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Calcareous grassland community

This occurs where soils have an alkaline pH value. It occurs in the White Peak where soils are shallow and rich in lime due to the effect of the underlying limestone bedrock which increases the alkalinity of the soil. Typical species include cowslip and lady’s bedstraw.

Wildflower species:

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)

Lady’s bedstraw has clusters of very small, yellow flowers, supported on thin, branched stems. In calcareous meadows it can be locally abundant, and forms a distinctive mat of yellow.

Its name comes from a legend that the Virgin Mary lay on a bed of lady’s bedstraw at the stable in Bethlehem because the donkeys had eaten all the other fodder. It was then believed that lying on a bed of lady’s bedstraw would ease childbirth.

The plant has several proven uses, containing a chemical, coumarin, which prevents blood from clotting. It produces yellow and red dyes and has been used in the past to curdle milk. Herbalists have used it to treat urinary diseases, epilepsy and gout.

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