Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Bupleurum subovatum

Family

Apiaceae

Flowering season

April to August

In Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland (2003), Blamey,

Blamey and Fitter state that it flowers from June to

August, but the plants shown here were flowering in

mid April.

English distribution

It is very thinly scattered throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for False Thorow-wax

Habitat

It is a neophyte, which was introduced from the

Mediterranea n region in the 1850s.

It occurs as a casual in gardens, on waste ground

and on rubbish tips.

The pictures shown here were of an extensive patch

of plants on Hampstead Heath, London.

It is an infrequent constituent of wild bird seed and

this may account for its widespread but unusual

occurrence.

Description

False Thorow-wax is an annual, waxy, patch-forming

herb, growing up to 30cm.

The small yellow flowers are in umbels above broad

yellow-green, petal-like bracts.

The flowers have no petals.

The upper leaves are large and almost round.

The lower leaves are a darker green, broadly oval with

small teeth.

Stems are hairy and appear to grow through the upper

leaves – hence ‘thorow’.