Cowslip (Primula veris)

Species information

Videos and images

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Threats

The decline of this species was caused by widespread agricultural improvement, with the use of herbicides or ploughing of grasslands (3). Herbicides were also used on waysides until the 1980s (4).

Conservation

In many areas, cowslips have been planted on road verges, and wildflower seed mixtures frequently contain the seeds of cowslip, so the species has increased in recent years (3). Cowslips have also returned to areas where grazing has been greatly reduced, and a number of churchyards are being managed for wildlife, allowing a resurgence of this well-loved and cheering spring flower (4).
The cowslip is included in Plantlife's Common Plants Survey; this survey aims to determine the status of 65 common plant species in Britain, in order to understand how these species are faring in the countryside and to effectively monitor changes in their populations (7).