Native Flowers of England Quiz | Flowers, Plants & Gardens

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. We start with 'Digitalis purpurea', a flowering plant found not only in England but throughout the temperate regions of Europe. Known as the original source of the heart medicine digoxin, this is the floral emblem of the City of Birmingham. Which flower is this?

Answer: Foxglove

This flower is the common foxglove (also sometimes called purple foxglove or lady's glove). Popular with gardeners, foxgloves can now be found in colours ranging from pink to purple. The foxglove is also the floral emblem for Leicestershire.

Although digoxin makes the foxglove more than useful to mankind for medical purposes, it also makes the leaves, flowers and seeds poisonous to humans (and some other animals).

2. 'Pulsatilla vulgaris' is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family that is widely found throughout Europe on terrain such as chalk and limestone downs. In England, it is particularly prevalent in the Cotswolds. The county flower of Cambridgeshire, what is this plant?

Answer: Pasqueflower

Commonly known as the pasqueflower (or pasque flower), 'Pulsatilla vulgaris' is also sometimes called Dane's blood. Closely related to flowers in the Anemone genus, this herbaceous perennial produces purple flowers followed by silky seed-heads.

Saxon legend would have it that these flowers grow where the blood of Romans or Danes was spilled.

3. 'Cardamine pratensis' is a flowering plant in the cabbage family. Common throughout Britain, it can also be found growing wild in Europe and much of western Asia. Found in either pink or white, which plant is the floral emblem of Cheshire?

Answer: Cuckooflower

A hairless, herbaceous perennial, 'Cardamine pratensis' is known either as the cuckooflower or as lady's smock. The species name, 'pratensis', means "meadow" in Latin. Often grown as an ornamental plant, this is a major source of food for the orange tip butterfly and also attracts numerous other species to gardens.

Once used as a substitute for watercress, folklore has it that cuckooflower is sacred to fairies.

4. 'Polemonium caeruleum' is a hardy, perennial, flowering plant in the phlox family. Found growing wild throughout the temperate regions of Europe, its flowers come in both lavender and white. The country floral emblem of Derbyshire, which flower is this?

Answer: Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's-ladder (or Greek valerian) can be found widely in grasslands, woodlands and meadows around Britain and throughout much of northern Europe. Both honey bees and cats are attracted to these plants.

Jacob's ladder was used by the Ancient Greeks as a medicinal herb to treat toothache and animal bites and, more recently, it has been used to treat rabies.

5. A perennial, flowering plant, 'Primula vulgaris' is native to southern and western Europe and is one of the most common sights in the fields, open woods and shaded hedgerows of Britain. The floral emblem of Devon, which plant is this?

Answer: Primrose

Commonly called primrose, 'Primula vulgaris' is technically the English primrose or common primrose to distinguish it from other similar species. It usually produces pale yellow flowers, although both pink and white are not uncommon. It is commonly seen growing along motorway verges and railway embankments throughout England: although picking primroses has been illegal in England since 1981, plants in many habituated areas have disappeared because of over-picking.

"Primrose Day" is officially April 19 in England. This coincides with the anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (in 1881), whose favourite flower was the primrose.

6. The distinctive pale yellow flowers with darker central trumps of the splendidly named 'Narcissus pseudonarcissus' are a common spring-time sight throughout England and much of western Europe. The official floral emblem of Gloucestershire, which plant is this?

Answer: Daffodil

Commonly known as the wild daffodil (or Lent lily), 'Narcissus pseudonarcissus' is the official floral emblem of both the English county of Gloucestershire and of Wales. Both Gloucestershire and Yorkshire have nature reserves or national parks with significant populations of wild daffodils.

The leaves (and the bulbs) of daffodils (and some related species) contain the toxic crystalline alkaloid lycorine, making them poisonous to humans.

7. A flowering plant in the lily family, 'Fritillaria meleagris' has a distinctive chequered pattern on flowers ranging from purple to white. Native to Europe and western Asia, this is an endangered plant that is now rarely found growing wild. The floral emblem of Oxfordshire, what is this plant?

Answer: Snake's Head

Known by numerous names, the original English name for 'Fritillaria meleagris' is the snake's head. Its other names include chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil and drooping tulip. Once abundant in the UK, much of its natural habitat was destroyed when fields were ploughed for agriculture during WWII, although it is still a popular garden plant.

The floral emblem of Oxfordshire, it can be found growing wild in the meadows of Oxford University's Magdalen College.

8. 'Primula elatior' is a herbaceous, flowering plant that in the U.K. is now rarely seen outside East Anglia, although it is still found in damp woods and meadows throughout northern Europe. The floral emblem of Suffolk, which flower is this?

Answer: Oxlip

Commonly known as the oxlip, 'Primula elatior' is part of the primrose family. Preferring soil that is calcium-rich but lacking in nutrients, they are often found in boggy pastures. The oxlip was chosen as the floral emblem of Suffolk in 2002 poll.

9. A vigorous, evergreen climber, 'Lonicera periclymenum' is a flowering plant native to the UK and much of Europe. Often seen in woodland, hedgerows or scrubland surrounded by bright red berries, this is the floral emblem of Warwickshire. Which plant is this?

Answer: Honeysuckle

One of two species of honeysuckle native to Britain, 'Lonicera periclymenum' is the common honeysuckle or woodbine. It is popular in gardens for its ability to cover bare walls or fences and to combine with other plants by twining itself around them. Gardeners need to beware, though, as honeysuckle plants can grow to a substantial size and have been known to take over relatively small areas.

10. A herbaceous perennial flowering plant, 'Campanula rotundifolia' is a member of the bellflower family. It is most often found on Britain's grasslands and heaths, where the soil is lacking nutrients. The official floral emblem of Yorkshire, what is this plant?

Answer: Harebell

Often called a bluebell in Scotland, in the rest of the UK and elsewhere (where the bluebell is a different plant entirely) it is known as the harebell. A species with a long history, it has also been called blawort, lady's thimble, witch's bells and witch's thimbles. The harebell finds conditions on windy heaths and open grasslands ideal and it has an almost circumpolar range in the Northern Hemisphere.

Many famous writers have mentioned the harebell: Shakespeare (in "Cymbeline") and Emily Dickinson, for example, and Christina Rossetti even wrote a dedicated poem, "Hope is Like a Harebell".

Source: Author EnglishJedi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Native Flowers of England Trivia Quiz

Here we see ten flowers native to England (although not exclusively so). Each of them has been adopted as the official floral emblem of an English country or city. Identify the flowers from the photo and the clues.

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