The flowers of Barra are slow to wake from the severe winter weather so it is not surprising that it is usually April before the Lesser Celandine – as on mainland – appears as a herald of Spring. They are soon followed by the Common Dog Violet  peeping out from under the dried grass and bracken in sheltered spots. The pale mauve or white Lady’s Smock or Cuckoo Flower  is commonly found in less well drained places and provides a welcome source of nectar for the Tortoiseshell and Large White butterflies roused from hibernation by the Spring sunshine. There are some lovely patches of Gorse  whose glorious yellow is the first splash of colour of the year.

Come May, the variety and number of flowers quickly rises. The island now shows broad swaths of colour. The pale yellow of the Primrose  by roadside banks and ditches, on the machair and the grassy slopes of Eoligarry, is a veritable profusion of the flower which above all others is the first to come to mind when ones thoughts are of Barra. By mid May, Bluebells carpet Northbay wood and many less sheltered spots besides, even the offshore islands; there the flowers are of much darker blue and seldom have more than four blooms to the stem. The rich yellow of the Marsh Marigold  is thick in the damper hollows. By the end of the month another shade of yellow, that of the Flag Iris  abounds displacing the marigolds and spreading widely in broad stretches. Barra’s bird – the Corncrake – has cause to bless the Iris, for they and the young nettle afford the only cover for them when they arrive in early May.

By early June, the machair, that flat and fertile land stretching from the shore, is now covered with Buttercups and Daisies , a breathtaking sight on a sunny day when the daisies are open wide. Later this gives way to Lady’s Bedstraw , yet another yellow but this time filling the air with its sweet scent. When this has died down, Common Ragwort  takes over; when it dies, its blackened leaves give a discordant note to all the beauty that has gone before. These are the flowers which give Barra its complexion.

Many other equally colourful flowers, not so numerous or densely spread, start to show. Some of these have a relatively short flowering time, others much longer, so that it is difficult to be precise what you may see at any one time. Nor do they necessarily keep to one habitat, some being found widely, others in their own special locality, be it seashore, rocky coast, machair or rough pasture, marsh, bog, or heath land.

If we were to take a walk from the seashore of tide line, we would pass through these different habitats in turn; so let us look at some of the flowers as we go. Just about the drift line on the sandy shore and nourished by the seaweed thrown up by the winter storms is a thick growth of Common Orache  which has a soft fleshy leaf and a greenish flower spike. There we may find Sea Rocket  which has sweet scented flowers, pale mauve in colour. As we meet Silverweed , Sea Sandwort  and Birds-foot Trefoil . Where the shore is rocky or stony, we may see the small white flowers of Early and Common Scurvy Grass , Sea Milkwort  and White Sea Campion and many clumps of Sea Pink or Thrift . Compared with the Uists, there are only small patches of salt marsh, but where they are they may be covered pink with masses of Thrift amongst which grows Sea Plantain and Sea Milkwort.

Leaving the shore behind, the marram grass gets less and we are on the machair with all its buttercups and daisies, clover and Eyebright  and orchids. This gives way shortly to rough pasture or marshy ground or it may rise steeply to the grassy slopes and heath lands. Where cultivation has taken place, there are na lot of meadow plants. Corn Marigold , Sow Thistle , Ragged Robin , Purple Vetch , Yellow Rattle  and Wild Pansy . Hug Weed and Wild Carrot  are usually plentiful. In the damper areas, marigolds and irises give way to Marsh Ragwort and Meadowsweet . At Eoligarry, you may see some fine stretches of Bogbean  whose white and pink feathery spikes and large three-lobed leaves make a fine display.

Where the ground rises steeply from the sea to the grassy slopes and heath, Spring Squill  makes a pretty sight, its pale blue flowers contrasting with the scattered patches of sea pink and Lousewort . Already, in early June, there should be many orchids. Common and Heath Milkwort  are very plentiful; they are a deep blue. Soon the reddish purple of Wild Thyme  will be seen creeping through the turf and the small pink candles of Common Centaury  which is of the Gentian family. Its relative the Field Gentian with larger purplish spikes comes later in July. In the damper patches pink Bog Pimpernel , is common and you may find the diminutive fern Adder’s Tongue . It is two or three inches tall and has an oval leaf from which springs a small spike like a plantain which holds the spores or seeds.

Mountain Everlasting  is another small flower which sometimes covers wide areas with its woolly heads, white for the male, pink for the female. Lady’s Bedstraw, purple Self-Heal  and many Catsears , and Hawkweeds with their yellow dandelion – like heads make the scene a colourful one. In the rough grassland, there are wide areas of Creeping Willow  which may, in favourable conditions, grow about a foot high. The delicate Elegant St. John’s wort , can be found in their different shades of purple.

In the centre of the island, the habitat is moorland; peat covered with heather with small streams and wide boggy areas. The main flowers are the heathers. Ling or Common heather  in August is preceded by the bright magenta of the Bell Heather  in the drier rocky parts while in the boggy areas the pink Cross0leaved Heath  prevails. All these heathers are quite commonly found in their white forms. Creeping Willow is common in the drier spots while in the bogs is found Bog Myrtle . This small shrub may grow about two feet tall and its leaves when crushed have a lovely aromatic smell. This habitat holds many interesting plants notably the Sundews and Butterworts both of which are insectivorous. The Common Sundew has a rosette of small round reddish hairy leaves from which, in July, a slender stalk of white flowers appears. The Great Sundew  has long tapering leaves. Small insects are caught in the sticky hairs and slowly digested by the plants secretions. The Common Butterwort  is numerous not only here but in other damp habitats, its delicate purple flower springing from a star of yellow-green leaves in May and June. Its smaller relative the Pale Butterwort  follows, is less xommon and prefers much wtter places often in company with sundews and in sphagnum moss. Its leaf star is less bright and the pale pink flower about two inches tall. White Cotton Grass  often covers wide areas of the flat boggy parts while in the slower running peaty streams and ditches Spearwort  and Water Forget-me-not and Broad-leaved Pondweed grow. Honeysuckle , Dog Rose and stunted Rowan cling to the steeper rocky banks and cover the small islands in the lochs. The red of the Rowan berries in Autumn is said to have given Loch nic Ruaidhe its name. In the shallower water can be found the delicate pale mauve Water Lobelia , Water Horsetail and White Water-Lily .

Ferns abound Barra, from the tiny Adders Tongue already mentioned to the huge clumps of Buckler Fern and Male Fern. Commonly Polypody and Hard Fern are readily found and there are some good specimens of Royal Fern.

So far there has been little mention of the Orchid family. They are worthy of special consideration for of the twenty eight species or sub-species that are found in Scotland, Barra holds around fourteen. Broadly speaking they may be identified from their habitat, the number of flowers in the spike and their colour, the character of the lower petal or lip and the nature of the leaves and whether of not they are spotted. Orchids frequently hybridise which makes identification sometimes difficult.

Early Purple Orchid  5” – 8”. Spots on leaves variable. Lip broad with three lobes, the centre one plae at it’s base. Grassy slopes and heath land. Early May – June.

Heath Spotted Orchid  4” – 10”. Narrow pointed leaves usually well spotted. Lip three lobed, broad with irregular margin. White to pale mauve with broken lines and dots on lip. Widespread and sometimes very numerous on acid heaths. Faint pleasant perfume. May – July.

Common Spotted Orchid  9” – 12”. Narrow pointed leaves usually well spotted. Lip three lobed, middle lobe triangular. Pale mauve or pink with broken dots and lines on lip. Neutral or basic grassland often by roadsides. Subspecies Hebridensis is much more common and often in large numbers. 5” – 10”. Purplish pink. Mid June and July.

Early Marsh Orchid  4” – 10”. Leaves yellow green, keeled and top hooded. No spots. Lip three lobed. Middle one small and pointed, side ones folded back. Flesh colour with dark loops usually symmetrical. Subspecies Coccinea. Dark crimson becoming lighter as it opens. Damp sandy areas near dunes. Subspecies Pulchella. Rose pink. In acid bogs. Late May – July.

Northern Marsh Orchid  5” – 10”. Leaves broad usually unspotted. Lip three lobed roughly diamond shaped. Darker lines and dots on central part. Magenta. Marsh and damp grass. June – July.

Lesser Butterfly Orchid  8” – 12”. Two large oval leaves at base of stem. Flowers in a loose spike, white tinged with green. Lip long strap yellow green. Damp heath and grass. June – July.

Forg Orchid  2” – 6”. Three or four oval leaves near base of stem. Flower looks globular reddish green with long narrow lip with three divisions at the end, the middle one small. Short sandy turf and grass. Late June and July.

Pyramidal Orchid  6” – 12”. Three of four narrow unspotted leaves. Dense pyramid of bright pink flowers. Three lobe lip, lobes almost equal and oblong. In sandy areas usually in company with marram grass. Late June - July.

Common Twayblade  3” – 6”. Two oval leaves near base of stem. Reddish green flowers amongst or under long heather. June – July.

These are but a few of the flowers to be found on Barra.