Centranthus ruber (Red Valerian)

Centranthus ruber (Red Valerian). 

Native to S. Europe (a band from Crimea to the Atlantic islands), but a common sight in the UK, especially in the SW, on cliffs, old walls and rough stony ground. Part of the interest lies in the neighbourly coexistence of three common colourways:

1. A deep pink, a very common colour in insect-attracting flowers, more or less the same as red campion. (Whether you call this colour magenta is pretty much a matter of taste. For me the plant that defines "botanical magenta" is common vetch. In other words I think of magenta as an intense red-purple, rather than pink.) About 50% of the population are this colour, I'd say, based on many miles of Mendip streets.

While bees seem to like all the colourways of Red Valerian, butterflies largely restrict their visits to plants of this deep pink colour. In years when the Painted Lady comes to Britain, this is where you're most likely to see it. Hummingbird Hawk-moths make it part of their daily round, too.  

2. Crimson, looking somewhat reddish in comparison to the previous. This is nearly as common as the previous, maybe about 40% of the total.




3. And white. Perhaps a comparatively sparse 10%, but still completely commonplace. (I don't understand the genetics behind this.)




Very much less frequently, (like, .00001%) you might come across this pale pink form.

The vivid colours make Centranthus ruber welcome in all but the most snobbish of town gardens, until it gets too invasive. But the classic location is on the outside of garden walls. Throughout the summer the plants narrow the streets on both sides, leaning inwards like arsenals of soft weaponry drawn up for a massacre of love. Then masses of fluffy seeds get blown into stony crevices and develop into even more of these tough, vigorous plants.

The Swedish name is Pipört ("pipe-wort"), referring to the long nectar-spurs, attractive to butterflies and moths. 

... But it's worth it! Frome, 9 June 2026.

Making a blue sky look bluer. Frome, 31 May 2026.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth. Frome, 31 May 2025.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth. Frome, 31 May 2025.