Cowslips
Flowering between April and May, this relative of the primrose has egg yellow tube like flowers on top of long green stems. Like many other spring flowers, the cowslip has many links to ancient folk law and tradition, including being used in garlands on May Day and laid on church paths during weddings. It has had many names, including ‘keys of heaven’. Its current name means cow-slop, (i.e. cow pat), not so poetic, but refers to the animals that grazes the meadowland it prefers.
Like the skylark, fields of cowslips used to be a common sight but due to modern farming practices this is now rare. Luckily, due to our special rare unimproved chalk grassland, we have plenty. Look out for them on the flanks of Newtimber Hill.