Yellow Rattle Seed (cleaned) 2026 Harvest

2026 harvest Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor). Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) is a plant widespread across the UK and Ireland. It is found mainly in low-sward, open grasslands such as hay meadow, lime-rich grassland, damp meadows, open grasslands and coastal sites such as sand dunes.

The plant is a hemi or semi-parasite where the roots of young yellow rattle seedings attach themselves to the roots of usually competitive grasses and some other plants e.g. white clover. As such this plant is very useful in meadow restoration schemes by controlling aggressive grasses and opening up the sward for other native plants to grow. Some call Yellow Rattle the meadow maker and is seen as an essential wildflower to have in restoring a species rich wildflower meadow.

Yellow rattle is an annual plant and grows about 20-30cm (some a little higher). It produces bright yellow flowers from May through July. Large bees, especially bumblebees are the main pollinators. Yellow rattle seed heads are very distinctive and as they ripen the large seed pods turn brown and can hold their seeds in for up to 3 weeks (depending on weather!). The seeds look like brown fried eggs and when dry/ripe they produce the distinctive ‘rattle’ sound in the pods. Some farmers call yellow rattle ‘Hay Rattle’.

This yellow rattle seed is termed “cleaned” seed, having gone through our specialist Seed Separators and the final stages to remove almost every chaff, stem fragments, and fruit casings. The result is almost 100% pure yellow rattle seed but occasionally there are the odd husk or very small stem left. This seed product is easy to handle and can be sown by mechanical means.

All our seeds are true UK native wildflowers, harvested from sites across the country many within Cumbria/North England/South Scotland with some from our own meadows. We work with many Wildlife Organisations and collect wild seed from their Nature Reserves/Wildlife Sites operating within landowner approval and a DEFRA permit.

By choosing our products, you support British growers and suppliers who work closely with local farmers and businesses. However, please be aware that some online sellers import non-native plants and seeds. While these may be cheaper, they are not true UK natives and may not suit our environment.

Price quoted per unit (gram of seed). This product has a minimum quantity of 10 grams. For orders over 10,000 grams please contact us for special rates.