Pulsatilla vulgaris

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Pulsatilla vulgaris
Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) (17022184800).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Pulsatilla
Species:
P. vulgaris
Binomial name
Pulsatilla vulgaris
Synonyms [2]
Synonyms list
    • Anemone acutipetalaSchleich.
    • Anemone bogenhardiana(Rchb.) Pritz.
    • Anemone collinaSalisb.
    • Anemone intermediaSchult.
    • Anemone pratensisSibth.
    • Anemone pulsatillaL.
    • Anemone pulsatilla f. henryi(Christ) Tosco
    • Anemone sylvestrisVill.
    • Anemone tenuifoliaSchleich.
    • Pulsatilla amoenaJord.
    • Pulsatilla apertaSchur
    • Pulsatilla bogenhardianaRchb.
    • Pulsatilla intermediaSweet
    • Pulsatilla mediaBogenh.
    • Pulsatilla oenipontanaDalla Torre & Sarnth.
    • Pulsatilla properaJord.
    • Pulsatilla rectaGilib.
    • Pulsatilla transsilvanicaSchur
    • Pulsatilla vulgaris subsp. anglica(W.Zimm.) P.D.Sell
    • Pulsatilla vulgaris var. anglicaW.Zimm.

Pulsatilla vulgaris, the pasqueflower, [3] is a species of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), found locally on calcareous grassland in Europe, [4] and widely cultivated in gardens. It was considered part of the genus Anemone , to which it is closely related. [5] Several sources still list Anemone pulsatilla as the accepted name, with Pulsatilla vulgaris as a synonym. [6]

Contents

Other variations of its common name include European pasqueflower and common pasqueflower. The name may also be split in two - pasque flower.

Description

This herbaceous perennial plant develops upright rhizomes, which function as food-storage organs. Its leaves and stems are long, soft, silver-grey and hairy. It grows to 15–30 cm (6–12 in) high and when it is fruit-bearing up to 40 cm (16 in). The roots go 1 m (39 in) deep into the soil. The finely-dissected leaves are arranged in a rosette and appear with the bell-shaped flower in early spring. The purple flowers are followed by distinctive silky seed-heads which can persist on the plant for many months.

The flower is 'cloaked in myth'; one legend has it that Pasque flowers sprang up in places that had been soaked by the blood of Romans or Danes because they often appear on old barrows and boundary banks. [7]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3] [8]

Designation

It is classified as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan [9] and as Vulnerable in Britain on the Red Data List. [7]

Location

It grows in sparsely wooded pine forests or meadows, often on a sunny sloping side with calcium-rich soil. A large colony occurs on publicly accessible land in the Cotswolds, UK, at the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's Pasqueflower reserve. [10]

Cultural Significance

It is the county flower of the English counties of Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. [11]

Varieties

While the species Pulsatilla vulgaris has purplish flowers; variants include red ('Rubra') and white ('Alba') forms (see images).

Related Research Articles

<i>Anemone</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae

Anemone is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. The genus is closely related to several other genera including Anemonoides, Anemonastrum, Hepatica, and Pulsatilla. Some botanists include these genera within Anemone.

<i>Fritillaria meleagris</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae

Fritillaria meleagris is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head, chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in the British Isles, simply fritillary. The plant is a bulbous perennial native to the flood river plains of Europe where it grows in abundance.

<i>Pulsatilla</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family

The genus Pulsatilla contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the Easter (Passover) flowering period, in the spring. Common names include pasque flower, wind flower, prairie crocus, Easter flower, and meadow anemone. Several species are valued ornamentals because of their finely-dissected leaves, solitary bell-shaped flowers, and plumed seed heads. The showy part of the flower consists of sepals, not petals.

<i>Primula vulgaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Primula vulgaris, the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and parts of southwest Asia. The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species also called primroses. None of these are closely related to the evening primroses.

<i>Syringa vulgaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Syringa vulgaris, the lilac or common lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. Grown in spring for its scented flowers, this large shrub or small tree is widely cultivated and has been naturalized in parts of Europe, Asia and North America. It is not regarded as an aggressive species. It is found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations.

<i>Astrantia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the celery family Apiaceae

Astrantia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, native to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and the Caucasus. There are several species, which have aromatic roots, palmate leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort or masterwort which may also refer to other plants, particularly the unrelated Peucedanum ostruthium.

<i>Erica cinerea</i> Species of flowering plant in the heather family Ericaceae

Erica cinerea, the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe.

<i>Pulsatilla alpina</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla alpina, the alpine pasqueflower or alpine anemone, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to the mountain ranges of central and southern Europe, from central Spain to Croatia. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 15–30 cm (6–12 in) tall by 20 cm (8 in) wide, and can be found at altitudes of 1,200–2,700 m (3,900–8,900 ft).

<i>Pulsatilla vernalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla vernalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to mountainous habitats in Europe. Growing to 10 cm (4 in) high and wide, it is a semi-evergreen perennial with hairy, divided leaves. In early spring it bears anemone-like flowers which are up to 6 cm (2 in) in diameter, white flushed with violet on the outer surface of the petals, and prominent yellow stamens.

<i>Pulsatilla pratensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla pratensis, the small pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to central and eastern Europe, from southeast Norway and western Denmark south and east to Bulgaria. It grows from near sea level in the north of the range, up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in the south of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnsley Warren</span> Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Barnsley Warren is a 61.3-hectare (151-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1984. The site is also included in A Nature Conservation Review. It lies in a steep-sided dry valley, east of the A429, northeast of Cirencester in the Cotswolds. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

<i>Anemone occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Anemone occidentalis, the white pasqueflower or western pasqueflower, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Other authorities place it in the genus Pulsatilla. Individuals are 10–60 cm (3.9–23.6 in) tall, from caudices, with three to six leaves at the base of the plant that are 3-foliolate, each leaflet pinnatifid to dissected in shape. Leaf petioles are 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long. Leaves have villous hairs and their margins are pinnatifid or dissected. Plants flower briefly mid-spring to mid-summer, usually soon after the ground is exposed by melting snow. The flowers are composed of five to seven sepals, normally white or soft purple, also mixed white and blueish purple, one flower per stem. The sepals are 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) long and 10–17 mm (0.39–0.67 in) wide. Flowers have 150–200 stamens. The fruit occurs in heads rounded to subcylindric in shape, with pedicels 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) long. The achenes are ellipsoid in shape, not winged, covered with villous hairs, with beaks curved that reflex as they age and 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, feather-like. Generally, the fruit persists into fall.

<i>Plumeria rubra</i> Species of tree

Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus Plumeria. Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, it has been widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical climates worldwide and is a popular garden and park plant, as well as being used in temples and cemeteries. It grows as a spreading tree to 7–8 m (23–26 ft) high and wide, and is flushed with fragrant flowers of shades of pink, white and yellow over the summer and autumn.

<i>Pulsatilla patens</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla patens is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and China. Common names include Eastern pasqueflower and cutleaf anemone.

<i>Pulsatilla koreana</i>

Pulsatilla koreana, the Korean pasque flower, is one species of the genus Pulsatilla. P. koreana is a hairy, tufted, perennial herb. It is a native perennial plant growing in Korea and used as a traditional Korean herbal medicine.

<i>Anemonoides blanda</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Anemonoides blanda, syn. Anemone blanda, the Balkan anemone, Grecian windflower, or winter windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. The species is native to southeastern Europe and the Middle East. The specific epithet blanda means "mild" or "charming". The genus name is derived from the Greek word anemos, or wind.

<i>Pulsatilla nuttalliana</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulsatilla nuttalliana, known as American pasqueflower, prairie pasqueflower, prairie crocus, or simply pasqueflower, is a flowering plant native to much of North America, from the western side of Lake Michigan, to northern Canada in the Northwest Territories, south to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Pasqueflower is the provincial flower of Manitoba and the state flower of South Dakota.

<i>Pulsatilla grandis</i> Species of plant

Pulsatilla grandis, the greater pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Pulsatilla of the family Ranunculaceae. It is a perennial plant that grows on calcium-rich soil in dry grasslands, in rocky outcrops, and in pine and oak forests. It flowers from February to April, in the time of the Easter, with intensively blue to violet flowers. Its silk stalk is protected from the cold by velvety trichomes (hairs). Pulsatilla grandis is native to the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, and is particularly frequent in Hungary. In some of them, it is classed as threatened.

<i>Anemone halleri</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Anemone halleri, Haller's anemone, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, that can be found in sub-alpine and alpine regions of southern France, southern Switzerland, northern Italy and Poland, extending eastward to Greece, Bulgaria and Ukraine. It is found in mountain meadows, dry hills, dry grassy locations and mountainous forest glades. It is collected and cultivated for botanical and private gardens.

<i>Pulsatilla zimmermannii</i> Species of flowering plants in the family Gentianaceae

Pulsatilla zimmermannii, also called Zimmermann's pasqueflower, is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae.

References

  1. Schweizer, F.; Hasinger, O. (2014). "Pulsatilla vulgaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T161913A50786112. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T161913A50786112.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. "Pulsatilla vulgaris Mill. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online.
  3. 1 2 "RHS Plant Selector - Pulsatilla vulgaris" . Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 6th edition. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN   978-0199206872.
  5. RHS encyclopedia of plants & flowers. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2010. p. 744. ISBN   978-1405354233.
  6. "Pulsatilla vulgaris". World Flora Online. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Species detail on the Wildlife Trusts' website". Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  8. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 82. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  9. Joint Nature Conservation Committee - UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The Committee operates in a statutory advisory capacity to the UK Government.
  10. "Pasqueflower reserve information on the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust website".
  11. "Pasqueflower | Plant & fungi species | Wild plants". www.plantlife.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-03.