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| Photo by Manfredrichter |
I’ve been regularly checking a spot in my garden to see one of my most favorite spring flowers – the Pasque flower, Pulsatilla patens. I first saw this flower at the Denver Botanic Gardens one spring and couldn’t get over its odd hairy beauty with its wispy stems and purple blooms. When it decides to push through the cold ground and snow, its delicate flowers look impervious to the conditions.
Pasque flowers are ideal companions for many early spring blooming bulbs such as tulips, miniature daffodils, and crocus. Like the bulbs, Pasque flowers are an invaluable source of early season nectar for honeybees and native bees.
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| Photo by Doug Sherman |
“Pulsatilla” is from the Latin word for “pulsing” or “moving about” and “patens” is Latin for “spreading” or “open.” The common name, Pasque is from the Hebrew “Pasach” or “Passover.” Colorado State University Extension lists the Pasque flower as one of our native herbaceous perennials naturally adapted to Colorado’s climates, soils and environmental conditions and can grow in elevations up to 9,000 feet. When they are correctly sited, they make ideal plants for a sustainable landscape.
According to the USDA wildflowers site, the Pasque flower is a powerful healing agent. Native Americans and settlers used small amounts for various ailments and conditions: dried leaves for rheumatism, a poultice of pressed dried leaves as a topical treatment, an aroma-therapy bouquet of freshly dried ground leaves to alleviate headaches, and pulverized roots were used to combat lung disorders. But it should be noted that this plant can also be toxic both topically and gastro intestinally. This USDA map shows the large range where the Pasque flower grows.
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| Map by USDA |
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/pulsatilla_patens_multifida.shtml
The Pasque flower grows 4-8 inches tall and is rabbit-proof. Even after blooming, these specimens leave showy seed heads that should be left alone for the seed to drop.
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| Photo by W.D. Bransford |
