''Saxifraga ''×'' urbium'', London pride, is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

garden

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. Alternative names for it include St. Patrick's cabbage, whimsey, prattling Parnell, and look up and kiss me. Before 1700 the “London pride” appellation was given to the sweet William (''

Dianthus barbatus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'').Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 18th edition, 2005 In 1846,

Theresa Cornwallis West Theresa Cornwallis West (née Whitby; 1806–1886) (''Mrs F. West'') was a British author. She is most noted for her ''A Summer Visit to Ireland in 1846'' and wrote stories for children, young adults and even a novel for adults (''The Doom of Doola ...

made a journey to Ireland. Near Dunloe in County Kerry "heareabouts grew quantities of our London Pride, and upon my expressing a wish for some roots to carry home, Sullivan he driversprang down and tore up a large tuft. 'Ah, then,' said ur guide Spillane 'that's too much entirely; why wouldn't ye leave some for the next comer?'" (''A Summer Visit to the West of Ireland in 1846'', p. 99).

Taxonomy

The true London pride is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between ''

Saxifraga umbrosa ''Saxifraga umbrosa'', called true London pride, none-so-pretty, king's feather, kiss-me-quick, leaf of St Patrick, look-up-and-kiss-me, mignonette of the French, Nancy-pretty, prattling Parnell, Pyrenean saxifrage, sailor plant, St Anne's needle ...

'', native to the Spanish

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, and ''

Saxifraga spathularis ''Saxifraga spathularis'', the St Patrick's cabbage, is a species of saxifrage native to Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. It is a member of the so-called Lusitanian flora, a small set of plants which are native to Ireland but inexplicably absent fr ...

'' (the plant to which the name St Patrick's cabbage more correctly belongs, from western

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

). The hybrid has been known at least since the 17th century. The name is sometimes applied to any of several closely related plants of the

saxifrage ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

genus. The section ''Gymnopera'' is collectively referred to as "London Pride saxifrages", and others of them have "London pride" in their common names, for example the lesser London pride, ''S. cuneifolia'', and the miniature London pride, ''S. umbrosa'' var. ''primuloides''.

Description

London pride is tolerant of dry, shady conditions. It grows to a height of and provides rapid ground cover without being aggressively invasive, and in late spring produces a mass of small pale pink rosette flowers growing from succulent stems. It will grow well in neglected or unfavourable urban spaces where few other flowers flourish, and is a common garden escapee. Saxifraga x urbium R02

This plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Symbolism

In particular, tradition holds that ''Saxifraga ''×'' urbium'' rapidly colonised the bombed sites left by the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

of the early 1940s. As such it is symbolic of the resilience of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and ordinary Londoners, and of the futility of seeking to bomb them into submission. A

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

, celebrating London and the flower, achieved great popularity during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years. In the

language of flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

, London Pride is held to stand for frivolity, and its day is 27 July. Bishop

Walsham How William Walsham How (13 December 182310 August 1897) was an English Anglican bishop. Known as Walsham How, he was the son of a Shrewsbury solicitor; How was educated at Shrewsbury School, Wadham College, Oxford and University College, Durham. H ...

(1823–1897) wrote a poem to the flower rebuking it for having the sin of pride. When told the flower had the name because Londoners were proud of it he wrote another poem apologising to it.

References

External links

Words of the song by Noel Coward
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxifraga urbium Garden plants of Europe Hybrid plants urbium United Kingdom home front during World War II