These conical pink flower heads, belonging to butterbur Petasites hybridus, appear in large numbers in April all along the riverbank at the Durham University Sports Centre at Maiden Castle. The plant spreads via creeping underground rhizomes and is unusal in existing as separate-sexed plants. The flower above is male, while the one below is a female. Females are easiest to spot after they have been pollinated, when the flower stalk rapidly elongates and the plant carries tufts of downy, wind-dispersed seeds. After flowering has finished the plants produce very large leaves, that were once dried and used for wrapping butter - hence the common name.
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