LORDS AND LADIES

Look for the unusual flowers of lords-and-ladies in spring woodlands: a pale green sheath surrounds a spike of tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually forms a familiar, short stalk of striking red berries.

Scientific name:
Arum maculatum

When to see:
April to may

An early flowering plant, lords-and-ladies can be seen in April and May. It is a shade-loving plant of woodlands and hedgerows, and is particularly distinctive as it displays a pale green sheath surrounding a purple or yellow ‘spadix’ (a spike of tiny flowers on a fleshy stem). This spadix eventually produces an upright stalk of bright red berries that is conspicuous among the leaf litter.

How to identify:
Lords-and-ladies has large, arrow-shaped leaves, and leaf-like flower heads that curl around a long inner spike carrying tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually produces an upright stalk of bright red berries.

Distribution:
Grows everywhere in the UK, but less common in the north of Scotland.

Did you know?
Lords-and-ladies has many other common names, arising from its rather strange look, but ‘Cuckoo-pint’ is perhaps one of the most widely used.

The Wildlife Trusts manage many woodland nature reserves sympathetically for the benefit of all kinds of wildlife. A mix of coppicing, scrub-cutting, ride maintenance and non-intervention all help woodland wildlife to thrive.