Yellow Rattle
Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) is a valuable wildflower found in healthy wildflower grasslands, meadows and heaths. It is a popular choice to add when restoring wildflower meadows, to help keep dominant grasses at bay. In fact, it’s known as the “meadow maker” because it parasitises on the roots of neighbouring grasses, leeching water and nutrients from them, reducing their vigour and allowing other wildflowers an opportunity to establish and thrive.
Producing short leafy spikes of small yellow flowers anywhere from 10 cm to 50 cm in height, but commonly in Cloudforests around 20-30 cm tall. It generally flowers from May to September, and as the seeds dry in their flower’s calyx they rattle in the wind, giving the plant its common name.
The seed is short-lived and needs a period of cold to germinate, so on Cloudforest One we will add more seed this autumn to help boost the population for next year. This is to help control the returning rye grass that was previously sown for cattle’s benefit but is no longer being grazed.
