02 May 2024

Lady’s smock

Look out for Lady’s smock also called cuckooflower and cuckoo spit, with four petalled pale lilac flowers in a spike. It is one of the few flowers that can persist in ryegrass fields as it tolerates moderately fertile soil, and flowers before grass growth takes off. It grows in wetter areas. It is the main larval foodplant and source of nectar for orange-tip butterflies. The male is distinctively coloured white with bright orange tips on forewings. The female is less conspicuous with black tips on forewings. Lady’s smock and orange-tip butterflies are a good example of plants and invertebrates co-existing for the past ten thousand years – part of our native Irish biodiversity.