Plant list for Demonstration Garden at Wicken Fen
- 1. Marsh Woundwort, Stachys palustris.
Family Labiate. Perennial. Common in wet areas. Onced used as a healing agent on cuts and
wounds. Stachys, from Greek stachus, a spike, alluding to pointed flowers. Opening July to Sept.
- 2. Narrow leaved Marsh Dandelion, Taraxacum palustre.
Family Compositae. Marshes and fens. Once common throughout British Isles and Scotland, now
very rare. Hybridises with other dandelions, young shoots olive green but never reddish.
- 3. Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica.
Family Compositae. Perennial. Common in wet areas throughout British Isles. Used to banish
fleas, some birds use in nests! Medicinally, used against dysentery. Flowers July to Sept.
- 4. Ground Ivy, Glechoma hedracea.
Family Labiatae. Perennial. Common. Other names include Ale-hoof, (formerly used a beer
flavouring). Medicinally used regulate digestion and soothe coughs. Flowers March to June.
- 5. Lesser Knapweed, Centaurea nigra.
Family Compositae. Perennial. Common throughout Britain. Mixed with alum mordant, flowers
produce greenish dye. Medicinally, used to treat glandular disorders. Flowers June to to Sept.
- 6. Devil's Bit Scabious, Sussisa pratensis.
Family Dipsacaceae. Perennial. Common in wet areas. The Devil was said to have bitten off
the root in anger against the Virgin Mary, hence Devils bit(e). Flowers June to October.
- 7. Meadow Sweet, Filipendula ulmaria.
Family Rosaceae. Perennial. Common in wet places. Medicinally, has the same properties as
aspirin. Also used to settle upset stomachs. Can be made into a drink. Flowers June to August.
- 8. Fen Ragwort, Senecio paludosus.
Family Composite. Perennial. If found, in fen ditches. Very rare thought to be extinct in natrual
habitat. Reintroduced at Wicken in 1992 proving very successful. Flowers June to Sept.
- 9. Water Germander, Teucrium scordium.
Family Labiatae. Common along River Shannon, elsewhere very rare. Valued by herbalists,
Named after Teucher a Trojan prince who first used one species herbally. Flowers July to October.
- 10. Yellow Flag, Iris pseudacorus.
Family Iridaceae. Perennial. Common in wet areas. Seeds can be roasted and made into a hot
coffee like drink. Iris is the greek word for Rainbow. Flowers May to July.
- 11. Reed Canary-Grass, Phalaris canariensis.
Family Gramineae. Perennial. Common in wet areas. Favoured by grazing cattle. Flowers
June to August.
- 12. Jointed Rush, Juncus articulatus.
Family Juncaceae. Perennial. Common in wet areas usually on acid soils. Hybridises easily
with other species of rush making positive identification sometimes difficult.
- 13. Hard Rush, Juncus inflexus.
Family Juncaceae. Perennial. Common in damp places. Onced strewn upon floors, Shakespeare
says in Romeo and Juliet- Wantons, light of heart, tickle the senseless rushes with their heels.'
- 14. Blunt Flowered Rush, Juncus subnodulosus.
Family Juncaceae. Perennial. Favours fens, marshes and other wet places. Juncus, from latin
jungo meaning to bind or tie. Flowers June to August.
- 15. Marsh Pennywort, Hydrocotyle vulgaris,
Family Umbelliferae. Perennial. Found on fens and marshes, mostly on acid soils. Common.
Sometimes found floating in shallow water. Flowers June to August.
- 16. Great Hairy Willow Herb, Epilobium hirsutum.
Family Onagraceae. Perennial. Common in wet places throughout Britian. Distinguished by
its hairy texture and large pink flowers. Flowers July to August.
- 17. Cuckoo Flower or Ladys Smock, Cardamine pratensis.
Family Cruciferae. Perennial. Found in damp areas throughout British Isles.The bottom leaves
are like watercress and can be eaten. Flowers April to July.
- 18. Marsh Horsetail, Equistetum palustre.
Family Equisetaceae.Perennial. Found on marshes and damp grassland. Differs from other
horsetails by stout upward branches. Non flowering, produces blunt cones, ripe in June.
- 19. Ragged Robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi.
Family Caryophyllaceae. Perennial. Likes fens, marshes and damp meadows. Common
throughout Britian. Flowers May to June.
- 20. Milk Parsley, Peucedanum palustre.
Family Umbelliferae. Biennial. Grows on fens and marshes. Rare, found only in South East.
This plant is the Swallowtail caterpillers only foodplant. Flowers July to Sept.
- 21. Watermint, Mentha aquatica.
Family Labiatae. Perennial. Common on marshes, fens and streamsides. Highly aromatic
producing a beautiful, minty scent when crushed. Flowers July to Oct.
- 22. Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria.
Family Lythraceae. Perinnial. Common in wet and damp places throughout Britain. Appears as
the long purples' described by Shakespeare in Millais' painting of Ophelia. Flowers June to Aug.
- 23. Yellow Loosestrife, Lysimachia vulgaris.
Family Primulaceae. Perrennial. Fairly common in wet areas. The Greeks believed Loosestrife to
end strife between oxen and horses when harnesed to the same plough. Flowers July to Aug
- 24. Common Meadow Rue or Yellow Meadow Rue, Thalictrum flavum.
Family Ranunculaceae. Perennial. Found in meadows and fens. Fairly common in South East,
rare elsewhere. Flowers July to August.
- 25. Common Reed, Phragmites communis.
Family Gramineae. Perennial. Fens, marshes, swamps, fresh water and brackish margins.
Sometimes occurs in unusual habitats. Used as thatching material. Flowers Aug to Oct.
- 26. Comfrey, Symphytum officinale.
Family Boraginaceae. Perennial. Common throughout England in damp areas. Well known to the
Crusaders as an unrivalled wound herb. Also, a potassium rich fertiliser. Flowers May to Sept.
- 27. Marsh Fern, Thelypteris palustris.
Family Thelypteridaceae. One of the few ferns to like a wet habitat such as fens and marshes.
Has a creeping rootstock. Spores ripe Aug to Sept.
- 28. Hemp Agrimony, Eupatorium cannabinum.
Family Composite. Perennial. A common sight growing on fens, marshes and damp woods. Once
used as a cure for jaundice and to cleanse the kidney and bladder. Flowers July to Sept.
- 29. Cowslip, Primula veris.
Family Primulaceae. Perennial. Once a common plant throughout England, decreasing owing
to the ploughing of old pasture and its flowers being picked. Flowers April to May.
- 30. Wild Angelica, Angelica sylvestris.
Family Umbellifarae. Perennial. Favours damp shady places. Common throughout Britian.
Angelica from Latin Angelus, an angel, alluding to valuable healing uses. Flowers July to Sept.
- 31. Tufted Vetch, Vicia cracca.
Family Luguminosae. Perennial. The commonest of the vetches. Found in rough grassland and
hedgerows. Is a weak-stemmed plant gains support by other vegetation. Flowers June to Aug.
- 32. Marsh Pea, Lathyrus palustris.
Family Leguminosae. Perennial. Grows on fens, damp grassy and bushy places and is quite
uncommon, very local. A glabrous scrambler. Flowers May to July.
- 33. Michaelmas Daisy, Aster nov-belgii.
Family Composite. Perennial. This is an escaped garden plant, often found established in large
patches on roadsides, waste ground and demonstration gardens! Flowers Aug to Oct.
- 34.Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris.
Family Ranunculaceae. Perennial. Common throughout the British Isles. Grows in wet and
shady places. Hung upside down in doorways to ward off witches. Flowers March to July.
- - researched by Richard Verney