Nature on our doorsteps: Brightening the late-winter wayside
Lesser Celandine’s glossy petals look bright and shiny against its dark leaves

Nature on our doorsteps: Brightening the late-winter wayside

Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into the natural heritage around us and the beautiful biodiversity of the plants and creatures

One of the earliest plants to flower along woodland edges, shady riverbanks and roadsides is the Winter Heliotrope.

This plant can flower as early as mid-winter, particularly during mild weather.

Winter Heliotrope’s small pink and white flowers grow in little tufts towards the top of the stem.

While its individual flowers are perhaps not very spectacular, their intense vanilla-scented fragrance certainly is.

This scent hangs in the air on still days, attracting the attention of any insects that may be venturing out in the mild weather.

The plant was introduced to Ireland and was grown to provide pollen and nectar for honeybees from late winter to early spring.

Winter Heliotrope’s flowers can scent the air along shady riverbanks

While this late winter boost can help bee hives survive until native wildflowers came into bloom in spring, Winter Heliotrope’s extensive carpets of rounded leaves can dominate some areas, to the exclusion of native wild plants.

The first of the native buttercup family to flower in late winter and early springtime is the Lesser Celandine.

This native plant also grows in woodlands and along damp hedgerows, and it blooms while the trees are still bare. Once the leaves emerge on the trees and cast their shade onto the woodland floor, it will be too dull for most woodland plants to flower and set seed.

While it looks like a typical buttercup in that it has bright yellow petals, Lesser Celandine’s petals tend to be longer and narrower.

Their petal surfaces have a high gloss finish that extends from the tip of the petal almost to the centre of the flower.

This glossy surface makes the flower look star-like in the weak sunshine of late winter and early spring. These glossy petals, however, serve a very practical function, as they reflect any light that might be available on dull days.

This ability to reflect light helps attract the few insects that might be flying so early in the year.

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