Yellow Rattle has yellow, tube-like flowers which appear from May to September. It has serrated leaves with heavy, dark veins which sprout opposite each other all the way up the stem. The stems have black spots. When the flowers of the Yellow Rattle fade the outside of the flower or calyxes contain ripened seeds which can be heard – giving a distinctive rattle sound and hence the name.

Yellow Rattle is a critical species for any successful wildflower Hay Meadow. It thrives in grasslands and feeds off the nutrients in the roots of nearby grasses allowing more delicate, traditional species to push their way through.