Cowslip  (Primula veris)

The cowslip is a well-known spring flowering plant, which was once much more common than it is today (4). The crinkled green leaves are covered on both sides with a fine layer of downy hairs; they form rosettes, which tend to lie close to the ground (2). A downy flower stalk rises from the centre of this rosette, and is topped with a cluster of 1-30 yellow or buff-coloured flowers (2). The flowers are funnel-shaped and have characteristic orange spots at the base of the lobes (2). The bunched arrangement of the nodding flowers earned the species the local names of 'bunch of keys' and 'culverkeys' (4).