Ragged Robbin

Lychnis flos-cuculi

Caryopyhllaceae

22nd June 2020

I had noticed this rather tall, slightly unkempt, almost garishly purple flower along the banks of the little stream that leads to the big pond. Jumbled in amongst long green grasses, pesky horse-tail and bright sunshine yellow candelabra primulas, it seemed rather chaotic compared to many of the perfectly formed wildflowers I had found so far.  

Enquiring about it, I was met with great enthusiasm for this wildflower, and, taking a closer look at the flower itself noticed that it was more intricate that I had supposed, with each of the 5 wispy petals divided into 4 ‘ragged’ lobes, creating the tousled appearance. The colour too, really is marvellous, a beautiful pinky purple. The Latin name comes from the Greek word for lamp, lychnos due to the brilliantly coloured flowers, with flos-cuculi translating as flower of the cuckoo, as it blooms brightly when the cuckoos arrives.

Collins tells us that it is a Delicate looking perennial of damp meadows, fens and marshes, however due to the decline in these wetland areas in Britain, it is becoming rarer to see Ragged Robin in the wild. It is, however, growing very contentedly here in the garden, and flowers from May through to August, the time of the cuckoo.

Alice x