Corn Marigold

Image: © Ian Dodds Taken: 19 Jul 2024

There were lots of these in amongst a narrow wildflower strip running along the Northern edge of Orchard Park South. The plant's Latin name is 'Glebionis segetum'. Until 25 years ago, however, it went by the name 'Chrysanthemum segetum' which can cause some confusion as several websites (and obviously lots of old books) still use the old name. The petals look like something has nibbled a bit out of the end of them. According to the Wikipedia page on the flower - bits of which are copied and pasted shamelessly by numerous other sites - they are particularly good sources of pollen and nectar, have a long blooming period, and attract bees, hoverflies and small butterflies in large numbers. So with the current drive to increase pollinator numbers in the UK they are an increasingly common sight. They are thought to originate from the Eastern Mediterranean but have been in this country for hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years. Wikipedia's nice little bit of trivia is that there was supposedly a 13th Century royal decree in Scotland stating that if anyone let the flowers grow on their land they would forfeit a sheep to the king.

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