A Walk Through Dunsley Meadows

In the meadow the strong woodland influence is important. Some woodland flowers such as bluebell, anemone and bugle grow here, and along the wood edge there is distinct tall-herb, damp meadow which is different from the species in the main body of the fields.
Meadowsweet, an ancient plant in Britain, is typical. Its pollen has been found in Bronze Age burial urns – possibly as a flavouring for mead. Its leaves are very palatable to cattle and the plant is vulnerable to grazing early in the season.
The colours of flowers in a meadow reflect their attraction for different insects. May is a white and yellow phase with white meadow saxifrage and yellow buttercups. The small white umbellifer, pignut, along with yellow bird's foot trefoil, follow. Pignut produces its leaves very early in the year and is intolerant to grazing at this time. Pignut survival relies on a regular set of seed; it cannot regenerate by any other means. It is pollinated by the early flying solitary bees which nest in the soil. In turn it is the food plant for the caterpillars of the dusky chimney-sweeper moths which fly in June and visit the bird's foot trefoil for nectar. Late in the summer comes a blue and pink phase with meadow crane's bill, musk mallow and devil's bit scabious. These plants flower late and are not favoured by a hay cut in June. The scabious particularly needs to be protected from grazing until September.