Early Flowering Plants Early flowering plants concerns those wild flowers which we usually see flowering in middle Britain from January, sometimes December, to March.

It is of course a compromise because the flowering times of a plant in Eastbourne and Inverness will be very different.

The order is very roughly that of flowering time.

If you as a Wild Flower Society member, have a good quallity digital photograph of a different early flowering plant, at least 1000px x 1000px, we would be happy to use it in this gallery of wild flowers.

Move the slides by using the arrows at the left and right. Winter Heliotrope Petasites pyrenaicus Winter Heliotrope is one of the very few plants whose flowering period is usually in the depths of Winter. It can occasionally be found starting to flower in late October but December is the main month to see flowers. The flowers are fragrant and until recently the Latin name for this species was Petasites fragrans.

By March or April the flowers have usually finished so it is often quite tricky to find one in flower for the annual Wild Flower Society Spring hunt.

In some parts of the country it has become invasive and roadside verges are covered with masses of the kidney shaped leaves preventing anything else from growing. Gorse Ulex europaeus People often comment that Gorse seems to flower all year round. This is because Common Gorse begins to show a few bright flowers in Autumn but mostly flowers in Winter and early Spring with a few flowers remaining into summer.

In summer Western Gorse Ulex gallii comes into flower and persists into the Autumn. Dwarf Gorse Ulex minor also helps to give the all-year-round impression too.

In late Spring when the sun begins to heat up the Gorse, the heavy scent of Coconut can easily be detected from some distance away.

Later the black seed pods can be heard exploding on a hot Gorse bush in late Spring or Early Summer.
Hazel Corylus avellana The long yellow catkins of the
Hazel tree can be seen developing in Autumn and will sometimes open even in January.

This is an anemophilous tree which means that it is wind-pollinated. The catkins easily release their pollen which is carried on the wind to the tiny red female flowers growing on the same tree. Early Star-of-Bethlehem Gagea bohemica Gagea bohemica is a relatively recent addition to the British flora.

It is a native plant which was first discovered by R. Kemp a Bryologist. In 1965, he found some little bulbs and thin leaves he did not recognise buried in the moss he was studying.

At first he thought it was posssibly a new site for the Snowdon Lily (Gagea serotina) but other botanical experts suggested that it must be different from Gagea serotina because of hairs on the leaves. In 1978 it was published as Gagea bohemica which is known from Europe but until then, not from Britain.

The typical flowering date is mid February but it can flower at the turn of the year in January or in early March.

It is still only known from this single site in Mid Wales. There are many plants with leaves at the site but very few flower each year. Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem Gagea lutea Gagea lutea is an introduced species which will begin to flower at the end of February or beginning of March.

The flowers tend to hang down hiding the yellow inner sides of the petals. The outsides of the sepals are green so the whole plant can easily be camouflaged in the surrounding vegetation. Dog's Mercury Mercurialis perennis Mercurialis perennis is another of those early flowering, native plants which, if the winter is mild, will actually flower in December. Usually though it starts to flower in late January and February.

Dog's Mercury is dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants). The photo opposite is of a male flower.

Mercurialis perennis is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family but unlike so many members of that family, it does not have a milky sap. Abraham-Isaac-Jacob Trachystemon orientalis This introduced plant with broad, shiny green, ovate leaves, is from the Caucasus and Turkey. It is a plant which flowers early in damp shady places and will self seed.

At a first glance, if you haven't seen it before, it looks a bit like Borage (Borago officinalis) and it is indeed a member of the Boraginaceae family.

It does flower remarkably early though: from February to April and can be in flower before Snowdrops begin to bloom.



Stinking Hellebore Helleborus foetidus Often the earliest of the Hellebores to flower, this is possibly a native plant according to New Flora of the British Isles Edition 4 by Clive Stace. It is classified as a rare plant
(R).

Stinking Hellebore is usually found on calcareous (basic) soils, often in woodland or shade. The flowering period begins very early often in January and by April is in fruit.

If you crush a leaf and sniff it, you may detect a musky odour but it isn't really very strong.

All parts of this plant are poisonous.
Green Hellebore Helleborus viridis Not usually as early flowering as Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), this native plant is also given Rare (R) status by Clive Stace.

Like Stinking Hellebore it is usually found on calcareous (basic) soils, in woodland or the open. The flowering period begins early often in January or February.

Eating it will make you sick so in the past it has been used as a purgative.
Winter Aconite Eranthis hyemalis Eranthis hyemalis is an introduced plant which prefers basic soils. It flowers about the same time as Snowdrops (February or earlier) so the combination is often planted together to make a colourful display in early Spring.

It is a garden or park favourite and will spread in the right conditions. It is often found in disused churchyards for example.

Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis At one time thought to be native, it is now accepted that Galanthus nivalis is an introduced plant.

The typical flowering time for this species of Snowdrop is February but other introduced Snowdrops can flower earlier or later.

In mild winters Snowdrops are sometimes reported to be in flower in December in Southern Britain. Barren Strawberry Potentilla sterilis This small native species has white flowers a bit like a genuine Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) and ternate (three leaflets) leaves.

The leaves though are a greyish green and much smaller than the bright ,shiny, usually glabrous (bald), ternate leaves of a genuine strawberry.

The petals of the flower do not overlap and the leaves are quite hairy.

It is usually in full flower in February and March but can flower in January. Primrose Primula vulgaris Although this famous and much loved plant is associated with the main Springtime period, it can also flower very early. It is not uncommon to find plants in full flower in early March or late February.

There are two type of Primrose flower: thrum-eyed and pin-eyed. Pin-eyed flowers have a greenish disc in the centre of the flower which is a stigma (female) while thrum-eyed plants have a cluster of yellow anthers (male) in the centre.

These different flower structures help pollination.

An insect visiting a pin-eyed flower gets pollen stuck to the top of its proboscis. This is then ideally positioned for transfer to a thrum-eyed Primrose's stigma.

Early Sand-grass Mibora minima There are always a few grasses which have over-wintered or are flowering a little early because of local mild conditions. Early Sand-grass has a normal flowering time around March and occasionally February.

It is mostly found on sand dunes and where the sand has been disturbed, by rabbits for instance.

Mibora minima is very small and can easily be missed by a botanist who hopes to find plants while standing up. It is a hand and knees job to find this plant usually.

In New Flora of the British Isles Early Sand-grass is classified as a very rare plant (RR).


Sweet Violet Viola odorata The earliest flowering of the Violets, Viola odorata can be white, blue and various shades of purple or mauve.

Violets generally are not easy to tell apart but this one conveniently has blunt spepals and oval to sometimes cordate (heart-shaped) leaves. The pedicel (flower stalk) is usually hairy.

The prefix "Sweet" in a common plant name nearly always indicates a sweet scent but many botanists say they can never detect the scent of a Sweet Violet.

Early Dog-violet Viola reichenbachiana Usually flowering a little later than Sweet Violet (Viola odorata), the Early Dog-violet can be found in flower in March.

It is a woodland plant or plant of shady places. The sepal appendages are short and the spur of the flower is purple. These characters can help distinguish this Violet from the very Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana) which flowers a little later but has an overlapping flowering period.