Wild Flowers 1 - Dog's Mercury

Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) is common on verges, by hedges and in woodland. These were photographed along the side of a trackway at Itchingfield. The flowers are green and quite inconspicuous.

If cattle eat it, their urine turns a reddish blue colour and can be mildly poisonous. If the plant is picked and dried it turns from green to a metallic glimmering blue-black colour. In the Middle Ages, alchemists thought that it could help turn Mercury to Gold ! It grows in clumps and seems to spread very easily.Last year, there was very little if any about locally at this time due to the cold weather. As it has been milder this year, it is out in flower.