Bird's Foot Trefoil, or Bacon and Eggs, is a small brightly-coloured perennial. Like Bitter Vetch it belongs to the pea family. The flowers are a strong yellow with red streaks and tips. The leaflets grow in fives; as the lower two leaflets slope back the upper ones appear to be in threes, hence the name 'Trefoil'. The pods are long and they join together in the shape of a bird's foot. The plant grows on grassland and in rough pastures all over the country; it is widespread and decorative and has many local names.

Bird's foot Trefoil is one of the most universal wild flowers. It grows over most of Europe, Asia and parts of Africa, and is found on mountains in the tropics.

The flowers bloom between May and September.

Ragged Robin
Lychnis flos-cuculi

Ragged Robin is a medium to tall perennial. The red flower petals are deeply cleft, giving a ragged look. The upper leaves are sparse and narrow, the lower ones more rounded. The stem, reddish looking and slightly downy, is sticky towards the top. The calyx is red and bloated with purple veins. The plant is conspicuous in many marshes and fens.

Ragged Robin is common in Europe, and has been introduced in North America.

The flowers appear in June and July.

Scarlet Pimpernel
Anagallis arvensis
Rinn-rúisc

Scarlet Pimpernel, also called Shepherd's Weatherglass, and Poor Man's Weatherglass, is a small annual. The scarlet flowers have five petals. The leaves are oval, have two stalks and grow opposite each other. There is a prostrate stem which throws up flowering shoots. The plant grows in dry conditions in disturbed ground, sand dunes and ploughed fields, and is very common in the south of Ireland, less so in the north. The name 'Weatherglass' is aptly given to this pretty flower, as the petals close when the sun goes in; they close regularly in mid-afternoon also.

Scarlet Pimpernel grows in most non-tropical countries. Flowering starts in May and continues until the autumn.

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