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A Flower for Cheshire

To celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee and in a bid to draw attention to the richness and variety of this country's wildlife, the charity Plantlife (www.plantlife.org.uk) ask the British public to vote for the wild flower that most aptly represented their county. A good idea but where do you start? A very rare plant needs protection not publicity and some plants like ox-eye daisies are found in pockets all over the country. Cheshire has more ponds than any other county so you could make out a strong case for choosing a flower for Cheshire that likes wet areas. Germaine Greer came up with her own list for all the counties in the Daily Telegraph and suggested Eyebright for Cheshire.

Martyn Stead, who leads our Wildflower Walks went for the Yellow or Flag Iris. Roger Stephens favoured another wetland plant, cowbane, an umbellifer that is found more in Cheshire than any other county. Tens of thousands of votes were cast nationally. The largest vote overall was for the bluebell - suggesting this should be the emblem for the whole of the United Kingdom. The public voted Cuckooflower (Lady's Smock) as the county flower for Cheshire.

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