Wood Avens

Wood avens is a medium height perennial with a vibrant yellow flower and leaf-like stipules on the stems.

Uses

The yellow flower of Wood Avens is a good source of pollen for insects and is a food plant for the Grizzled Skipper Butterfly.

Persistence

Tough stems and sturdy roots, together with a profusion of hooked seeds make this plant a persistent species.

Strengths

Wood Avens is an easy wildflower to grow suiting many soil conditions.

Frost Tolerance

Wood avens is extremely hardy and not frost tender.

Ideal Sowing Time

Wood Avens seeds should be sown in Spring or Autumn.

Management

This is a very low maintenance species.

Distinguishing characteristics

Seed
plant produces hooked achenes with awn-like spike that cling to fur/clothing to disperse seed.

Seedling
Fairly distinctive rosettes of trifoliate rounded, lobed leaves with smaller paired leaves further down the stem.

Flowering Plant
This has a flower made up of five yellow petals with leaf-like stipules up the stems. The lower leaves are pinnate with the end leaflets being larger.

Additional Info

Flowers between June and November, but can be seen later in the year.

You can find Wood Avens in the following mixtures

• Woodland Edge and Shady Area Mixture

History

Wood Aven is also known as Herb Bennet, it's thought that the common name 'Herb Bennet' comes from mediaeval Latin meaning 'the blessed herb' because the plant was widely used in herbal medicine at this time.