ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

More Wild Flowers Found in Burnley Lancashire

Updated on April 20, 2012

Foxglove - Digitalis purpurea

I love the idea that the foxglove was named because the pattern inside the flower reminded people of fox paw prints, as though foxes were wearing them when out and about at night and then hanging them on the stalks during the day. There are other, more likely, hypotheses for how the foxglove got its name, but that is my favourite.

As well as being beautiful it has also provided us with Digitalis a drug for treating certain types of heart failure. It is toxic though, so you're strongly advised against attempting to self medicate with it!

The purple flower was photographed near Lower Rosegrove Road, Burnley. The white one was photographed on the moorland verge of Crown Point Road and whilst it could be a wild mutation, may be a garden escape as there is sometimes fly tipping along that verge.

Foxglove
Foxglove | Source
White Foxglove
White Foxglove | Source

Sneezewort - Achillea ptarmica

Sneezewort - the white flower in the picture below, is one I've never seen in any of the other counties I've lived in, but it is common on the moors around Burnley, because it likes acid soils. This one was by a path running through Dunnockshaw Community Woodland.

Smooth Hawksbeard - Crepis capillaris

Smooth Hawksbeard, the yellow flower in the picture, is one of the dandelion's relatives and I must admit to finding it confusing to distinguish between the catsears, hawkbits, hawksbeard, and hawkweeds. However, if you look closely in the picture, you can see that the smooth hawksbeard has leaves a bit like the common dandelion, but they are very narrow and a bit like several arrowheads laced nose to tail.

This one was by a path running through Dunnockshaw Community Woodland.

Smooth Hawksbeard and Sneezewort
Smooth Hawksbeard and Sneezewort | Source

Yellow Flag - Iris pseudacorus

Yellow flag is an Iris which loves a damp habitat or pond margin. This one was photographed along the margins of the Liverpool to Leeds canal between the Gannow tunnel, Burnley and Hapton.

Yellow Flag
Yellow Flag | Source

Oxeye Daisy - Leucanthemum vulgare

A straight forward flower which brings me a lot of pleasure. This oxeye daisy was photographed against a backdrop of canal water, because it was growing from a crevice leaning out towards the water. It was one of many growing by the Liverpool to Leeds canal where it runs through Burnley.

Oxeye Daisy
Oxeye Daisy | Source

Common Fleabane - Pulicaria dysenterica

Another yellow wild flower; this is a chunky flower with thick textural leaves. The flower's petals are comparatively short compared to the flower head size. Despite the name it isn't particularly common and I've only seen it in one area around Burnley. This one was growing beside a farm track leading from Billington Road, Burnley.

Fleabane
Fleabane | Source

Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria

I love the billowy white flowers of the meadowsweet. It does live up to its name in terms of being sweet scented and enjoying a meadow or hedgerow habitat. This clump of meadowsweet was photographed in a treeless area of Dunnockshaw Community Woodland.

Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet | Source

Creeping Buttercup - Ranunculus repens

I can't see a buttercup without having a little chuckle to myself about a humorous monologue I heard Stephen Fry do once. The line in question went "I stooped to pick a buttercup - careless of people to leave their buttocks lying around!"

Although some members of the buttercup family are similar to each other, the creeping buttercup has courses leaves then the meadow buttercup (whose leaves are rather filigree) and the plant doesn't have the bulbous base of the bulbous buttercup.

I photographed this one in the meadow off Lower Rosegrove Lane, Burnley.

Creeping Buttercup
Creeping Buttercup | Source

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax - Cymbalaria muralis

Ivy-leaved toadflax isn't a British native, but it has naturalised around the country and unlike some of the thuggish and invasive 'alien' species, such as Himalayan Balsam, I haven't heard a bad word spoken about it. It grows in crevices on stone walls where you hardly feel it possible for a plant to be able to sustain itself. This one was growing on a wall along St Matthew Street, Burnley.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Ivy-leaved Toadflax | Source

Dandelion - Taraxacum Sect. Ruderalia

Yes, I know you can find them everywhere because they're one of the most common wild flowers, but that doesn't make them less deserving of a mention. I have seen a wonderful sight of a field packed with dandelions which all gone to seed at the same time. It was a still day and there were a million perfect dandelion clocks laid out before me. That day there was no other plant sight that I would rather have seen. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me. Instead the picture is of a single dandelion flower on the moor near Crown point Road, Burnley.

Dandelions are actually a more complicated group of flowers then we imagine - even 'Collins wildflowers of Britain and Europe' admits they are a difficult group with many subspecies.

I particularly like this dandelion verse, which is part of a poem called Nature Notes, by Louis Macneice:

Dandelions

Incorrigible, brash,

They brightened the cinder path of my childhood.

Unsubtle, the opposite of primroses

But unlike primroses, capable

Of growing anywhere, railway track, pierhead,

Like our extrovert friends who never

make us fall in love, yet fill

the primroseless roseless gaps

The Ubiquitous Dandelion
The Ubiquitous Dandelion | Source

Where and When to See Wild Flowers in Burnley

Species
Preferred Habitat
Flowering Time
Where Found in Burnley
Dandelion
Amongst grass and on disturbed ground
Year round, but especially Apr - July
Everywhere
Ivy-leaved toadflax
Wall crevices
Apr-Nov
St Matthew Street, Spring Hill Road
Creeping Buttercup
Amongst grass or on disturbed Ground
Apr - Nov
Meadows off Lower Rosegrove Lane
Meadowsweet
Wet meadows, ditches, hedgerows
June-Sept
Dunnockshaw community woodland
Common fleabane
Damp meadows
July-Sept
Farm track off Billington Road
Oxeye daisy
Meadows, road verges
May-Sept
Canal towpath Liverpool-Leeds canal
Yellow Flag
Marshes, pond edges
June-Aug
Lower Rosegrove Lane, Canal towpath Liverpool-Leeds
Smooth Hawksbeard
Amongst grass and on disturbed ground
June-Nov
Dunnockshaw community woodland
Sneezewort
Damp meadows on acid soil
July-Sept
Dunnockshaw community woodland
Foxglove
Woodland edges and glades, heath, hedgerows
June-Sept
Crown Point Road, Dunnockshaw community woodland
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)