Uncommon in northern England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland this plant is nevertheless quite frequently found on the basic soils of central and southern England. The flowers are usually yellow or yellowish green on plants which can reach 1 m in height. The nutlets (seeds) of this plant are greyish white in colour which is thought to account for the derivation of the English name. The Old French name Gromil (now Grémil) which led to the English Gromwell is a combination of two words gré (grey, the colour) and mil (for millet seed) which gives grey millet the colour of the nutlets.
Valley Forge Woods 11th June 2005
Previous Plant in Latin Index Latin Index English Index Home Page Next Plant in Latin Index
Added on November 7th 2005