In the English springtime one of the constant companions of bluebells and wild garlic are various pink flowers that I’ve seen many times, but never known the name of. On our recent visit to Cornwall I decided to discover the names of two of the most common: pink campion and herb robert.

These are easily distinguished by leaves or number of petals.

Herb Robert (left below) has five petals and serrated parsley- or fern-like leaves, and is related to geraniums.

herb robert

pink campion

Pink Campion (right above, also in red and white variants) has five split petals, so it looks like there are around ten. Its leaves are pointed oval.