Signs of Spring

As nature springs back to life, some of the season’s earliest flowers are now putting on a spectacular display at Woods Mill nature reserve.

Lesser Celandine

This is the Little Miss Sunshine of spring flowers, blooming as early as February
and growing in a dense carpet of vibrant yellow. As one of the first woodland flowers of the year, it’s also known as the ‘spring messenger’ and symbolised ‘joys to come’ in Victorian times. The Lesser Celandine was also Wordsworth’s favourite flower and he devoted three poems to them, though they are not as catchy as his famous ode to the Daffodil.

• How to ID: A low-growing relative of the Buttercup, with glossy green, heart-shaped leaves and bright yellow, star-like flowers that are about 3cm across.

• Where to find at Woods Mill: Cross the entrance bridge from the carpark and look immediately left to see a bank covered in Lesser Celandines.

Wood Anemone

Before the Bluebells cast their glorious purple haze across the woodland floor, it is first dotted with a galaxy of tiny white stars as the Wood Anemones come into flower between March and May. Another pioneer of spring, this delicate plant grows in ancient woodlands beneath trees that could be several centuries old. Each star-like bloom has between five and eight white petals, often tinged with pink underneath, and a profusion of bright yellow pollen-bearing stamens at the centre. On warm days, the flowers can give off a strong, musky perfume that explains their alternative name ‘smell foxes’ while children sometimes call them ‘wooden enemies’.

• How to ID: A low-growing plant with six to seven large white petals surrounding a cluster of distinctive yellow anthers. Its leaves are deeply lobed and it has a thin, red stem.

• Where to find at Woods Mill: Follow the path through Hoe Wood to see a stunning display of Wood Anemones in bloom.

Wild Daffodil

Daffodils are traditionally at their best in March, when large swathes of golden ‘trumpets’ brighten up verges, parks and gardens. These daffodils are usually cultivated varieties but if you venture into the dappled shade of an ancient woodland or tread the damp grass of a wildflower meadow, you’re more likely to see the native Wild Daffodil.

They once grew in such profusion that Great Western launched a ‘Daffodil Special’ train service in the 1930s to transport Londoners by the carriage-load to admire the yellow carpets. People returned with armfuls of daffodils but picking didn’t do much harm, and it wasn’t until after the Second World War that the wild populations started to decline. With the industrialisation of agriculture, daffodil meadows were ploughed up and bulbs were deliberately uprooted because of their toxicity to livestock. The Wild Daffodil was no longer a familiar sight and the ‘Daffodil Special’ stopped running in 1959.

Today, Wild Daffodils are harder to find but they do still grow in a few remaining fragments of their former range. In Sussex there is a thriving colony at our West Dean Woods nature reserve, just outside Chichester. Millions of flowers will bloom among the traditionally coppiced Hazel woodland, creating a stunning sea of yellow. There is restricted access but now is the perfect time to walk the public bridleway along the western edge to see them - nearest postcode P018 0RU.

• How to ID: Smaller and daintier than most garden varieties, the Wild Daffodil has pale, creamy-yellow petals with a darker yellow ‘trumpet’ and narrow, silvery-backed leaves.

Blackthorn

Blackthorn bursts into life in March and April, when its leafless branches are smothered in flowers so dense they seem to be covered in snow. Blackthorn can grow into a small tree but is more often found as a hedgerow shrub, forming a dense tangle of viciously spiny twigs. These thorny thickets become near-impenetrable barriers, ideal for nesting Nightingales later in the spring. With such an abundance of flowers so early in the year, Blackthorn provides a rich banquet of sweet nectar and protein-rich pollen for visiting bees and other spring insects, which provide a vital pollination service as they move from flower to flower.

• How to ID: A spiny shrub with small, oval leaves that are finely toothed, and five- petalled, white flowers that appear in dense clusters. Blue-black fruits (sloes) appear in autumn.

• Where to find at Woods Mill: Turn left after the entrance bridge and follow the top path to see a profusion of Blackthorn in flower.

Charlotte Owen, WildCall Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust