Thrift, also known as ‘Cliff Clover’ or ‘Sea-pink’, is a clover-like plant that produces cushions of pink flowers that are familiar sight on cliffs, shingle beaches, inland marshes and sand dunes around Ireland.

Thrift produces flowers from April to July which appear on long stems above cushions of foliage. Thrift grows in well-drained, sandy soils, and is an important source of nectar for a range of insects and pollinators.

The flowers of Thrift were featured on one side of the old ‘thrupenny bit’ – the three pence coin used until the 1970s.

Images by MJ O Mahony