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The yellow rattle

WILDFLOWERS are starting to make a comeback in the county.

The yellow rattle plant, Rhinanthus minor, is blooming again on North Wiltshire farmland as part of a five-year project by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

It is hoped that the return of the bloom could signal the return of many other native flowers, and the return of the long-lost flower-filled hay meadows of the past.

Rob Nicholls, of the trust's Landscapes for Wildlife Project, said: "We are really pleased with the result.

"It's a symbol of our efforts to bring wildflowers back into the countryside.

"Yellow rattle is a really useful wildflower species to have when you are trying to restore the biodiversity of meadows."

advertisement The yellow rattle is a semi-parasitic plant that carries a bright yellow flower when in bloom.

It was planted alongside seeds of other plants, including common vetch, knapweed, lady's bedstraw and bird's-foot-trefoil.

These other wildflowers are viewed as harder to cultivate.

But it is thought the sight of the light green, spear-shaped leaves of yellow rattle dotted among the grass is a good sign that the other flowers will follow .

According to the trust, the yellow rattle has been spotted in all the eight fields in which they were sown. One field, near Minety, has 7,000 of them.

The yellow rattle flowers in May and June so it provides an early indicator that at least some of the other plants may have taken hold.

Paul Darby, from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, said: "The germination of other flowers is more of an unknown quantity, so it will be interesting to see what else comes up this year."

The five-year project, which was launched two years ago, covers the Braydon Forest area, with Minety as the central point.

Aside from the hay meadows project, the trust has overseen the planting of 1.5km of hedgerows and the restoration of 130 metres of water courses and six ponds on farmland.

Over the last two years the scheme has also given more than £10,000 to help pay farmers and landowners for work they do that benefits wildlife.

9:01am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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