Early Emerging Stars

 Yesterday I came across these two, the first wildflowers of the year.

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), also known as pilewort.  William Wordsworth's favourite wildflower, he devoted three poems to it and even chose it to be depicted on his gravestone.  (Sadly the stonemason's template was for the similarly named but unrelated Greater Celandine - Chelidonium majus. To this day the imposter persists.

The second new arrival is the flower of Coltsfoot. Tussilago farfara. In this case the flowering stalk emerges from unseen rhizomes before the leaves.  It is the shape of the leaves that give it it's common name. The latin name comes from its reputation for easing coughs. Tussis = cough. 

Both have a foothold on the grassy bank of the Union Canal that links Edinburgh to Falkirk.