formerly a frequent weed of arable fields and a contaminant of flax seed. Lowland. It has been cultivated as an oilseed crop to produce vegetabe oil and animal feed.

Golden Dock

Rumex maritimus

June onwards

Dock Sorrels Family

An annual to short-lived perennial herb, growing on the margins of pools, lakes, rivers and ditches, in clay-pits and wet hollows in marshy fields. Its sites are usually waterlogged in winter, but it occasionally occurs on dry ground. It can tolerate mildly saline conditions. Lowland.

Native in much of Europe, except in Portugal, Spain, Iceland, Albania, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria

Golden-Rod
(European Goldenrod)

Flower

Photo by BritishFlora

Solidago virgaurea
(Solidago virga aurea)

July-September

Flowers
Photo by BritishFlora

"It is one of the essential components of a traditional herbaceous border.
Plant between mid-autumn and early spring, 24 (60) apart in any soil within borders in sun or part shade.
Very attractive to moths, as well as a wide range of other insect species. The fluffy seedheads later in the autumn are particularly relished by seed-eating birds. " from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993 (ISBN 0 7153 0033 4).

36-60 x 36
(90-150 x 90)

Daisy Cudweeds Family

Foliage

The remaining 2 small photos above were taken by Ron or Christine Foord

A perennial herb of free-draining, usually acidic (occasionally basic) substrates in a wide range of habitats. In the lowlands these include woods, hedge banks, heaths, banks and coastal cliff-tops; in the uplands, cliff ledges, rocks by waterfalls, rocky streamsides, tall-herb communities in gullies, montane grass-heath and fell-field.

Form

Golden Rod Solidago viga aurea from Wild Flowers as They Grow- Photographed by H. Essenhigh Corke, text by G. Clark Nuttall. Published by Cassell and Company, Ltd in 7 separate books between 1911 and 1914:-

Tall slender wands, green below, but blazing with clusters of golden stars above, wave in the hedgerows and add their quota to the prevailing golds of the late days of August.
Solidago virga aurea is literally the Solidago Golden Rod. It grows in our lanes and woodlands, and this prefers the poorer soils, and is specially noticeable in hilly districts.
From the little tufted root which lasts on year after year arise straight, stiff, unbranching stems. Down by the root are larger leaves with stalks, but higher up the stem the leaves are long and narrow, with slightly toothed edges and no stalks to speak of. The leaves arrange themselves with regard to the direction of the light, so that they may all get their fair share of the sun and there be no undue shadowing one of another.
For each of the blossoms is not a single flower at all, but it is 2 sections of flowers - the outer 5 or 6 yellow petals are female flowers. In the centre of the ray florets are tubular florets, each a perfect little flower, as in the daisy. These are hermaphrodite flowers - i.e. both male and female. It is insect and bee pollinated.
After the blooms wither, then small, rather dingy, feathery balls, feathery because each minute seed is crowned with a ring of single hairs, and the golden wand becomes a long-handled feathery brush. The wind breaks this ball up and the seeds fly off for a voyage of discovery to their new home when landed on the ground.

Golden Samphire

Flower

Inula crithmoides
(Crithmum maritimum)

July-August

Flowers

The 4 small photos above were taken by BritishFlora

Daisy Family

Foliage

A perennial herb of two distinct types of habitat. On sea-cliffs it grows on ledges, in crevices and in open turf on calcareous or base-rich rocks, where it is often rooted in soil enriched with calcareous shell sand. In S.E. England it also occurs in saltmarshes, growing in low-marsh sites on coarse sand and above this on moderately organic soils, frequently where drift-litter accumulates.

Form

Golden Saxifrage

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium

Saxifrage Family

Photo from Flowers of Europe A Field Guide by Oleg Polunin. Published by Oxford University Press in 1969.

Goldilocks Buttercup in the Buttercup Family and Wood Goldilocks

Flower

Ranunculus auricomus

April-May

Foliage

Above 4 small photos were taken by Ron or Christine Foord last century

16 x 12
(40 x 30)

Buttercup Family

Leaf

A perennial, characteristic of deciduous woodland on chalk, limestone and other basic soils. It also grows in scrub, on roadsides and in churchyards, and rarely on open moorland sheltered by boulders and on montane ledges. It is apomictic, showing considerable variation throughout Europe, though the agamospecies have not yet been formally described in our area.

Form

"Perennial Herb with a short stock, numerous fibrous roots and numerous stems, erect and slightly branched grows in moist Woodland, occasionally on rocks throughout England, Wales and Scotland in Part Shade. Its golden-yellow flowers are visited by various flies and small bees." from Wood Goldilocks page.

Goldilocks

(Goldilocks Aster)

Flower

Linosyris vulgaris
(Chrysocoma linosyris, Crinitaria linosyris,
Aster linosyris)

September-October

Flowers

Above 4 small photos were taken by Ron or Christine Foord last century

Daisy Cudweeds Family

Foliage

A perennial herb of shallow soil in open, grassy habitats on limestone sea-cliffs and rocky slopes, cliff-top grassland and wind-pruned heath overlying limestone. It is a poor competitor, and is usually intolerant of heavy grazing, although in Pembrokeshire it is found in low-growing, sheep-grazed, cliff-top grassland and heath. It seems to be self-incompatible and some small populations appear to represent single, self-sterile clones.

Form

UKButterflies Larval Foodplants website page lists the larval foodplants used by British butterflies. The name of each foodplant links to a Google search. An indication of whether the foodplant is a primary or secondary food source is also given.

Please note that the Butterfly you see for only a short time has grown up on plants as an egg, caterpillar and chrysalis for up to 11 months, before becoming a butterfly. If the plants that they live on during that time are removed, or sprayed with herbicide, then you will not see the butterfly.
 

Plants used by the Butterflies follow the Plants used by the Egg, Caterpillar and Chrysalis as stated in
A Butterfly Book for the Pocket by Edmund Sandars.
Published by Oxford University Press London: Humphrey Milford in 1939.
 

Plant Name

Butterfly Name

Egg/ Caterpillar/ Chrysalis/ Butterfly

Plant Usage

Plant Usage Months

Alder Buckthorn

Brimstone

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.

Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June
28 days.
12 days.

Aspen

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May
9 days in June.

Black Medic

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Chalk-Hill Blue

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---

Late August-April
April-June
1 Month

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Bitter Vetch

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Borage

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September.

3 weeks in September

Bramble

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Buckthorn

Holly Blue

Egg,


Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---


 

7 days.


28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Buckthorn -
Alder Buckthorn and Common Buckthorn

Brimstone

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.

Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June.

28 days.
12 days.

Burdocks

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Cabbages - ELarge White eats all cruciferous plants, such as cabbages, mustard, turnips, radishes, cresses, nasturtiums, wild mignonette and dyer's weed

Large White
 

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

40-100 eggs on both surfaces of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August-Early September. 4.5-17 days.
30-32 days
14 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till April

Cabbages

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Cabbages:-
Charlock,
Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock),
Hedge-Mustard,
Garlic-Mustard,
Yellow Rocket (Common Winter-Cress),
Watercress

Green-veined White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis


 

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---


 

July or August; hatches in 3 days.
16 days.
14 days in July or for caterpillars of August, they overwinter till May.

Cabbages:-
Charlock,
Creeping Yellow-cress,
Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock),
Dame's Violet,
Hedge-Mustard,
Horseradish,
Garlic-Mustard,
Lady's Smock,
Large Bittercress,
Rock-cress (Common Winter-Cress),
Yellow Rocket (Common Winter-Cress),
Watercress,
Wild Turnip

Orange Tip

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg laid in the tight buds and flowers.
Eats leaves, buds, flowers and especially the seed pods.
---

May-June 7 days.

June-July 24 days.

August-May

Cherry with
Wild Cherry,
Morello Cherry and
Bird Cherry

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Pale Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.

 

10 days in May-June.
July-August.
17 days in August-September.

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Cocksfoot is a grass

Large Skipper

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

11 Months
3 weeks from May

Cow-wheat

(Common CowWheat, Field CowWheat)

Heath Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until end of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until June.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April



25 days in June.

Currants
(Red Currant,
Black Currant and Gooseberry)

Comma

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Devilsbit Scabious

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on oak or pine tree trunk
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.

Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 15 days in May-June.
July-May.



9 days in June.

Dog Violet with
Common Dog Violet,
Heath Dog Violet and
Wood Dog Violet

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.

Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates in dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until April.
---

Hatches after 10 days in May-June.
June-April



April-June.

Dogwood

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Elm and Wych Elm

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

False Brome is a grass (Wood Brome, Wood False-brome and Slender False-brome)

Large Skipper

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

...
11 Months
3 weeks from May

Foxglove

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May



15 days in May.

Fyfield Pea

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Garden Pansy

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf or stem.
Feeds on leaves until July. Hibernates in dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until April.
---

Hatches after 10 days in May-June.
June-April


April-June.

Gorse

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Heartsease

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September.

3 weeks in September

Hogs's Fennel

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September.


September-May.

Holly

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Honesty (Lunaria biennis)

Orange Tip

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg laid in the tight buds and flowers.
Eats leaves, buds, flowers and especially the seed pods.
---

May-June 7 days.

June-July 24 days.

August-May

Honeysuckle

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Hop

Comma

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Horseshoe vetch

Adonis Blue




Chalk-Hill Blue


Berger's Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar

Chrysalis

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg,


Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

---

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---

1 egg on leaf.


Eats leaves.

---

1 then
June-March or September to July
3 weeks.

Late August-April.
April-June
1 Month

8-10 days in Late May-June or Middle August-September
June-July or September to October
8-15 days

Ivy

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Kidney Vetch

Chalk-Hill Blue

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis
Butterfly

1 egg at base of plant.
Eats leaves.
---
Eats nectar.

Late August-April.
April-June
1 Month
20 days

Lucerne

Pale Clouded Yellow



Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis


Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.



1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

10 days in May-June.
July-August.
17 days in August-September.

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Mallows

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Melilot

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Mignonettes

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Milk Parsley

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September


September-May

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Heath Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until end of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats young leaves until June.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April.



25 days in June.

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Glanville Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until middle of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until April-May.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April.



25 days in April-May.

Nasturtium from Gardens

Small White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf.

Eats leaves.
---
 

May-June and August. 7 days.
28 days.
21 days for May-June eggs, or overwinter till March

Oak Tree

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on tree trunk
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Mountain pansy,
Seaside Pansy,
Field Pansy and Cultivated Pansy.
 

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar

 

Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves of borage, sainfoin and heartsease, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September
 

3 weeks in September

Pine Tree

Silver-washed Fritillary

Egg,
Caterpillar



Chrysalis

1 egg on tree trunk.
Hibernates in a crevice in the bark of the tree trunk.
Moves out of tree to eat Dog Violet leaves.
On rock or twig.

15 days in July.
August-March.

March-May.

Late June-July

Plantains

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May



15 days in May.

Poplar

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Restharrow

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Rock-rose

Brown Argus

Egg,
Caterpillar

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

Sainfoin

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg laid under the leaf or on top of the flower.
Eats leaves, then before pupating it eats the bloom and leaves of the pansies.
---

7 days in August.

23 days in August-September

3 weeks in September

Common Sallow (Willows, Osiers)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Sea Plantain

Glanville Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until middle of August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until April-May.
---

Hatches after 16 days in June.
June-April



25 days in April-May.

Snowberry

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---
 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Spindle-tree

Holly Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

 

1 egg on underside of a flower bud on its stalk.
Eats flower bud.
---

 

7 days.

28-42 days.
18 days. Early September to Late April for second generation.

Stinging Nettle

Comma




Painted Lady



Peacock

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Egg,


Caterpillar

Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

Dense mass of 450-500 eggs on the under side of leaves over a 2 hour period.
Eats leaves, and moves to another plant before pupating.
---

2 weeks in June.
7-11 days.
7-11 days.

14 days in April-May.


28 days.

13days.

Storksbill

Brown Argus

Egg,
Caterpillar

1 egg under leaf.
Eats leaves.

Thistles

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks
7-11days
7-11 days

Trefoils 1, 2, 3

Clouded Yellow

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
 

6 days in May-June.
30 days.
18 days in July-August.

Vetches

Common Blue

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

Groups of eggs on upper side of leaf.
Eats buds and flowers.


Base of food plant.

-
-
Spend winter at the base of the food plant. They resume feeding in March.
2 weeks

Vetches

Wood White

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg laid on underside of leaflets or bracts.
Eats leaves.
---

7 days in June.

32 days in June-July.
July-May.

Violets:-
Common Dog Violet,
Hairy Violet,
Heath Dog-violet
Pale Dog violet
Sweet Violet

Dark Green Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on underside of leaf or on stalk.
Hibernates where it hatches.
Eats leaves.

Base of food plant.

July-August for 17 days.

Spends winter on plant until end of March. Eats leaves until end of May.
4 weeks.

Violets:-
Common Dog Violet,
Hairy Violet,
Heath Dog-violet
Pale Dog violet
Sweet Violet

High Brown Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

1 egg on stem or stalk near plant base.
Feed on young leaves, stalks and stems
---

July to hatch in 8 months in March.
9 weeks ending in May.

4 weeks

Vipers Bugloss

Painted Lady

Egg,
Caterpillar
Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf.
Eats leaves.
---

2 weeks.
7-11days.
7-11 days

Whitebeam
(White Beam)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Wild Angelica

Swallowtail

Egg,


Caterpillar


Chrysalis

1 egg on leaf. 5 or 6 eggs may be deposited by separate females on one leaf.
Eats leaves, and moves to stems of sedges or other fen plants before pupating.
---

14 days in July-August.


August-September.


September-May

Willow
(Bay Willow)

Large Tortoiseshell

Egg,

Caterpillar
Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches encircling the branch of the food plant.
Feeds on leaves.
Hangs suspended from stem.

Hatches after 18-22 days in April.
30 days in May.
9 days in June.

Wood-Sage

Marsh Fritillary

Egg,

Caterpillar



Chrysalis

Eggs laid in batches on the under side of the leaves.
Feeds on leaves until late August. Hibernates on dead leaves until March. Eats leaves until May.
---

Hatches after 20 days in July.
July-May.



15 days in May.

Plant Name

Butterfly Name

Egg/ Caterpillar/ Chrysalis/ Butterfly

Plant Usage

Plant Usage Months

Asters
in gardens

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

Runner and Broad Beans in fields and gardens

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Aubretia in gardens

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Birch

Holly Blue

Butterfly

Eats sap exuding from trunk.

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Chalk-Hill Blue

Wood White

Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

20 days.


May-June.

30 days in May-June.

Bitter Vetch

Wood White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June

Bluebell

Holly Blue




Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.


June.



June-August.

Bramble

Comma

Silver-washed Fritillary

High Brown Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

7 weeks in July-August.



June-August

Buddleias
in gardens

Comma

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-May

Bugle

Wood White

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June.

June.



June-August.



June-July.

Cabbage and cabbages in fields

Large White


Small White


Green-veined White

Orange Tip

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September.

A Month during May-June or second flight in late July-August.

May-June for 18 days.

Charlock

Painted Lady

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Painted Lady

Peacock

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September

20 days in August.


July-October.

July-May.

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Clovers 1, 2, 3

Pale Clouded Yellow


Clouded Yellow


Berger's Clouded Yellow


Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

1 Month in May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

May-September.

Cow-wheat
(Common CowWheat, Field CowWheat)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock)

Wood White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June

Dandelion

Holly Blue



Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

30 days in May-June.

Fleabanes

Common Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

3 weeks between May and September

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys - Birdseye Speedwell)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Greater Knapweed

Comma

Peacock

Clouded Yellow


Brimstone

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-May.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

12 months

Hawkbit

Marsh Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

30 days in May-June.

Heartsease

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-September

Hedge Parsley

Orange Tip

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

May-June for 18 days.

Hemp agrimony

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October

Horseshoe vetch

Adonis Blue

Chalk-Hill Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month.

20 days

Ivy

Painted Lady

Brimstone

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

Hibernates during winter months in its foliage.

July-October.

October-July

Lucerne

Painted Lady

Large White


Small White


Pale Clouded Yellow


Clouded Yellow


Berger's Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October.

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

1 Month in May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Marigolds in gardens

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Marjoram

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Common Blue

Clouded Yellow

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September.

20 days in August.


3 weeks in May-September.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November

Michaelmas Daisies
in gardens

Comma

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October

Mignonettes

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September.

March-May or June-September

Narrow-leaved Plantain (Ribwort Plantain)

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Nasturtiums in gardens

Large White


Small White

Butterfly

Eats nectar

April-June or July-September

March-May or June-September

Oak Tree

Holly Blue

Butterfly

Eats sap exuding from trunk.

April-Mid June and Mid July-Early September for second generation.

Primroses

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June.



June-August.

Ragged Robin

Wood White

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

May-June.

June-July.

Scabious

Painted Lady

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-October.

July-May

Sedum

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats nectar

July-May

Teasels

Silver-washed Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

7 weeks in July-August.

Thistles -
Creeping Thistle, Dwarf Thistle, Marsh Thistle, Meadow Thistle, Melancholy Thistle, Milk Thistle,
Musk Thistle, Seaside Thistle, Scotch Thistle, Spear Thistle, Tuberous Thistle, Welted Thistle, Woolly Thistle

Comma

Painted Lady

Peacock

Swallowtail

Clouded Yellow


Brimstone

Silver-washed Fritillary

High Brown Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

July-October.

July-October.

July-May.

May-July.

May-June or August till killed by frost and damp in September-November.

12 months.

7 weeks in July-August



June-August.


July-August for 6 weeks.


May-September.



June-August.

Thymes

Common Blue

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

3 weeks between May and September

Trefoils 1, 2, 3

Adonis Blue



Chalk-Hill Blue

Glanville Fritillary

Butterfly

 

Eats nectar.
 

1 Month during Mid-May to Mid-June or during August-September

20 days in August.


June-July

Vetches

Chalk-Hill Blue

Glanville Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar.

20 days in August.


June-July.

Violets

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June.

June-August.

Wood-Sage

Heath Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats nectar

June-July

Apple/Pear/Cherry/Plum Fruit Tree Blossom in Spring

Peacock

Butterfly

Eats Nectar

April-May

Rotten Fruit

Peacock

Butterfly

Drinks juice

July-September

Tree sap and damaged ripe fruit, which are high in sugar

Large Tortoiseshell

Butterfly

Hibernates inside hollow trees or outhouses until March. Eats sap or fruit juice until April.

10 months in June-April

Wild Flowers

Large Skipper

Brimstone

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Butterfly

Eats Nectar

June-August


12 months.

7 weeks in July-August.



May-September

Links to the other Butterflies:-

Black Hairstreak
Brown Hairstreak
Camberwell Beauty
Chequered Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Duke of Burgundy
Essex Skipper
Gatekeeper
Grayling
Green Hairstreak
Grizzled Skipper
Hedge Brown
Large Blue
Large Heath
Long-tailed Blue
Lulworth Skipper
Marbled White
Mazarine Blue
Meadow Brown
Monarch
Northern Brown Argus
Purple Emperor
Purple Hairstreak
Red Admiral
Ringlet
Scotch Argus
Short-tailed Blue
Silver-spotted Skipper
Silver-studded Blue
Small Copper
Small Heath
Small Mountain Ringlet
Small Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Speckled Wood
Wall Brown
White Admiral
White-letter Hairstreak