Design
By Nature - Seeds- Wildflowers.ie 
Species Datapage No 37
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Irish Wildflower For Sale Species Common Name: Yellow RattleSpecies Botanical Name: Rhinanthus minor A semi-parasitic, summer annual found in a wide range of grassland habitats on soils of moderate or low fertility.
A
Meadow Gem, Yellow Rattle, if it establishes in your meadow, will reduce the
growth of grasses through it's semi-parasitic action
of living on the roots of grasses. Encourage it and let it seed at
all cost, no matter what no matter how, Just do it! and.........Your meadow will rattle in the breeze Tolerance of cutting: Low, Cutting time: None, Early Spring, Autumn. Edible / Medicinal:  Rattle, Rattle, Rattle. for wildflower growers this is the Summer and
nothing (well nearly nothing means as much to us, as a meadow with
rattle).
"But it's only a low, dull plant and you can hardly see the colour", I agree but if its present it means no work, cutting except one per year. It means that you are a skilled wildflower grower. Hay or Yellow Rattle grows on the roots of grass, clovers, vetches and other species, reducing their ability to smother many species which then thrive in Rattle meadows.
Life Cycle (Form): Annual, persistent in grassland Flower Height: 10 to 30 cm Foliage Height: 5 - cm Flower Colour: Yellow, Flowering period: May, June, July, August (on meadows grazed or cut up to May), Time to Flower: 7 months Soil Type: Will grow in most soils. pH Type: Acid, Neutral, Alkaline. Moisture: Dry, Moist, Wet Aspect: Full sun, Wildlife Value: Medium,
It is a hemiparasite species. All of which are uncommon or rare, some endangered with extinction. We stock three other such annuals facing extinction, Eyebright, Loosewort and Red Bartsia. They
are all annuals adapted to survival in grassland. You can 'Top' grass back down to the top height of the Rattle or other hemiparasite species.
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