Skip over navigation

NEN Gallery

NEN Gallery
Home / Private Collections / Starz / Science / Plants / UK Wild Flowers / Wild Plants - May / Butterbur (Petasites hybridus)
Asset 1 of 1 Previous Asset [ 1 ] Next Asset   [Slideshow]

Butterbur (Petasites hybridus)

Show/Hide_Details
Download:

480 x 640
2142 x 2856

Unique Id:

62237

This item is saved in one of your albums. Click to remove it.. My Albums

The Butterbur flowers are now dying off. Butterbur is a pink-liver coloured plant that spreads by creeping stems. Male plants are common across England, however female plants are generally only found in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire. Male plants occasioanlly have a single female flower on them and this may help with pollination. The plant's large leaves (up to 90cm) have a dense felting of hairs underneath and were used to wrap butter. The plant was also used to cure blemishes. The male flower-head is short stalked and consists of functional male flowers and several sterile ones. The female flower (not shown) are longer stalked and develop into plumed seeds. The plant likes damp places near rivers and streams. Butterbur has upright stems and, as the plant grows, the stems bear lance-shaped scales. The plant flowers March to May. Picture taken 1st May 2006 at Stevington Bedfordshire.

Added:
3rd Jun 2006 by Diane Earl

Subjects:
Biology, Science

Key Stages:
Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Key Stage 4+

Keywords:
plant flower wildlife

Related Links:

EXIF data:

National Education Network
Developed by E2BN for the National Education Network
E2B® and E2BN® are registered trade marks and trading names of East of England Broadband Network (Company Registration No. 04649057)