Country diary: Common milkwort looks light enough to take flight

The Guardian

2 days ago

I glimpse a lilac in the green. A hushed colour that suits the early hour. This common milkwort amid the grass is delicate and slight. The flower has an unusual structure, with an outer set of green sepals and an inner set of wing-like purple ones enclosing the tubular fused petals. The effect is intricate and poised, as if the bloom has landed for a moment in the grass but is equally capable of taking flight. Still holding the morning's dew, it is ephemeral, light.
The blooms can also be found in blue, pink or white – leading to another of the plant's names, 'four sisters', for the four possible colours – but here it is a pale purple accent in the green. A number of its other common names reveal a past use in Christian processions – 'rogation flower,' 'cross flower', 'Christ's herb'. Then it was picked for garlands, but today it is better left where it is. While locally frequent and widespread in grasslands, particularly those with chalky soils, and in terrains including cliffs and rock outcrops, verges and alkaline-to-neutral fens, this 'common' milkwort has become rarer as agricultural intensification has reduced and degraded its habitats.
As the sun strengthens, the complexion of the grass changes and a spill of yellow dominates. The flowers of the silverweed beam gold up through frosted leaves. Scattered buttercups glow in all directions, while the sunlight coaxes the grass itself into a more fiery palette. There is a temptation to look away, drawn by the brighter shades, yet the milkwort maintains its own attraction.
The wing-like inner sepals act as flags, advertising the flower to pollinators, while the front petal serves as a landing platform. It takes a degree of strength to open this flower to reach the pollen and nectar within, giving bees an advantage over other pollinators. While such detail may be missed from human height, the flower still draws, and rewards, the human eye. All too easy to walk past, this quiet treasure in the grass is a feat of daedal elegance.
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