Biology

This perennial species flowers from April to June (5). The flowers have been put to various uses throughout the years; they were thought to be 'good for the nerves and brain'. They were also used to make cowslip wine (which is still produced in the Midlands), a conserve, and an ointment for the skin (6). In Lambley, a village in Nottinghamshire, the first Sunday in May is deemed 'Cowslip Sunday'; in the past, cowslips were sold to visitors from Nottingham, although a lack of truly wild specimens today means that it is garden grown plants that are brought into the church to decorate the altar (4).