Scabious Flowers North Fife

Field Scabious flowers - Knautia arvensis. I enjoy to these wayside flowers every year, butterflies find them attractive though they are in short supply having been bashed by the frequent heavy rain showers of late.
This plant is also known as Gypsy Rose, Blue Button and Lady’s Pincushion. When it is first in flower, the stamens standing up from the inflorescences resemble pins protruding from a pincushion. However, the effect is relatively short-lived. The male stamens wither before the female flowers mature to reduce the risks of self-pollination.

The Field Scabious is a perennial herb of grassland on well-drained, especially basic soils. It is also a locally common weed of cultivation, especially in field-borders on chalk. Established plants are drought-resistant and are found naturally in open, sunny situations. It grows on dryish soil and is found naturally on roadside verges.