First Wild Flowers of the Year.

 

 Early  Butterbur. Photo. John M Eliott

I often walk down the Weymouth road on a Sunday afternoon (hoping that there will not be too much traffic on the Sabbath) to check on the wildlife. A pair of Mallard got up this afternoon giving hope for ducklings in the spring. More surprising were half a dozen blooms of Butterbur poking through the dead leaves  on the steam bank by the sewage pumping station. Like its relative, Coltsfoot, Butterbur's flowers appear before its leaves, 'often as early as February' according to the book, so the 2nd of January really is unusual. The huge, rhubarb-like leaves which will appear later in the year were used to wrap butter in olden days, the soft grey down on the underside having a refrigerating effect. The Latin name, Petasites hybridus, hints at another use as umbrellas or sunshades, as it derives from the Greek petasos, meaning a broad brimmed hat