Yellow Rattle

If you are in the habit of walking in Gulleys Wood meadow you will know that one of the dominant plant species there is yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor). Yellow rattle is an annual that thrives in grasslands, living a semi-parasitic life by feeding off the nutrients in the roots of nearby grasses and reduces their vigour. It is usually recommended to sow it with other species when creating wildflower meadows. Several members collected a good amount of ripe seed heads one very hot afternoon in July and the seeds were sown on the new meadow on the Nature Park in early October. We hope that in time this will help to reduce the amount of growth there and promote diversity.