averilburystedmunds: The Oxlip, County Flower of Suffolk

Engraving of an Oxlip plant

This was the first glimpse of carving to come

I have resumed my early morning walks, generally through the Spring-green Abbey Gardens and found, just beyond the West Front old houses, past the olive tree in flower, the tall cherry tree stump, its branches removed several months ago. It had puzzled me previously as to why the denuded trunk had been left. But now I see why!! Local wood-carver, John Williams, has begun his skilful work on the tall stump, and an oxlip flower carving is emerging! In fact, his entire design includes the profile of the Green Man, an environmental guardian, presenting the oxlip in cupped hands, to Nathaniel Hudson who founded the Bury St Edmunds botanic gardens in 1831. The carver’s aim is to finish this imaginative arboreal work of art by July.

The five-flowered Oxlip or
Primula Elatior

The oxlip is, in fact, the county flower of Suffolk, voted as such in 2002 following a poll by wild plant conservation charity, Plantlife. Its biological name, Primula elatior, signifies its membership of the primula family while ‘elatior’ suggests height. Its preferred habitat is open woodland and meadows, with damp earth for its roots though it grows happily on cow dung. Its common name comes from the Old English ‘oxan’ and ‘slyppe’ which may well refer to the fact that oxlips are often found growing on dung and in boggy pastures used by cattle. Alas, there has been a gentle but steady reduction in the density of oxlip plants in East Anglian in woodland sites over several centuries. Changes in climate, woodland management practices and the intensity of deer grazing are all likely factors in its decline. Oxlips colonise newer woodlands very slowly so it is hoped that the current trend towards the protection and retention of remaining patches of ancient and semi-natural woodlands will bear results.

The oxlip is not to be confused with the cowslip (Primula veris) which can easily be mistaken for the oxlip but has deeper yellow flowers which don’t all face the same direction as is the case with the five oxlip flowers. Leaves are very similar in shape but taper and do not stop abruptly like those of the oxlip. Cowslips are also more common than oxlips and can be found across much of the UK. while the oxlip, with its rare and charming flowers, grows only in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, blooming in April and May. The Oxlip is a nationally scarce species and is classed as ‘near threatened’ in Britain. As an early flowering plant, it provides nectar for early emerging bees and butterflies which will in turn pollinate the plant. It was traditionally used to treat coughs and rheumatism though nowadays, its compounds are thought to have antibacterial properties.

The charming cowslip which seems to be appearing,
planted among the grasses in and around the
Abbey Gardens and surrounds. It seems more
robust in structure and more yellow in flower
than the Oxlip.