Pulsatilla Vulgaris, Pasqueflower



Common name:
Pasqueflower
Scientific name:
Pulsatilla vulgaris
Main flower color:
Range:
Scattered places across central England
Height:
Up to 25 cm
Habitat:
Calcareous grassland; generally dry, south-facing locations
Flowers:
Erect in bud, nodding in bloom; solitary, at the top of thick, silky-hairy stalks. Flowers, up to 8 cm in diameter, have six purple, oblong sepals, hairy on the outside, and a cluster of short yellow stamens centred on a group of fused carpels, pinkish towards the tip. A little-way below the flower is a whorl of leaf-like bracts with linear lobes
Fruit:
Achenes, with silky plumes up to 5 cm long
Leaves:
Basal, twice or three times pinnate, divided into narrow lobes, covered by long, silky hairs
Season:
April to May
Rarity:
★★★★★