This is a late summer plant which is very happy to grow and flower in quite deep shade. It is quite small and rarely exceeds 20cm in height. This habitat poses real problems for a photographer for even on a sunny day there is never enough light where these plants like to grow.

e name was thought to have derived from Homer where the witch Circe turned Ulysses men into pigs. In Anglo Saxon times the plant, known as Aelfthone was a said to be a cure for elf-sickness.

It is a common plant all over England, Wales, Ireland and southern Scotland

Side of road in deep shade, Helsby, Cheshire 5th September 2005

Added on 5th September 2005, updated 1st December 2008, updated 14th March 2010