Pulsatilla vulgaris

‘Preferring full sun in well-drained soil, it makes a tidy nest of finely cut leaves, in which nestles a clutch of silken hair-covered buds, that slowly unfold wide to the sun soft violet-purple petals filled with yellow stamens.’  This was Beth Chatto’s lovely description of Pulsatilla vulgaris, the Pasque flower, flower of Easter.  There is a ring of bracts around the stems which following the flowers hold feathery seed heads which linger for many months.  Bees and other insects pollinate the flowers and wind disperses the seed.

This native perennial in the buttercup, Ranunculaceae, family, P. vulgaris is now ‘Vulnerable’ on the Red Data List.  This is due to the loss of their calcareous grassland habitat with less grazing and land use changes.  A few locations remain in the Cotswolds, Lincolnshire and East Anglia.  One plant was known near Leeds, the most northerly location, and in recent years Wildlife Trusts have established 30 more there.  Its distribution extends through Scandinavia to East Europe. It is toxic to humans and cats and dogs.  It is used to treat a wide variety of complaints in alternative medicine.

P. vulgaris holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. In the Botanical Gardens it is growing on the alpine bed in the  Robert Marnock Garden.