Ragged Robin – Lychnis flos-cuculi

This unusual scruffy looking flower is, in its own way quite pretty, and grows in damp soil, bog gardens, wet meadows or marshy ground and it flowers between May to July. This plant is not edible for humans and even rabbits and deer will not eat it, also the roots are toxic to fish but it is a favourite food for moths larva. The plant is clever in its own way that the stalks have fine downward pointed hairs which prevent small insect such as ants climbing up the stalk and attacking the flowers. These plants self seed in the wild but you can sow the seeds yourself in seed trays but you always need to keep the growing medium damp and then when the plants are large enough you can plant them out. An interesting fact I found out when looking up this plant was that the roots contains Saponins which is a soap substitute that can be used for washing clothes and hair etc and to extract this substance you need to boil the roots in water.

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