Plants connected with birds

This week it’s:

WE generally think of wild birds as welcoming, friendly, often colourful, occasionally playful, and mostly vulnerable creatures. We love to watch them and, because of this, many plant breeders name flower varieties after them. There are, for example, a whole series of plant groups named after them, including the Penstemon Bird Series, the Dianthus Early Bird Series, the Delphinium Blue Bird Group and the Rhododendron Bluebird Group. Over the years, many plants have also been given common names that are associated with birds, such as the bird cherry (Prunus padus), bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and bird’s-nest fern (Asplenium nidus). Let’s look at some more connections.