Kildare's wildlife column looks at the bad boys of the garden - the dandelions

I am starting to notice more wildflowers in bloom and this week I came across the native dandelion (Caisearbhán as Gaeilge) and the not native common field-speedwell (Lus cré garraí as Gaeilge).

With the dandelions deep tap root and its ability to flower from March through to October, this wildflower has somewhat of a bad reputation.

The bright yellow flowers that grow on roadsides and other grassland habitats surrounded by a basal rosette of deeply lobed green leaves are an important source of early nectar for Ireland’s bumblebees.

However, it is once these flowers are pollinated and develop their seed heads which you may hear referred to as ‘dandelion clocks’ their bad reputation begins.

Each of the seeds is attached to a small parachute which makes seed dispersal very easy resulting in your once grassy garden becoming filled with dandelion!

The second wildflower I observed was common field-speedwell. Unlike the dandelion this is not a native wildflower.

It is believed to have originally come from Persia, a historic region of Asia.

Although it is not native this wildflower is extremely common, flowering all year in Ireland. You can expect to find it growing on bare soil, waste ground and cultivated land in your community.

Each solitary flower is borne on thin reddish stems that grow to a maximum height of 20cm. The petals are blue and divided into four lobes with the lower lobe being smaller and often more white in appearance.

Traditions

The leaves are hairy, pale green and toothed. Both dandelion and common field-speedwell have links to traditions in our past.

According to the wild flowers of Ireland website it was tradition to give a little bunch of the blue flowers of common field-speedwell to those that worked at sea wishing them ‘speed well’ in their travels.

The National Folklore Collection in Ireland mentions dandelions being a cure for warts once the juices were rubbed to warts for nine days.

Watch for both the dandelion and common field-speedwell in your community this week.

If you would like help identifying a wildlife observation in your community you can contact me on

bogs@ipcc.ie.